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Q&A with Jess Bannister, BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling Graduate

Jess BannisterJessica Bannister graduated with a BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling degree from the University of Salford in 2014. Jess’s dissertation research led to opportunities to speak at local colleges on her experiences of university life and being an undergraduate student. Jess is currently working full time to finance her postgraduate studies in September. Jenna interviewed Jess to find out more.

  1. Hi Jess, you went to talk to Loreto college students about being a psychology student. How did that talk come about?  

Originally I was meant to go to Loretto College to recruit participants for my dissertation project, which explored social media use by college students and apprentices. However, the best time for them to participate was June (my dissertation was due in May) so I thought rather than ending correspondence there, I wanted to at least give a discussion or something about what a dissertation is like.

2. What key points did you make in your talk? 

I mainly talked about the process of completing my dissertation, making sure I expressed the process of ethics, as that was something I had no idea about going into planning my dissertation. I think that a lot of the beliefs around dissertations is that you can just go away and do something, which is definitely not the case. I also wanted to point out to students that while it is one of the most stressful times in your education, that you can/should still have fun while doing it. The dissertation is often on a topic based around your interests and something that you enjoy, so have some fun with it.

 3. Did college students ask you any interesting questions? Can you tell me about some of them. 

I was surprised at how engaged the students were in the talk. I was expecting them to be quiet and not wanting to talk to the stranger that’s giving a talk in their class.  Through my experiences of  being in college, we would have done the same thing. A lot of students were asking how stressful it was doing the dissertation, and asking general questions about university life. A lot wanted to know as well what I was planning to do now that I had left university and now I’m in the wider world.

4. What would you do differently if you were to do another talk? 

I definitely wouldn’t be so nervous leading up to the talk. Before I set off on my drive to the college I was so nervous to the point of panicking. While my parents and boyfriend were trying to convince me everything would be ok, I was adamant that everything would go wrong, and everyone would hate me. But obviously I was wrong. I think if I wasn’t as nervous I probably would have included more content in the talk, elaborating more where I needed to instead of just discussing key points because I was worried I would be boring people.

 5. What advice did you give to college students thinking about studying psychology at degree level? 

I would definitely advise students to read around the subject from day 1. I definitely did not do enough reading around subjects, and only properly opened a book when it was assignment time, and you can tell as that reflects in my feedback. Be a step ahead of your module and it will benefit. Take part in student and lecturers studies as well. If you have no idea what a degree level research project is like, taking part in one can show you what goes on, and also with the amount of equipment there is at university, you can get some amazing ideas for a future research study. The main piece of advice I have though is to have fun. Don’t just be a book worm or spend all your time doing assignments, have some fun too. Uni is the best time for socialising and meeting new people, so get out and meet your peers.

 6. How did you find it being a university psychology student? Positives and negatives!

Going to uni has been the best thing I have ever done. It was a hard transition going from college with all my friends to somewhere completely new with people I didn’t know, but I’ve met some of the best friends in the world, and uni has given me a new sense of independence I never knew I could have. I’ll admit sometimes it has been hard, and I’ve thought what’s the point if I’m not doing well, but when you read that email at the end of 3rd year saying ‘Congratulations’, you know that every minute, every moment you felt stressed or upset, or like you couldn’t do it was worth it, because you have earned yourself a degree.

 7. What was it like doing your dissertation project? Why did you choose that topic?  

Going into my project I thought I was just going to plan what I was doing, then go out and do it, so it came as a surprise to me to hear all these rules and regulations about what you had to do, like applying for ethical approval, and all the materials that had to be included with that. I felt like I had to know what I was doing before I actually had a full idea. But on the whole it was an amazing experience to undertake my own research, and in the midst of conducting research you kind of forget you’re doing this for a 10,000 word report, but you’re actually doing it to extend knowledge in your chosen topic.

I chose my subject for a number of reasons. Firstly, I had done an assignment similar to this one in my level 5 social psychology module, and wanted to extend this, and use participants outside of university to gain more of a generalised view. My supervisor helped me to gain a clearer topic to focus on. I chose social media as my topic because it is such a vastly growing phenomenon that views are constantly changing on it, and it is being utilised for more and more things every day. I had read journals on how students use it for everyday purposes, so I wanted to research how it could be used in an educational setting, and how teachers and peers can use it to give support to other students.

 8. What are your next steps?

A. For me, it will be to gain some experience in counselling and mental health, since this is the career path I wish to take. I’ve taken a year out from my studies, which was hard at first adjusting to life outside of education. Since I was a child I have been in education, so it was different not to be. I have expanded my skills, through working full time and volunteering at mental health clinics, and I now feel ready to go back to university and complete my Masters and Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy. I have been looking into finance and funding, and have even opened a crowdfunding page, to see if that gets me anywhere. I think the psychologist in me is using it as some kind of social experiment, but we’ll see if anything happens with that. The Masters is a major opportunity for me as not only do I get a placement on the course, but I shadow real life counselling sessions, which will help me pick up the skills I can’t learn in a seminar room or a lecture theatre. I have a long road ahead of me to get there, but I know once I am there, all the hard work will have paid of for me, and also for my fellow students in whatever they’re pursuing.

