Portfolio: BSc Public Health Skills, Experience and Future Career

This portfolio provides a detailed account of a student's journey, highlighting their skills and experiences gained during their BSc in Public Health from the University of Greenwich. The document explores how the student's understanding of behavioral change and the environment shaped their approach to healthcare, emphasizing kindness and empathy. The portfolio showcases personal experiences, academic activities, and work experiences, specifically focusing on the development of research capabilities and communication skills. The student's ambition to become a Mental Health Nurse is driven by personal experiences with PTSD and a desire to support others facing similar challenges. The document outlines the student's academic background, including their work as a Support Worker and volunteer roles, demonstrating a commitment to mental health advocacy and support. It further articulates the student's career goals and aspirations, emphasizing the importance of higher education in achieving their professional objectives.

Portfolio
Name of the Student:
Name of University:
Author’s note

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Introduction
Skills are pre-requisite in any professional endeavours and are crucial to attain
professional competences. Skills in the nursing professional also hold significant importance.
Proper development of the nursing skills helps to excel in professional career. Skills are either
developed during the course of the academic studies or are gained with the help of the
professional exposure or during the clinical placement. I have also helped significant level of the
nursing skills during my undergraduate course where I studied BSc in Public Health from the
University of Greenwich. My tenure as an undergraduate nursing professionals helped me to
understand how behavioural change and the surrounding environment helped in shaping up the
overall health and well-being of a healthcare service users. This understanding helped me to
refine my behavioural approach and understand my importance of kindness and empathy in the
nursing profession.
This portfolio will provide a detailed representation of my personal experiences,
knowledge and study ideas that I obtained during the course of study. The following is a
reassessment of the academic sessions, activities and exercises and how it helped to elaborate or
how it helped me to gain knowledge from the previous studies. The portfolio will also elaborate
how the work-experiences can be comprehensively utilized for enhancing the overall
professional development. The portfolio will also review the academic exercises that have been
successfully completed and academic classes that have been attended during the undergraduate
levels and how those exercises and classes helped me to gain the knowledge and skills that is
crucial in the nursing professional. The portfolio will also aim to throw light on the how I gained
research capabilities and other interpersonal communication skills during my clinical placement
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or while doing practical classes in the under graduate levels. At the end the portfolio will
highlight the effects of the previous studies and how it has helped me to shape up my personal
and professionals’ development and how these skills will affect my professional practice.
The portfolio takes a broad approach during the documentation of my personal account of
how the aforesaid previous graduate skills and knowledge could be replicated in the future career
in the nursing profession.
Nursing Personal Statement
My ambition to become a Mental Health Nurse has developed as a consequence of my
own experiences. During my stay in my homeland Uganda, I was suffering from post-traumatic
shock disorder. According to the official description illustrated by the National Institute of
Mental Health (NIMH), post-traumatic shock or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) develops
in some people who have previously gone through certain shocking or scary or traumatic
experience. It is obvious to feel afraid during and after the exposure of the PTSD. Sudden
exposure to fear triggers numerous split-second changes in the body and thus helping the body to
avoid the aftermath of the shock. A range of reactions are being experienced by each of the
individuals who have gone through the phase of shock. While majority of the people recover
from the initial symptoms of shock, few continue to experience problems like a constant feeling
of stress, depression or anxiety even when there is no danger. This group of individuals are said
to be the victim of PTSD and I was one of the chosen few. Psychotherapy or the “talk” therapy
along with the use of the proper medications helps to recover from PTSD. In my home-town,
mental health complications are look down upon and I being a victim of PTSD was stigmatised
and received no significant help from my peers. This delayed my overall process of mental
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health recovery. When I visited to UK to complete pursue my undergraduate in cause in nursing,
I received help from the occupational therapists in my workplace where I was able to find my
ways to fight through my distress. My recovery from the PTSD under the help of the
occupational therapists helped me to understand the importance of proper mental support for
mental healthcare. This inspired me to work for the others who are also suffering from similar
mental health complications and to offer them support and counselling as per my best
knowledge. At present I would like for formalise this ambition and study the subject of mental
health in detail so I that can extend professional help to the mental health patient as a Mental
Health Nursing Professional. According to the statistics published by the Mental Health
Foundation UK, every one of the six adults suffer from common mental health problems like
depression and anxiety and every one out of the five adults has considered taking their life or
committing suicide at certain point of time in their life as they are unable to cope with the mental
complications. Metal Health Foundation UK also helped me to understand that majority of the
people who are suffering from mental health problems recover fully and are able to live a healthy
life if they receive early help. However, even though there is a high rate of occurrence of the
mental health, there is a strong social stigma attached with the mental illness and people who are
suffering from the mental health problems experience discrimination under all aspects of their
lives. The mental health problems are further made worse under social stigmatization and
discrimination. By perusing my degree as a mental health nurse, I want to support these
individuals who are suffering from the mental health problems and are victims of stigmatization
and discrimination.
