There are approximately 450,000 people in the U.S. alone living with spinal cord injuries, with an annual increase of up to 10,000. 82% of these people are male and almost all of the injuries were the results of accidents that could have been prevented, including vehicle crashes, violence and falls. A spinal cord injury should never have to happen, and by looking at these numbers, it is obviously needed to educate people further on the topic. In this report, expect to learn about the different types of injuries that can occur, the acute and chronic care for spinal injuries, the long-term treatment and therapy available and finally, the emotional and financial effects on the victim and their families. With the high costs and sudden physical restrictions on a person, a serious spinal cord injury could drastically change a person’s life forever.
Even though I don’t know that much about being a psychologist, I have always felt that it would be a job that I would enjoy and that I would be fairly good at. Through interviewing a registered psychologist, I didn’t find out anything about the profession that surprised me or that I disliked.
One of the questions that I asked Dr. Mermigis Lambros was what education he needed to become a psychologist. He said that he went to University- which is exactly what I have always wanted to do. Although University would be a lot of work (presumably more than a career which only required going to college), I feel that I am a hard worker, so if I decided that this is what I would like to do, I would be prepared to work at it. Also, another thing that we talked about which I would be very interested in doing is starting up my own clinic one day. I have always been very interested in working for myself one day, and I was happy to hear that this is a job in which it would be easy to do that.
One of the most important questions that I asked was what kind of person or what qualities in a person are needed to be a good psychologist. Dr. Mermigis Lambros said that he felt they must be good with people, compassionate/understanding, flexible and be able to adjust the way patients are treated according to their needs and personality. He seemed to be very sure of the fact that a psychologist needs to be flexible, which unfortunately I feel is one of my weaknesses. Obviously, I would have to overcome this if I were to become a psychologist. I feel that at times I prefer to have specific guidelines to follow, but I am sure that as someone became more experienced and confident in what they were doing, their ability to be flexible in their job would increase.
This would be something that I would have to keep in mind and work at, as it might not come naturally to me at the beginning. Another weakness of mine that I listed was the fact that I have trouble remembering peoples’ names. Again, although this is something I would have to overcome, I would think that with more practice and experience, it is not something that I couldn’t learn to improve upon. However, some of what Dr. Mermigis Lambros said I was glad to hear.
He said that it was important to be good with people, which I would have assumed, and that is something I definitely feel that I am. Also, I enjoy being around people, which I think would help me to be better at it. When I asked him about what he liked about his job, he said the variety of people that he dealt with. I had not really thought of this before, but I definitely like the sound of that as well. Having different people to talk to all the time would keep the job interesting. Overall, I think that the most important thing would be being able to work well with people. I feel that I am good at this, and I would be willing to get as much experience with it as I could (through jobs, co-op, etc.), as I think this would only improve my skills in this area more.
Even though I have some qualities that would work well with being a psychologist and others that I would need to work on improving, I don’t think that any of these would be things that I couldn’t adjust to or get used to. As many of my strengths and interests match those required for this career (working with people, attending University), I think that I would be very suited for this job.
Through researching what it would be like to be a Psychologist and what it would take to become one, I have only become more interested in it as a career.
When I interviewed Dr. Mermigis Lambros, a registered clinical Psychologist, I found that the questions I asked him and his answers were very helpful. Particularly when he described to me the qualities in a person that he thought made a good Psychiatrist, it helped me to get an idea as to whether I would ever be able to do this. As I have said before, I feel that I am a friendly person and that I am easy to talk to. One of the first qualities Dr. Lambros listed was ‘good with people’. He said that these are very important qualities, he’s found, because if someone is at ease with you, they will feel more comfortable in discussing their problems.
When I first realized that some of the qualities Dr. Lambros listed were qualities that I considered my weaknesses, I felt a little discouraged. However, through researching exactly what a Psychologist does, I have found that many of these things will come with practice and I will probably adjust. For example, he said a Psychologist would need to be flexible and not have to follow specific rules. I feel that I am someone who likes to have specific guidelines to follow, but being flexible in the way I treat patients is probably something I would have to expect would come with experience. Like I have said before, I am fairly determined, so I think that if I wanted to become a Psychologist, I could overcome weaknesses like this one.
The research I have done on the education needed has also helped me a lot, as before, I was not sure what education was needed. I found that to be a clinical Psychologist (what I would like to do), I would have to go to University and get either a Masters degree or a Ph.D. This is a lot of years of school, but I think that I would like to do that. I have always wanted to go to University, and I think that I would enjoy studying these types of courses in more detail. Also, I feel that I am driven to achieve the goals that I set for myself, and therefore would not become discouraged by the commitment. However, I don’t know if I would want to complete a Ph.D. It’s not that I don’t think I would be interested enough, but right now I am not sure if I would want to spend that many years in school- but that could change!
Overall, I think that I could enjoy a career in Psychology and be good at it. I think that my personal strengths and weaknesses correspond to those needed to be suitable for this career, and I am interested in the kind of education needed.
