Pediatric Oncology Personal Statement

I began my undergraduate career at the University of Minnesota with every intent of working toward a nursing degree and career as a pediatric oncology nurse. My interest in the healthcare field, specifically oncology, stemmed from experiences I had volunteering and fundraising for organizations like Children’s Miracle Network throughout high school. After one semester of coursework and a few months volunteering at Masonic Children’s Hospital, I realized that nursing was not what I had imagined it to be. As I began to familiarize myself and make connections with medical professionals in the hospital, I noticed that nurses did not spend as much time with patients and their families as I had thought they would. I knew I belonged in a career where I could use my ability to empathize, communicate, and connect and interact with people of all backgrounds on a deep and meaningful level. Because of this sudden realization, I decided to pursue my interest in psychology beginning my sophomore year of college. It was apparent to me almost immediately after starting my education in this field that I was on the right path.

In order to explore and better

understand my personal research interests, I spent three years as an undergraduate research assistant at the University of Minnesota. My first experience within research was as an undergraduate assistant in Dr. Canan Karatekin’s Child Welfare Lab. To continue exploring my research interests and find a topic I was truly passionate about, I then joined Dr. Glenn Roisman’s Relationships Lab for the duration of my junior and senior year. Throughout my three years as an undergraduate research assistant I acquired research skills such as organization, coding, data entry, data analysis, and an enhanced ability in scientific writing. At the start of my senior year, I wrote a research proposal related to the work of my lab supervisor, Dr. Roisman. I submitted the proposal to the Undergraduate Research Opportunities (UROP) committee and received a grant to fund my research examining the role of early caregiving experiences in relation to later emotional language use. I presented my research findings at the University of Minnesota Undergraduate Research Symposium in April of 2015. Although I obtained invaluable experience working in both Dr. Karatekin and Dr. Roisman’s research labs, I recognized that I was not particularly interested in pursuing research related to either lab that I contributed to as an undergraduate. I had yet to discover how my passions and interests could translate into research opportunities that I was truly excited about.
Immediately after graduating from the University of Minnesota I continued my education in the Master of Counseling (MC) program at Arizona State University. It was during my second semester in the MC program that I discovered the overlap between the medical field and psychology. While researching second-year internship sites, I came across the Oncology Counseling Intern position at Banner Desert and Banner Thunderbird Medical Centers. I was awarded the position and have been working between both hospitals since the beginning of August. This internship experience has ignited a passion for me in patient care relating to integrative health, medicine, and quality of life. I feel a sense of belonging in the hospital environment and have voluntarily attended numerous Integrative Health Team meetings with the purpose of wanting to learn everything I can about the diagnoses, conditions, and treatments in relation to the patients. The importance of integrative health care relative to the mitigation of cancer specific psychosocial issues have been affirmed through my interactions with both pediatric and adult cancer patients and their families.
Aside from providing counseling for patients and their families, I have also been actively involved in a research study at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center under the direction of my supervisor, Patricia DeBruhl and radiation oncology specialist, Dr. Rachit Kumar. Our research study examines the impact of using guided imagery to reduce anxiety and increase treatment compliance in patients undergoing mask mapping and brain radiation. My involvement in this study has thus far included co-writing the research proposal, assessing whether or not patients meet the criteria to be included in our study, collaborating with patients who meet the criteria to create their personal guided imagery script, and to facilitate the development of their mindfulness skills. Once we have collected enough data, I have been asked to co-author our study results with the intent of presenting and publishing.
While medical professionals typically focus solely on the biological aspect of the patient who has been diagnosed with cancer, I envision cancer treatment in relation to Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model.

