When I went to Casa Juan Diego on February 10, it was pouring down rain!
There were barely any patients at the clinic on this day. The patients wait outside of the clinic starting at around 3am, so it is understandable that not that many wanted to wait so long in the rain and the cold. What really tugged at my heart was the fact that there were still around 10 patients who did wait all that time in the bad weather.
I cannot imagine waiting in the rain and cold for hours just to receive medical care. I am so blessed not to have to experience this. Every time I volunteer at the clinic I am reminded that when I am actually in the healthcare profession I need to make sure to do something, anything, to help with the problem of access to healthcare.
The attitudes of the patients even after waiting in the bad weather for so long are always so positive. Even though I'm really tired on Fridays after waking up early to volunteer, I always try to maintain a good attitude because my 'suffering' is non-existent compared to those whom I am serving.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Week One of Volunteering for Molecular Biology
Hello again! I have gotten behind on blogging, but since I will be missing a few weeks, my blogs and post dates will just have to be a little incongruous for a few weeks.
Well, I continued volunteering at Casa Juan Diego up until Christmas, but after the holiday I took a few weeks off. However, starting on Feb 2 I was back at the waking up at 5:45am on Friday mornings!
For Molecular Biology we have another service learning project, so I will be continuing to volunteer at Casa Juan Diego (almost) every Friday morning.
February 2:
It felt great to be back at the clinic! I had missed all of the Catholic Workers and other volunteers who make every thing run smoothly on Fridays. I have been to the clinic enough times now to actually start recognizing some of the returning patients. I never fail to be amazed by their smiles. I cannot even begin to imagine what their lives are like, but their attitudes never seem to cease being positive. It is absolutely inspirational.
There were three doctors at the clinic this morning. It was a great reminder that when I am a doctor, I must always remember to give back to the community. The most important thing I have learned from volunteering at Casa Juan Diego is that whether I speak Spanish or not, I need to always give back to the community.
Well, I continued volunteering at Casa Juan Diego up until Christmas, but after the holiday I took a few weeks off. However, starting on Feb 2 I was back at the waking up at 5:45am on Friday mornings!
For Molecular Biology we have another service learning project, so I will be continuing to volunteer at Casa Juan Diego (almost) every Friday morning.
February 2:
It felt great to be back at the clinic! I had missed all of the Catholic Workers and other volunteers who make every thing run smoothly on Fridays. I have been to the clinic enough times now to actually start recognizing some of the returning patients. I never fail to be amazed by their smiles. I cannot even begin to imagine what their lives are like, but their attitudes never seem to cease being positive. It is absolutely inspirational.
There were three doctors at the clinic this morning. It was a great reminder that when I am a doctor, I must always remember to give back to the community. The most important thing I have learned from volunteering at Casa Juan Diego is that whether I speak Spanish or not, I need to always give back to the community.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Week Nine
So this was my last week volunteering at Casa Juan Diego for the service learning project. However, I will be continuing to spend my Friday mornings volunteering at the clinic.
This Friday was pretty laid back. Only about 15 patients showed up, and with 2 doctors, everything moved fairly quickly. All of the girls who live in the Catholic Worker House are so sweet, and I have really learned a lot from their pleasant attitudes throughout this process.
I have taken a lot away from this Service Learning Project. I have definitely learned how much of a problem access to healthcare is for so many people in our own country, and I think that I will maintain this awareness when I am a doctor. I have learned that even neurosurgeons have time to volunteer sometimes, and change lives by providing healthcare. I have learned that stereotypes are often not true and that good people are sometimes just in very unfortunate situations. What a great experience, and I am glad that it will continue, and I will continue to see inspiring people who are willing to do anything to get healthcare for themselves and their families.
Thanks for a great semester, Dr. Rosell! :)
This Friday was pretty laid back. Only about 15 patients showed up, and with 2 doctors, everything moved fairly quickly. All of the girls who live in the Catholic Worker House are so sweet, and I have really learned a lot from their pleasant attitudes throughout this process.