I began to peruse my higher study in Social Science in Uganda. However, I left the
degree incomplete and emigrated to the UK and completed by graduation in the Public Health
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from the University of Greenwich in the year 2015. This course helped me to understand the
central issues in the Mental Health of the mass like poverty, inequality, exclusion, behavioural
change, environment and housing and well-being. During my study in the Public Health, I wrote
an article regarding the effect of the housing crisis in the UK’s vulnerable group of population
and its associated health related consequences. I also conducted by graduation dissertation in
order to elucidate the effect of Mental Health and the development of HIV/AIDs.
For the past one year I am working as a Support Worker for the Healthcotes Group and
provide caring for the young adults suffering from the Mental Health complications, learning
disabilities and autism. I mainly provide emotional support to these mental health service users
by the use of the effective communication skills and indulging into trustworthy relationship with
the clients and thus providing them mental support and confidence to overcome their mental
phobia. I also indulge them in the community based activities like swimming, bike riding and
group cinema watching. Group based activities helps to improve their mental state of mind and
activities like swimming help them to stay physically fit. I also provide mental health counselling
to overcome substance abuse among the mental health service users. I love to indulge myself in
diverse profession in order to improve by nursing skills. Thus, in between my busy schedule I
also make time to work as a Triage Volunteer for the homeless charity Providence Row that
provides care to the people suffering from mental health problems along with substance abuse. It
helps me to get a mental peace and helps me to connect with my love for social science. I
conduct admin tasks and my knowledge about the public health helps me to make the initial
assessments of the client needs. Apart from working for the admin tasks, I also work in the
welcome area. I love to interact with the new clients and this also helps to me refine my
communication and observational skills. I live to interact with the new clients, knowing their
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concerns and finding out ways in which I can help them. Previously, I used for work for the
Newham Health Watch. I mainly worked in the community based healthcare settings in order to
promote patients empowerment in the domain of the social care services and their effective
relationships with health. PPL Care Services was also my previous employer who provides care
for the disabled individuals.
In the majority of the time I worked or is working under the community based healthcare
settings as it helps me to come across a diverse group of people from different cultural and ethnic
background who are suffering from complex mental health conditions. This helps me to increase
my level of culturally competencies and to understand the differing health needs of the people
who are suffering from the mental health problems. Working under the variety of placements and
working with diverse group of people also helped me to improve by effective communication
skills, both verbal and non-verbal communication skills and thereby helping me to refine my
nursing skills as a mental health counsellor. I think as an individual or as a graduate nurses, one
of my biggest assets in my ability of community effortlessly with new people and listen to their
concerns with genuine interests and due respect. Communicating effortlessly with the mental
health service users helped me to extract their lived experiences and this helped me to understand
how making positive influence in the life of the people helped them to overcome their mental
health problems. Working under diverse healthcare settings also helped me to work under
pressure and in a methodological way. My job experience also helped me to flourish personally
as it helped me to become more organised. This helped me schedule time for my study, work and
personal care. I think being organised is one of the essential skill of a nursing professional as it
helps to handle pressure in the work place while effectively handling compassion fatigue,
occupational stress and burnout. At present I am committed to my career goal and a confident
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enough that I have the desired maturity, the required imagination and the sense of responsibility
to succeed in my professional life. I strongly believe my wealth of experience underpinned by
my professional knowledge with the help of the higher education will help me to increase my
adequate competencies that is required to do perform extremely well nursing professional and
higher studies in nursing in the masters level,
I want to do my masters in the mental health because studying mental health nursing will
help me to educate myself about the academic theories of the psychology that underpins mental
health nursing practice. Understanding the academic theories for the mental health will further
helped me to develop person-centred healthcare plan. It will also assist me to further understand
the different range of the nursing ethics and how to combat with the nursing dilemmas during
delivering mental healthcare services. Moreover, it will enable me to gain a proper understanding
of the social structures which affect equality and human rights in the mental health like the
mental rights of autonomy and informed consent. I am also truly aware that studying masters in
the mental health is rigorous job however, I have no doubt that my dedication, hard work and
excellence in my undergraduate course will help me to provide the required confidence and
commitment of becoming as a strong Mental Health Nurse.
I am also hopeful that towards the end of by master program I will be equipped with the
relevant and appropriate theoretical and practical language to investigate and evaluate new
methods for the patient assessment in the domain of the mental health interventions.
