CollegeKnowledge:ForensicPsychiatry

MikaylaElliot

Whenitcomestothebrain,therearestepsthatoccurwhenwe
learn.Whenhumanstakeininformation,oursensescollecttheinfoand
transferthemintoneuronsthroughsynapses,whichthenmovethe
informationintoourshorttermmemory.Eventually,thesememorieswill
movetheinformationintothehippocampus,ourstorageforourlongterm
memories!Takingininformationtoourlongtermmemorytakesafew
steps,acyclethatneedstoberoutinedwhenwelearnnewthings.This
cycleoflearningbeginswithgatheringtheinformation,reflectingthe
informationwelearn(orforsomememorizing),andthencreatingor
activelyusingwhatwelearntoremembertheminordertokeepthat
informationinourlongtermmemory.Formepersonally,Iamaperson
wholearnsthroughrepetition.Inorderformetoreallylearnsomething,I
needtodoitanumberoftimesinordertoreallygetit.IfIweretolearn
howtorideabike,Iwouldneedtopracticeeveryday,andifIwereto
learnamathconcept,Iwouldhavetowritedownmathproblemsoverand
overagaininordertounderstandit.


MydreamforwhenIgrowup,IhopetobecomeaForensic
Psychiatrist.Thisfieldisaverydifficultonetoenter,andtakesmuch
perseveranceandpatience.Whengoingintoforensics,therearea
numberofskillsthatneedtobedeveloped.Theseskillscanbeachieved
throughthesestepsoflearning,suchas:strongwritingskills,critical
thinkingskills,deepknowledgeforofsocialandculturalissues,strong
knowledgeofbothpsychiatryandpsychology,strongoralpresentation
skills,goodcommunicationandpeopleskills,knowledgeinlaw,withthe
abilityofkeepingaprofessionalandespeciallycalmpersonawheneverin
thecourtorintheofficewithclients.Bygatheringinformation,takingthe
timetoprocesstheinfo(indifferentwayssuchaspracticeor
memorization),thenusingtheinformationIlearnoutside,ishowmybrain
functionstolearnnewthingseveryday.

Whensomeonelikemewishestobecomeapsychiatrist,thereare
someextrastepsthatareneededtobetakeninordertoachievethis
goal.Psychiatryisverysimilartopsychology,beingthattheybotharethe
studyofmentalhealthandstudy.Theonlydifferencebetweenthetwois

thatpsychiatryinvolvesunderstandingthediagnosisandtreatmentof
specificmentaldisorders.Thisincludesbiologicalevaluations,
psychotherapy,andtreatments,thushavingtogothroughmedicalschool
inordertoobtainapsychiatriclicense.Thismakespsychiatryabranchof
medicalstudy,whichmakesitnotapplicableasamajorinundergraduate
study.Inordertobecomeaforensicpsychiatrist,Iwillneedtocomplete
anundergraduateprograminamajorinrelationtopsychiatry.SoIhave
decidedthatbeingIcanchoseanymajorIwantbeforeapplyingfor
medicalschool,Iwouldmajorinpsychology,beingthatthetwosubjects
areextremelysimilar.
Whenmajoringinpsychology,therearemanysciencebased
classesthatneedtobetaken,moresothanothersubjects.Themost
beneficialcoursesIwouldneedtotakeduringmyundergraduateprogram
inpsychologywouldbebiology,behavioralscience,abnormal
psychology,developmentpsychology,personalitypsychology,cognitive
psychology/science,psychologyhistory,socialpsychology,andabio
psychologycourse.


Whenitcomestothecollegeofmychoosing,Ihavehighhopesto
beacceptedintoJohnsHopkinsUniversity,fortheschoolcontainsan
excellentpsychologyundergraduateprogramthatIcanmajorin.Johns
Hopkinsalsohasthethirdrankingmedicalschoolinthecountry.Their
medicalschoolprovidesabeneficialgeneralpsychiatryresidency,aswell
asaforensicpsychiatryfellowship,whicharebothrequiredwhenentering
thefieldofforensicpsychiatry.Aftercompletingmyundergraduatein
psychology,Iwillalsoneedtocompletea4yearDoctorofMedicine
(M.D.)degreeprograminpsychiatry.Duringmedicalschool,allaspiring
psychiatristshavetotakethesametrainingasstudentsinterestedin
studyingotherbranchesofmedicine.Thesecourseswouldinclude
anatomy,physiology,biochemistry,pharmacology,psychology,and
medicalethics.Thefinal2yearsoftheM.D.programrequireclerkship
rotations,orinternships,inregardstothemedicalstudyofyourchoice,in
mycase,psychiatry.OncegraduatedfromtheM.D.program,Iwillbe
requiredtotakeageneralpsychiatryresidencyprogram,whichwillthen
befollowedbyaforensicpsychiatryfellowship.Generalpsychiatry
residencytakesabout4yearstocomplete,whileaforensicpsychiatry

fellowshiptakesabout1yeartocomplete.Afteralloftheeducationand
training,IwillfinallyberequiredtotaketheUnitedStatesMedical
LicensingExamination(USMLE)inordertobecomealicensedforensic
psychiatrist.

Gettingintomedicalschool,orevengettingintoagooduniversity
willtakealotofwork.IfIevenhopetobeacceptedintoanyuniversity,I
willhavetoincreasemycurrenthabitsasastudenthereatHTHNC.This
includesmycurrentnotetakingskills,myleadershipskills,aswellasmy
studyskillswhenpreparingformySAT,ACT,andthesubjecttestsIam
planningontakinginordertocreateamoreappeasingresumetoScience
basedschools.Ineedtobringmyselfuptheladderinextracurricularand
honorsclassesandtomakesureIdothebestthatIcanineverythingthat
Ido,insideandoutsideofschool.IfIwanttobecomesuccessfulinhigh
school,college,medicalschool,inintomycareer,Ihavetoalwaysstay
sharpandpushmylimitsfurtherthanthemaximumpoint.