I have taken a lot away from this Service Learning Project. I have definitely learned how much of a problem access to healthcare is for so many people in our own country, and I think that I will maintain this awareness when I am a doctor. I have learned that even neurosurgeons have time to volunteer sometimes, and change lives by providing healthcare. I have learned that stereotypes are often not true and that good people are sometimes just in very unfortunate situations. What a great experience, and I am glad that it will continue, and I will continue to see inspiring people who are willing to do anything to get healthcare for themselves and their families.
Thanks for a great semester, Dr. Rosell! :)
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Week 8
Although we did not have clinic the day after Thanksgiving (the doctors didn't want to wake up early!), there was clinic the week before.
It was a pretty relaxed week. We had three doctors show up, so luckily everyone was taken care of! I did have an experience which I found moving and really showed me a lot about the people who I am helping with my volunteering. I was running a couple minutes late, so I hurried out of my car when I arrived at the clinic. I guess my wallet was at the top of my bag, because apparently it fell out of my bag and onto the street. About 20 minutes after I arrived, one of the volunteers handed me my wallet (which I hadn't even noticed had fallen out of my bag), and said that one of the patients had found it on the street. I was so grateful, and really touched by the fact that someone so poor would still be a good enough person to return a wallet that they found on the street, without taking anything out of it.
Sometimes it is so easy to judge people because of their appearances or the conditions in which they live. Honestly, I would have thought that some of the people who come to the clinic would have found the wallet and kept it for themselves. However, this week's incident really showed me that you can't judge a book by it's cover, and that these truly are good people who just live in unfortunate conditions. In a city with such a large Hispanic population, it is important not to judge people by their financial or economic situations, and to remember that they are people who deserve dignity (and access to healthcare), just the same as anyone else.
It was a pretty relaxed week. We had three doctors show up, so luckily everyone was taken care of! I did have an experience which I found moving and really showed me a lot about the people who I am helping with my volunteering. I was running a couple minutes late, so I hurried out of my car when I arrived at the clinic. I guess my wallet was at the top of my bag, because apparently it fell out of my bag and onto the street. About 20 minutes after I arrived, one of the volunteers handed me my wallet (which I hadn't even noticed had fallen out of my bag), and said that one of the patients had found it on the street. I was so grateful, and really touched by the fact that someone so poor would still be a good enough person to return a wallet that they found on the street, without taking anything out of it.
Sometimes it is so easy to judge people because of their appearances or the conditions in which they live. Honestly, I would have thought that some of the people who come to the clinic would have found the wallet and kept it for themselves. However, this week's incident really showed me that you can't judge a book by it's cover, and that these truly are good people who just live in unfortunate conditions. In a city with such a large Hispanic population, it is important not to judge people by their financial or economic situations, and to remember that they are people who deserve dignity (and access to healthcare), just the same as anyone else.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Reflections
Clinic was cancelled this Friday. Although I have already about 15 hours at the clinic, I am going to continue volunteering there most Fridays. The experience is very rewarding, and I have gained and continue to gain much insight about how much of a privilege healthcare is...a privilege that not everyone has.
When I become a doctor, I do not think that I will ever be fluent enough in Spanish to volunteer at Casa Juan Diego, but I think that it will be important for me to give back to those in the community who do not have access to healthcare. This summer at my internship at BCM, one of the doctors was saying that he is tired of seeing all these pre med students going on medical mission trips to other countries when there is so much poverty and lack of access to healthcare here in America. It really stood out to me when he said this. I think that it is very important for people in the medical field to recognize that although the United States is not a developing country, healthcare access is still a huge problem which is the responsibility of all healthcare professionals.
Volunteering at Casa Juan Diego not only exposes me to the poverty which is so abundant in Houston, but also makes me aware of what I may be able to do to help people now and as I continue my career in the medical field.
