Example Audiology Personal Statement
Science and health have always fascinated me. The human body and its capacity for many marvelous things are tempered by the fragility of such an intricate system going wrong.
This concept originally led me into the field of Pharmacy. Currently, I am an intern pharmacist in New Zealand and I am about to be registered in the profession. However, I have graduallyrealized that pharmacy is not the correct career path for me to follow. Although I enjoyed my studies of the subject, I have found the practice of the theoretical knowledge has not suited my personality and have come to the realization that I best thrive when I am interacting with other individuals. I have found the profession of pharmacy to be much ‘drier’ than I had anticipated. Consequently, I feel unchallenged and have realized I have not best facilitated my innate skills and interests. Of course, my interest in health and science has not diminished, it has grown – but in a different direction to the one I anticipated.
Realizing I was unhappy in my current career path, I immediately sought to find out what really would best meet my skills and passions. It was actually a conversation with my neighborwho is an audiologist (and who later wrote the letter of support for my application) that led me to the conclusion that the field of audiology was the perfect career for me. I was suggested to attendMs. Sharon Smith’s introductory presentation about the course offered by the University of Auckland and found the lecture incredibly interesting and it transpired that audiology was closely suited to my personal skills.
To further my insight into the audiology field I arranged visits to several audiology clinics around Auckland from both the public and private sector; including the Manukau Superclinic audiology department, Starship Children’s Hospital, Dilworth Hearing Howick, Russell Hearing Botany and University of Auckland Hearing and Tinnitus Clinic. These visits gave me extensive insight into the work of an audiologist with different focuses such as child diagnostic and adult rehabilitation. I observed a variety of tasks carried out by audiologists, including performing hearing tests on children, assessing hearing problems in adults, fitting of hearing aids and activating cochlear implants.
Upon undertaking these various placements and visits I came to the realization that listening and hearing are the invisible cornerstones of spoken communication. I now understood that I had found my particular passion in science. The difference between pharmaceuticals and audiology is that, (in my opinion), audiology must make far greater use of communication and interaction with patients. I believe that one of my strongest attributes is my ability to effectively communicate with different kinds of individuals and resolve conflicts in a sensitive and articulate manner. The ‘human’ side of audiology is especially appealing to me. Hearing is often taken for granted and yet problems with hearing can be severely detrimental to a person’s entire life. The sensitivity, empathy and meticulous nature of the audiologist is vital in order to facilitate the best possible kind of communication and quality of life for the patient.
Similarly, I have found audiology to be incredibly appealing due to its dynamic nature. The constant advancement in research, methodology and technology is something I am impressed by and hope I can contribute to in the future. I am confident in dealing with technological changes and programming technology, as upgrading and optimizing computer hard/software is one of my hobbies. Furthermore, I believe that research is the foundation for advancing healthcare services. Having developed a passion in research after completing a summer studentship and a one-year dissertation during my Bachelor of Pharmacy years in the University of Auckland, I am attracted to the opportunity to get involved in innovative clinical research in this relatively new area of study.
I am a very perseverant, focused individual and I particularly enjoy working in a team; I am happy to take on leadership tasks as well as learning from others. I attended an array of different seminars to present my summer studentship findings on top of the heavy workload of a 4th year pharmacy degree. I am particularly proud of two research projects I completed with publishable results. I enjoy working with my colleagues and when my 4th year dissertation group was on the brink of giving up the project due to experimental failures, I encouraged and motivated the group to continue to work on the dissertation until the end. I am diligent and always aiming for improvements, as I voluntarily worked in several pharmacies during my Bachelor of Pharmacy years to further increase my knowledge and skills in this field. I pride myself in having good communication and teamwork skills, as I maintained the harmony within my dissertation group throughout last year via good team skills, while many others got into conflicts within their group. I am also organised and confident in leading teams, as I was the leader of Macleans Lion Dance club and the Event Co-ordinator of the Macleans Intercultural club during high school.
The realization that pharmacy was not the correct career path for me was, at first, a disappointing and confusing notion. However, I have been exceptionally lucky in that I have had the opportunity to understand this and thus remedy the situation. I pride myself on being an ambitious, ethical and hard-working individual and I wanted to find a career in which I could really make a difference. My research and experience of audiology has been illuminating. I feel invigorated and confident that I have finally found a challenging, dynamic and intensely patient-focused career which finally suits my personal attributes.
We hope that if you are looking for help with writing your personal statement that this example Audiology Personal Statement is a useful guide.