PERSONAL STATEMENT

Psychology has been a part of my life indirectly for many years, from something as
insignificant as people watching in a cafe to an impromptu counselling session for a
friend with emotional trauma. I have had a real desire to work with people for a long
time and have always been fascinated with human behaviour and understanding how
the mind works, in order to empower individuals to lead better lives. It is this fascination
that has makes psychology such a desirable subject for me.

Health psychology focuses on how biological, social and psychological factors influence
health and illness. Health psychologists study how patients handle illness, why some
people don’t follow medical advice and the most effective ways to control pain or
change poor health habits. They also develop health care strategies that foster
emotional and physical well-being. It focuses on how biology, psychology, behavior, and
social factors influence health and illness.
I indeed understood the importance of this field at my place of employment as a nursing
assistant at my place of work. Observing how doctors diagnosed patient’s conditions
and illnesses and prescribed treatment only to watch some of these same patients
return weeks later, sometimes almost feeling the same way due to poor negligence of
the medical instruction given to them. I have come to realize that the field of health
psychology is primarily focused on promoting health as well as the prevention and
treatment of disease and illness. Health psychologists  focus on understanding how
people react to, cope with, and recover from illness. They assist patients through
chronic disease care, such as diabetes or substance abuse, and encourage a healthy
lifestyle.
My desire to study pre-master’s in health psychology is to gain the proper education of
what it entails to become a professional; it will equip me with the necessary skills to
become the best in this profession. I do not doubt that I stand to gain a lot more
undertaking this program as it is a preparatory step towards the proper master's degree
in health psychology. I would be adequately trained into a expert who can workboth on
individual care and also advice on government policies that would generally improve
healthcare. The pre-masters health psychology program at Dundee university comes
adequately equipped with all required skills, which helps me achieve my goal of being
the very best I can be in this profession.
I wish to study this program in the UK because of the enormous benefit it presents to
me. The UK has the top universities in the world to study health related courses. UK
institutions are highly rated and respected across the globe as one of the best.
Therefore, getting a degree from a UK university would be of great advantage to me.
At the completion of my course in the UK, I know for sure I would be returning as a
highly trained professional with the required certificate to my home country. Acquiring a
masters degree from a UK university would also put me at a competitive advantage
above my peer. This is due to the fact that degrees from UK universities are highly
recognized by employers because of the quality of education of these institutions and
the reputation of the universities and with my work experience, I believe there would be
vast opportunities available to me as the state of the health sector in my home country
is it is one in deer need of urgent improvement.
I have chosen to undertake this course at Dundee university because of a host of
reasons. Firstly, I believe my goal of studying health psychology program is perfectly
captured in the university's aim for the course. The university's objective is to prepare
student’s who would be experts in this field. The university as a whole is one with an
excellent reputation in the UK; having done my research, the University of Dundee is
one with a very high student experience rating and being new to the UK, that is a factor
that influenced my decision as I would not want to be in an unpleasant and less friendly
environment. Being in such an environment would help me excel and give me the right
tools to be the best I can be. The University is also ranked top 20 universities in the UK
which speaks volume of the kind of skills being impacted on students enabling them
with the right tools required to flourish at the end of their program. The university also
has a TEF gold rating therefore, I am assured I would be receiving the very best of
education. This course would further advance my knowledge and skills to provide
holistic care across various care settings.