When I become a doctor, I do not think that I will ever be fluent enough in Spanish to volunteer at Casa Juan Diego, but I think that it will be important for me to give back to those in the community who do not have access to healthcare. This summer at my internship at BCM, one of the doctors was saying that he is tired of seeing all these pre med students going on medical mission trips to other countries when there is so much poverty and lack of access to healthcare here in America. It really stood out to me when he said this. I think that it is very important for people in the medical field to recognize that although the United States is not a developing country, healthcare access is still a huge problem which is the responsibility of all healthcare professionals.
Volunteering at Casa Juan Diego not only exposes me to the poverty which is so abundant in Houston, but also makes me aware of what I may be able to do to help people now and as I continue my career in the medical field.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Week Seven
I hadn't been to Casa Juan Diego in two weeks after being at the Phoenix conference and then one week where clinic was cancelled. It was definitely good to be back (although it was difficult to wake up early after apoptosis lab on Thursday!). This week wasn't too busy, and we were remarkably organized.
The most rewarding thing I learned this week was actually about one of the doctors who volunteers at the clinic about half of the time. He was a very esteemed neurosurgeon here in Houston when a couple of years ago he decided to shut down his practice and open a free clinic in Mexico. His wife and child continue to live in Houston, and he comes home on the weekends and some weeks, but the rest of the time he goes to mexico to provide medical care for those who cannot afford it there. As if that wasn't enough charity, he continues to volunteer free medical care for immigrants at Casa Juan Diego whenever he is in Houston. Hearing how much this doctor gives back to the community was really inspiring, and something that I think will stay with me when I become a doctor.
The most rewarding thing I learned this week was actually about one of the doctors who volunteers at the clinic about half of the time. He was a very esteemed neurosurgeon here in Houston when a couple of years ago he decided to shut down his practice and open a free clinic in Mexico. His wife and child continue to live in Houston, and he comes home on the weekends and some weeks, but the rest of the time he goes to mexico to provide medical care for those who cannot afford it there. As if that wasn't enough charity, he continues to volunteer free medical care for immigrants at Casa Juan Diego whenever he is in Houston. Hearing how much this doctor gives back to the community was really inspiring, and something that I think will stay with me when I become a doctor.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Week Five
The scheduling has been really crazy the last couple of weeks, but I never blogged about how awesome week five was! Sorry things are a bit out of order, hopefully we'll be back on track soon!
Week five was a pretty fun week. Something about the energy in the clinic was more positive than usual. There were no patients there who appeared to be really sick (which is good!) and they all seemed very friendly. Because I do not speak Spanish, the majority of my communication with the patients is through body language, AKA I smile at them a lot. Sometimes I feel guilty for smiling because when they look back at me they just look so sad. But this week everyone smiled back. You can tell but their eyes that they really are appreciative of the help they are receiving.
The only really sad thing is that we have to turn children away on Fridays. There is a pediatrician who comes to the clinic on the weekends, but the adult doctors who come on Fridays do not see pediatric patients. There was one 15 year old boy who insisted that he could be treated as an adult. Although we could not help him on that day, it really showed me that so many of the kids in these situations have to grow up really quickly. They have to deal with very hard issues at very young ages, forcing them to grow up sooner than children who don't have to deal with such difficult issues. Once again, I felt very blessed to have grown up in the way that I did!
Week five was a pretty fun week. Something about the energy in the clinic was more positive than usual. There were no patients there who appeared to be really sick (which is good!) and they all seemed very friendly. Because I do not speak Spanish, the majority of my communication with the patients is through body language, AKA I smile at them a lot. Sometimes I feel guilty for smiling because when they look back at me they just look so sad. But this week everyone smiled back. You can tell but their eyes that they really are appreciative of the help they are receiving.
The only really sad thing is that we have to turn children away on Fridays. There is a pediatrician who comes to the clinic on the weekends, but the adult doctors who come on Fridays do not see pediatric patients. There was one 15 year old boy who insisted that he could be treated as an adult. Although we could not help him on that day, it really showed me that so many of the kids in these situations have to grow up really quickly. They have to deal with very hard issues at very young ages, forcing them to grow up sooner than children who don't have to deal with such difficult issues. Once again, I felt very blessed to have grown up in the way that I did!
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