Question from YouTube:
"Hi Ate Clar! New subbie here! Can you make a video about sa course na kinuha mo. How hard it is? Tapos yung sa med school mo. I don't know anything about this. I'm going to take BS Psychology this summer."
First off, since I have been accepted to medical school, I have decided to change my YouTube Channel content. From beauty and everyday vlogging, I am currently transitioning to more school related topics (such as answering questions from you, my subscribers and friends) and less about beauty and everyday vlogging. Ever since I have posted my announcement video on my channel, you all have been very supportive of my decision and I am beyond grateful.
To answer Rica's question, I'd like to make a list of things I personally learned, enjoyed, and discovered while taking up my pre-med degree which is BS Psychology. I do not consider myself an expert on this matter, although I may have a few insights that I can share so that you can get a jist of the course itself. Some of you might want to share your insights on the comments down below too. All insights are welcome, and Rica and I would love to learn from your tips too!
1.) I originally did not choose BS Psychology as my degree. I was an Entrepreneurship student for my first year. I was not exposed to different courses in my high school years, and I thought business was the way to go. In my first year, I had the opportunity to take a general psychology class, and the topics were so interesting for me. General psychology basically gives you an idea on how a person thinks, feels, acts, etc., and I truly enjoyed learning about how the mind works and how the body responds. It's a science mixed with human nature and I fell in love with it instantly. It was kind of a difficult choice for me to shift because even though I made up my mind, after the first few classes, that psychology was the course I wanted to take, all of my high school and new found friends were in entrepreneurship. I eventually took the risk of being a loner (haha but you'll meet a lot of friends eventually) and shifted. To this day, this was my best decision ever made. :) No regrets!
2.) On my second and third year, we were taught about abnormal psychology, psychology in the workplace (organizational psychology), experimental psychology, etc. These are just some of the interesting fields in psychology wherein you'll get to have a more in-depth look on human behavior as well learn more about yourself and your role in the psychological field. The course itself takes a lot of effort. You are expected to be a really good reader and listener. You will have to read a lot of books to be able to gain more knowledge about different studies and theories. You will also have to develop listening skills in order for you to not only hear but also to listen and take by heart what you are learning from your professors and from your classmates as well.
3.) One thing I have enjoyed in my course would be that in taking up psychology, you do not only learn from your professors, but also from your classmates. You will get to experience sharing thoughts and opinions about a certain topic, and after taking up a lot of classes on psychology, you will also be able to discuss your points intellectually and with legitimate basis. I did not expect to have a full on intellectual debate with my seatmate about how his boyfriend behaves! (Haha) But eventually, you will experience these things, and you'll be glad to have learned theories and studies that are very applicable to everyday life. You'll also be able to learn from your classmates opinions and ideas as well.
4.) My school has a pre-medicine track for BS Psychology students. This only means that your curriculum will include all the pre-requisite classes and units for medical school though I am not sure on the different requirements for different medicals schools. It includes the hard sciences such as organic chemistry, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, comparative anatomy, zoology, etc. There's nothing more I can say besides that it will definitely take a lot of effort if science is not something you like. Honestly, I was an average student when it came to science, but I definitely enjoyed it more than math. But ever since I got into college, I made it a point to really study all the concepts and try to relate the sciences to psychological theories. * You can easily search the pre-requisites for medical school on google and on the medical school's website. *
5.) For my on-the-job training, I wanted to be able to experience working in a big hospital. I wanted to experience what its like to have duties and be able to go on rounds. I cannot say where I had my OJT for confidentiality reasons, but I have to say that if you are thinking about going into medicine in the future, this should be a priority. You'll be able to apply what you have learned from the past years and you'll be seeing real life cases of people and understand them more, and it's an experience you will definitely won't regret. In these months of having my OJT, I have seen how misunderstood patients in psych wards are and how people stereotype mental health patients. Mental health patients, in my opinion, have equal needs with those who need physical health care. The mind is equally important as the body. These are just some of what I have learned and ingrained from my experience. From what I have heard and learned from other students and friends first hand, I assure you that you won't have the same experiences with other non psych pre-med students who have also taken up their OJTs in hospitals. You will be exposed to a whole lot more and gain deeper knowledge. I really can't explain it but it's something different, and I think this will give you an edge if you were to become a future med student. In these months, I was contemplating on going into medical school, but my experience sealed the deal. :)
6.) If you are planning on going into med school in the future, BS Psychology, in my opinion, will equip you with basic and advanced intra and interpersonal intelligence. With that said, you'll be able to communicate more effectively verbally and non-verbally (by actions) with other people as well as be in tune with your own self and your own thoughts and feelings. I believe a psychology course will give you more of an edge in this area since medicine is not only about pure hard science and how the body works. Remember, you'll also be dealing with future classmates, doctors, patients and co-workers. Having a BS Psychology degree gives me more confidence in dealing with other people in general. It's an all-around degree!!
So that is basically the general idea of what it's like to be in Psychology. I hope I helped you with your question, Rica. Definitely, these are just SOME of what I have learned from my pre-med course, and I can go on and on. Being a psychology student taught me to be more compassionate, sympathetic and understanding of other people. I'm sure you'll have your own insights by the end of this blog, and I'd like to hear what you've learned from psychology as well!