The impact of a cancer diagnosis is felt not only by the individual, but extends to their microsystem, mesosystem, and possibly their exosystem. Each interaction between these systems also have the potential to impact the individual’s treatment outcomes. I consistently hear that patients are more worried about their family members and caregivers than they are about themselves. Often it appears as though that worry manifests as psychosomatic symptoms that are typically treated with medications, rather than working to discover the source of the anxiety and control the psychosomatic symptomology through non-medical

interventions.
Many patients I have interacted with, specifically women diagnosed with breast or gynecologic cancers, express frustration concerning changes in intimacy and issues in romantic relationships. Alternatively, I have had many sessions with caregivers where I have witnessed first-hand the psychosocial and emotional toll that caring for a cancer patient can have on the caretakers. These interactions have fueled my desire to examine cancer support and resources beyond the individual patient level, extending to include family and community support as well.
I am interested in examining the impact of integrative healthcare on treatment outcomes and the implementation of integrative health into medical care settings. I am also fascinated by the psychosocial impact and quality of life for individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer, with my interest intensifying when speaking to women identifying as LGBTQ that have been diagnosed with breast or gynecologic cancers. Moreover, I am interested in researching and evaluating how professional health settings can best educate and support caregivers and community members that have been indirectly impacted by a cancer diagnosis. Each of these interests have been largely facilitated by interactions with patients and their feedback on available resources.
My career goals upon obtaining a joint Ph.D. in Social Work and Psychology from the University of Michigan include pursuing a position in academia while continuing clinical and patient advocacy work within the community. I have gained significant experience through teaching assistantships thus far and would like to continue teaching at the undergraduate or graduate level. The clinical aspect of my career is equally as important to me as I enjoy building relationships with my patients while continuing to conduct research that is based on the life changes, stressors, and needs of my patients and their support community. I am determined to be an advocate for high quality patient care, provider of innovative support and resources, and connect my clinical practice with academic resources and interests.
In my search for Ph.D. programs I have looked at programs in both social work and psychology. Prior to my internship I was unaware that social workers often hold positions in medical care settings. Throughout the past few months I have been given opportunities to observe and interact with social workers on a daily basis with the purpose of creating patient care plans and advocating for our patients during integrative health team meetings. With that said, my entire academic background is in psychology and I would like to continue my growth as a clinician and contribute to the rapidly growing field of health psychology. I believe the joint Ph.D. program in social work and psychology is the best fit for me because it provides me with the opportunity to continue on the path of psychology and further my growth as a clinician, while also being in a position to expand my knowledge from a lens that focuses on the individual, to a lens that is more inclusive of communities as a whole. I strongly believe that moving forward in my career I will best be able to serve my patients and communities by having this dual background and lens.
I was initially drawn to this program by the work of Dr. Bradley Zebrack. I first became aware of his research regarding the effects of cancer through my internship as we actively use the Impact of Cancer Scale that he developed with many of our patients. After speaking with Dr. Zebrack, my desire to continue my education at the University of Michigan was affirmed. I was grateful to have the opportunity to discuss the future directions of his research with him. Within the School of Social Work I was also intrigued by the work of Dr. Lapidos and Debra Mattison that relate to integrative health, primary care, palliative care and grief and loss. Each of these topic areas are prevalent in my internship and overlap with my research interests regarding patient care and quality of life, as well as psychosocial stressors for patients and their support system. The work of Dr. Sara McClelland in the Personality and Social Psychology Department is especially exciting as it overlaps my desire to research and develop quality of life resources for women who have been diagnosed with breast and gynecologic cancers. I recognize that Dr. Ethan Kross and Dr. Allison Earl are associated with Social Psychology rather than my indicated focus area of Personality and Social Psychology. With that said, I am intrigued by Dr. Kross’ work examining coping and regulating emotions that may compromise one’s health, and Dr. Earl’s work regarding selection, attention and disparities in health promotion. It is imperative that patients and caregivers alike have appropriate coping skills and innovative resources in order to achieve the best quality of life while working through a diagnosis.
I am confident that continuing my education at the University of Michigan provides me with the best opportunity to continue my academic growth, achieve my career goals and create change on individual, community and systematic levels.