Furthermore, learning during the entire course will help me to expose with a diverse range of
perspectives and experiences on the mode of the service delivery and receipt of the social
services that will enable me to engage me in a comprehensive manner in the mode of the modern
service delivery. I am a motivated yet enthusiastic learner with the aptitude to complete my
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proposed master course with full dedication and hoping that it confirms my successes as a mental
healthcare nurse.
Curriculum Vitae
 Name: Henry Kasasa Address: Mobile number: Email:
Profile
I have completed my graduation in the Public Health from the University of Greenwich
in the year 2015. I have in-depth knowledge about the mental healthcare, role of environment,
housing, social exclusion and inequalities affecting the mental and physical health of the
individuals. I have done my dissertation in the relationship between mental health and
HIV/AIDS. By professional experience of working as a support group worker in the several
mental healthcare support programs have helped me to excel on the effective communication
skills, ability to conduct mental health counselling and to conduct administrative work.
Education
 2002 to 2005: BA in social science from Makerere University (Uganda)
 2015: Graduation in the Public Health at the University of Greenwich
Modules completed during the under graduation
1. Applied ethics
2. Behavioural change
3, Health promotion
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4. Introduction to epidemiology
5. Introduction to research process
6. Analysis of health needs
7. Cultural competency in health and social care
8. Poverty inequality and exclusion
9. Health Economics and policy
 Distance course: PMVA (Prevention Management of Violence and Aggression) training
 Currently I am in my final year of University studying Management in Health and Social
care
Topics covered
1. Global context of public health
2. Employment based learning
3. Environment housing and well-being
 Dissertation topic (07/2012 to 09/2012): relationship between mental health and
HIV AIDS (Cornwall College Hackney)
 Obtained certificate in customer service team leading and door supervisin
Employment History
Year Name of the
organisation
Job role Key job duties
2010 to Nile Association Volunteer Helping vulnerable groups with the help of
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2011 proper fund raising and by conductive
administrative duties
Feb 2012 to
September
2013
PPL Care Services
in Oxford
Care giver Target population: Disabled individuals.
Indulging into effective communications with
the disabled individuals in order to understand
their prime care needs of the clinical priorities
and thereby designing the person-centred care
plan accordingly
I also work in line with the development of the
patients’ care plan while supporting the newly
recruited staffs by acting as “buddy” and
simultaneously reporting back to the coordinator
as requested and proper reporting of the chance
in the health and well-being of the clinet
Feb 2016 to
Feb 2017
HeathCotes
Group/Chartswort
h Care
Support Worker Providing emotional support to the young adults
with mental health problems, autism and
learning disability with the help of effective
counselling and participation in the community
based activities.
Ensuring that the people who are suffering from
the autisms are assisted with proper social
surroundings in order to improve their living
condition
Feb 2017 to
Feb 2018
Inclusive Care
support Ltd
Support worker Supporting clients suffering from the Autism
Spectrum disorder and other learning disabilities
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in order to conduct the activities of daily living
Other duties include assistance to perform
personal care, domestic duties, medication
administration, feeding and assessing their health
needs and making them to participate in the
community based health assessment
Feb 2017 to
present
Homeless Charity
Providence Row
Triage Volunteer Carryout tasks of admin and making the initial
assessments of the client needs. Mainly focused
on people with alcohol abuse, mental illness and
other health-related problems
Feb 2015 to
present
Newham Health
Watch
Community
outreach officer
Carrying out community engagement for
empowering the patients to take active part in
satisfying their healthcare and social care needs.
Other duties include entering information in the
health watch database, analysis of the patients’
feedbacks and incorporating proper information
in the clinical codes
2019 Current employer:
Priors Court
School
Autism
practitioner
Supporting children suffering from autism in
school and assisting them in performing the
activities of daily living and other community
based activities like swimming, walks off site
activities like going for holidays and other group
based picnics
June 2017
to present
Hospital Mental health
support worker
Working under both hospitals and community
based settings.
Main duties involved: Supporting clients with
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their rehabilitation and integrating them into the
community based social activities or health care
settings and also engaging them in domestic
duties, leisure activities and conducting health
need assessment
Additional skills
 Excellent reading and writing skills
 Writing grammatically sound content
 Addressing administrative letters
 Developing posters and power-point presentations for the promotion of the interactive
activities with the mental health care service users
 Effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills
 Performing proper health need assessment of the mental healthcare service users
 Working in partnership with the team members
 Sound decision making skills
 Excellent proficiency in critical thinking skills
 Team building skills
 Leadership skills
 Having sound knowledge about Microsoft word, excel and power-point presentation
Interests
 I am ardent sports fan
 I am a member of local football team and participate in football games in every weekend
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