Best of luck Jess! Keep us all posted 🙂

 

 

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graduate stories graduation learning prizes psych and counselling psych and criminology psychology transition undergraduate

Graduation 2014 – Celebrating the success of our final year students

By Catherine Thompson

Twitter ejpetalGraduation is a very special time of year, when all the hard work finally pays off. As a student you get to breathe a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that you have completed your degree and never have to look at SPSS again (unless you want to of course!). Walking across the stage to collect your certificate is a defining moment and really does mark the point where your degree journey ends and a new chapter begins, and you can look to the future knowing that you have already achieved so much. As a family member or friend you get the chance to share in the celebrations of your loved one, and you get a sense of just how much effort they have put into their studies and how much it means to have completed a degree. And as a lecturer you get to see how far each student has progressed– from that first tentative meeting in a research methods seminar when the simple mention of the word “median” led to panicked looks, to a group of confident individuals who are relishing the next challenge.

Twitter salfordpsychThis year we had so much to celebrate – including the fact that the sun came out for graduation (although it sure is hot in a cap and gown!). The students graduating in July 2014 were the largest cohort to have studied Psychology, Psychology and Criminology, and Psychology and Counselling at the University of Salford. This year we delivered our widest ever offering of final year modules (logistically challenging but academically rewarding!). We also witnessed some outstanding achievements from our students, both in terms of assessed work (the quality and creativity of student work was commended by our external examiners) and the success of many students in extra-curricular activities (for example taking part in volunteering work, and completing the Salford Advantage Award). All students who have graduated this year have achieved a great deal, and a special mention must go to our prize winners:

  • British Psychological Society prize for Best Student – Rachel Gribbin (Psychology and Criminology)
  • Best Non-Commissioned Student in the School of Health Sciences – Rachel Gribbin (Psychology and Criminology)
  • Best Psychology Student – Carmen-Florentina Ionita
  • Best Psychology and Counselling Student – Zander Claassen
  • The Endeavour Award – Nikki-Ann Cohen (Psychology)

BSc (Hons) Psychology graduate Danielle Butler has also been shortlisted for the Jonathan Sime Award, an award for dissertation research focused on people-environment issues. Good luck Danielle!

On behalf of the Psychology team I would like to wish all our Graduates every success for the future. Your achievements are well deserved and you are a credit to the University of Salford.

Catherine Thompson
Programme Leader for Psychology and Criminology

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Educational Psychology: Creating a seminar for teachers

By Jenna Condie

In the final year of our undergraduate programmes (BSc Hons Psychology, BSc Hons Psychology and Counselling, BSc Hons Psychology and Criminology), one of the option modules that students can chose to take is Educational Psychology.  Educational Psychology can be “…loosely defined here as the application of psychological theories, research and techniques to the educational development of young people in the context of the home, school and community” Holliman (2013, p. xxii).  More broadly, educational psychology also considers how people can learn better, how teaching and learning practice can be improved, whether different people should be taught differently, and how learning can transform the person and impact upon their lives.

For the assessment, students taking this module propose a seminar for teachers, selecting a topic from the field of educational psychology that they consider is both current and of practical use in the training of teachers.  The emphasis is on the application of theory to teaching practice.  Last year, BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling student (now graduate!), Jessica Tomes created a seminar for teachers that focused on mental health stigma and how teachers can educate students to reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues in the school environment.  You can read her work below.

Educational psychology seminar assignment: Jessica Tomes from SalfordPsych

Jessica also presented her work as a poster ‘Reducing Mental Health Stigma Through Educational Seminars’ at the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Conference which took place at The University of Northampton (3-5 July, 2013).

Jessica Tomes Educational Psychology Poster Presentation at CAMHS, 3-5 July 2013 from SalfordPsych

It is fantastic to see how an assignment can be taken further to embrace opportunities such as presenting at conferences and sharing your ideas and work beyond the module.

For more information about the Educational Psychology module, please contact Jenna Condie, j.m.condie@salford.ac.uk , Twitter: @jennacondie

 

 

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employability job interviews learning psych and counselling reflection research

Succeeding in job interviews

By Hannah Smith

I have just found myself in the fortunate position of having secured myself a job that will give me relevant work experience for my career goal of being a clinical neuropsychologist. If you’re studying Psychology, you might have a specific career in mind at the moment, the same way I do, and you’ll probably be on the lookout for jobs which will get you on the first rung of the ladder.

