Alumni Spotlight: Sabeena Jagdeo
Sabeena Jagdeo (she/her)
- Major: PSY BS (Spring 2022)
- Position: Clinical Assistant - Center for Lung Science
- Employer: University of Minnesota Physicians
What is your work like? What are your duties?
Responsible for pulmonary clinic intake and discharge. Tasks include obtaining vital signs, medication reconciliation, and specimen collection. Further, providing immunization administration such as influenza, pneumonia, and TDAP vaccines, conducting alpha 1 genetic testing, and phlebotomy. Additionally, coordinating patient and staff messages across various pulmonary subspecialties, along with patients’ medication refills, prior authorizations, and external medical results. Overall, I work closely with pulmonary physicians to coordinate in-clinic outpatient care.
How would you say your psychology degree has helped you with your current job?
Many individuals seen in clinic are dealing with life-changing diagnoses. Ranging from chronic pain to transplants. Thus, each individual’s mental health can vary depending on their treatment plan or current/future outcomes. Entering this space from a psychological lens allows me to create a welcoming space for each individual and understand their emotions and responses on a deeper level. Psychology courses like health psychology and stress & trauma provided me with knowledge that allowed me to understand how these individuals may react and interact with the health system, along with how their mental health may impact their treatment outcomes.
In what way has your major complemented your current job?
Biopsychology is very applicable to my current role. Learning about the intersections between biology and psychology helps me better understand the diagnoses and treatments our patients are receiving.
How did you find your current position?
I utilized the University of Minnesota Physicians Job's resource page, and Indeed to find a position within the company. Prior to working in pulmonary, I worked in the cardiology department with University of Minnesota physicians. Thus, my current role was an internal transfer which I navigated by networking with other team members and supervisors in the pulmonary department.
What advice do you have for our current psych students and recent grads?
A degree in psychology is applicable to many fields in the workforce, it's okay to not have it all figured out right now, or change fields in the future!
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