Nicola O’Donnell graduated from Kent in 2016, she reflects here on her journey, from A level results day, to getting a first here in her undergraduate degree at Kent, a masters at UCL, and is now just a couple of years off becoming a clinician herself. <\/p>\n
‘Back in 2012, 10 whole years ago (!!), I logged into UCAS and was met with \u201cyou have been entered into clearing\u201d. I had not learnt much about clearing, so I wrongly assumed it was for people who \u201cweren\u2019t good enough\u201d to get into university the \u201cnormal\u201d way. I was distraught and assumed that I must have failed all of my exams; instead I had achieved ABB, missing my 3 A grade offers by a matter of marks. Nothing anyone said would console me, in fact, my A Level Psychology teacher (who I have remained in touch with) still texts me every year recalling the trauma of the day!! Eventually persuaded to just \u201chave a look\u201d at clearing, I saw that Applied Psychology with Clinical Psychology at the University of Kent was available. I remember feeling really surprised, as this was a good course, at a good university. I was fortunate to be accepted with minimal paperwork and stress and in the next few days I travelled down to Canterbury with my Mum to visit; I immediately loved the campus and could see myself there.<\/p>\n
I would be lying if I said I found the transition to University easy. For the first 2 years I struggled being away from home, but the quality of the course and the friends that I made at Kent kept me there. I received invaluable support from the psychology department; I am so grateful for that. Everything changed for me during my placement year, when I spent time working at the Child Heath and Paediatrics Department at East Kent Hospitals. This experience cemented the idea that I wanted to be a psychologist, and allowed me to put all of my theoretical learning from my degree into practice. Doing this placement was invaluable and I would encourage any student to do one if they can. It definitely gave me the necessary work experience that I needed to apply for future jobs, and I developed so much knowledge and confidence that has stayed with me throughout my career journey.<\/p>\n
I finished at Kent in 2016, graduating with a first class degree. This was an achievement that felt completely unrealistic for me, given my A-Level experience. I was fortunate enough to gain a job straight away as an assistant psychologist within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, where I also completed my Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy training. After this I spent time in various other assistant psychologist and therapist roles across different teams, including all-age eating disorders and autism services. I was always drawn to working psychologically in physical health settings, and completing my MSc in Health Psychology in 2020 (at UCL) secured me the research experience to enrol on to a doctorate programme. I am now one year in to my PhD in health science which I am doing alongside my Health Psychologist clinical training. I am absolutely loving this and am passionate about helping aspiring students to follow this route too; I didn\u2019t know that this was an option for me, and I post a lot about it online to try and raise awareness.<\/p>\n
In two years\u2019 time I will be dually qualified as an academic researcher and clinician, and I hope to work in children\u2019s cancer and palliative care, which is where my research is centred.<\/p>\n
Essentially what I am trying to say is that, no matter how results day goes today, it will all work out in the end.<\/p>\n
There are numerous routes to getting to where you want to be, and sometimes the ones less known are actually the best ones to take.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Clearing and the University of Kent were life-changing for me, not only for my career but also in life more generally. If I hadn\u2019t been in clearing I would never have met my now-husband, who I met in Kent during my placement year. I believe that everything will always work out if you believe it can, you might just have to step sideways and shift your perspective slightly.<\/p>\n
If anyone would like any advice or to ask any questions, please do get in touch via my social media: Instagram: landofnod__, twitter: nicolaod_, linkedin: Nicola O\u2019Donnell’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"