I applied for quite a few jobs in the past few months, as with my graduation looming, I wanted to start climbing that ladder as soon as I could. I have had two interviews, including the one for the position I have been offered, and I think the things I learnt from the first one made the difference the second time around. I wanted to share this with other Psychology students at Salford, or anyone else who reads this blog, because interviews aren’t necessarily something we are taught how to prepare for!

In regards to any interview, be it your first or your twenty-first, do your homework. The two interviews I had were both for NHS trusts, and what I found was that each trust will have its own set of values, for example patient focused or accountability. Learn these values, and think of ways in which you already demonstrate similar qualities in your work, studies or personal life. My second interview asked for the values and I was able to recall each of them, as well as go into more depth about what each one meant.

What I’ve learnt from my job hunting process is that the feedback you are offered after an interview is so valuable. Write it down, and read back over it before any other interviews you have. Identify your weaknesses! The feedback I was given after my first interview was that I lacked knowledge around health and safety, as this is obviously important when working within a patient-focused role. Before my second interview, I searched my way around the internet, trying to fill the gaps in my health and safety knowledge. It paid off. Although the question I was asked in my second interview was not obviously about health and safety, it was a scenario question and I was able to identify where the safety risks were and mention these.

Other than the feedback you get from the interview panel, it’s also important to give yourself some feedback. Reflect on what you were asked at interview, how you answered questions, what gaps you think there are in your knowledge. As soon as I came out of my first interview, I knew there were things I should have said, and I wrote these down. I also realised that when giving my answers, I struggled to round them off neatly and ended up repeating myself in an attempt to end what I was saying. I did work on this before my second interview, and when I reflect back on that one, I can see that I improved.

I hope that this helps someone else get their foot in the door of their career path! Just remember to prepare, ask for feedback, reflect on your performance, and learn from it!

Hannah is a final year BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling student, she tweets @hannahbubble and can also be contacted on h.smith4@edu.salford.ac.uk.  

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placement psych and counselling psych and criminology psychology survey undergraduate

The Findings: Psychology Placement Module Questionnaire

By Lorna Paterson

At Psychology at Salford, we are committed to increasing our students’ employability within the graduate marketplace.  A few months ago, many of you completed a questionnaire asking for your feedback about the possibility of a psychology placement module. All your feedback has been considered, summarised and is presented below. Your feedback has been instrumental in establishing a task group to examine the possibility of introducing a placement module in the near future.  Exactly how this may take shape is currently being explored.

Findings from the placement module questionnaire:

An overwhelming 95.5% of respondents (N = 109) were interested in a psychology placement module.  Over two thirds preferred the idea of a block placement rather than a day release model. In regards to which semester the placement module would run, the preference was not clear as all three options (Semester 1, Semester 2, across both semesters) performed about equally.

The most popular placement sectors were; Health and Clinical (88% showed interest), Mental Health (76% showed interest) and Voluntary (76% showed interest). The least popular placement option was an academic internship (45.8% expressed an interest).

Over half of the respondents (56.9%) expressed an interest in completing a placement module over doing a dissertation. However in order to fulfil the requirements for a BPS Accredited Degree Classification, an independent piece of research must be carried out.

What we still need to clarify is 1) How a placement module could be delivered successfully, 2) Health & Clinical options were the most popular however, health psychology and clinical psychology are distinctly different disciplines. We hope to set up a further survey via this blog , to gain further information about your interest in health and clinical placement options. Watch this space for further developments.  .

Finally, a visual, qualitative representation of your open responses has been included below highlighting why a placement module matters to you.

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If you would like to provide further feedback on the possibility of a psychology placement module, please contact Lorna Paterson on l.paterson@salford.ac.uk or Linda Dubrow-Marshall on l.dubrow-marshall@salford.ac.uk.

 

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joint hons psych and counselling psych and criminology satisfaction

Top ratings for joint Psychology programmes with Criminology and Counselling at Salford

By Dr Ashley Weinberg

 

Psychology at Salford’s joint Psychology programmes featured in the UK’s top quartile last year and programme leaders are hoping for a repeat of this success in 2013. The 2012 feedback showed that 100% of students in the final year of the BSc (Hons) Psychology and Criminology and 94% of those studying for the BSc (Hons) Psychology and Counselling were satisfied with their courses. These represented increases from 2011 and although it would be mathematically tricky to improve further on these positive results, the programme leaders were delighted to see students give such high ratings for the standards of teaching, how most students felt their course had helped their personal development, and that the academic support, organisation and learning resources were highly valued too.

For further details about either of these programmes, please contact admissions tutor Anne Pearson (a.pearson1@salford.ac.uk; tel: 0161 295 0036)