Hello!
Well this past Thursday was my final day at San Jose for the semester and much like my first day there, it was a bit strange. I arrived there at my normal time of 8:30 am however, after waiting for approximately 30 - 45 minutes I was told that the Dr. I would be with that day was not there and they did not know why. After calling him they realized they had not informed him that he was supposed to come in that day and he would be arriving in about an hour and a half. That meant that by the time he got there, I would be leaving. Therefore my last day at San Jose was spent really just sitting there waiting to see if anyone needed translations but it also happened that the rest of the stations were overbooked and had about 3 translators per physician. Though my last day was not as eventful as all my other days there, I have truly appreciated everything San Jose has done for me. It has opened my eyes to a side of healthcare that I had never known and has also shown me the type of physician I hope to become. Though I am done with the semester, I hope to continue going and translating for San Jose as this is an opportunity that would not be given to me anywhere else. Here I am allowed to learn, shadow as well as help those who truly need it. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity!
Finally signing off....
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Eek!
Ok, well Thursday was my next to last visit to the clinic. I got there and went with my typical doctor (Dr. Bellows) but much to my surprise, I was assigned to work in a different are of the clinic. They had me assigned to..... are you ready.... GYNO! I was like OH NO! but I sucked it up and went where I was needed. I must say, that was a very different experience from all my other times at the clinic but again, like when I worked in the pediatric area, now I know gynecology is not for me. To be honest, I never thought it was, but now I am pretty sure. The doctor there was very nice to me and the nurses were too. I guess I have a new respect for what they do everyday, all day. This coming Thursday will be my last visit to the clinic for the semester. I hope to continue going once finals are over but right now I can feel my body wearing down. I am exhausted all the time and Thursdays are probably the worst. Anyways, until next time!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The one and only....
... Apoptosis lab!
Hello again,
Today I did not go in to volunteer because of our apoptosis lab. Ana said it was ok with you, and not to mention I already have more than 10 hours at San Jose :)... Back to lab, it wasn't as horrible as everyone who took it previously made it seem. Not that they hate it or anything, but everyone makes it seem like a big stressful event. I stayed pretty relaxed the whole time and my day seemed to go by pretty quick. It wasn't bad being in lab and eating all day... Thank you by the way for feeding all of us! Our group was well organized and divided and conquered apoptosis!
Until next time
Hello again,
Today I did not go in to volunteer because of our apoptosis lab. Ana said it was ok with you, and not to mention I already have more than 10 hours at San Jose :)... Back to lab, it wasn't as horrible as everyone who took it previously made it seem. Not that they hate it or anything, but everyone makes it seem like a big stressful event. I stayed pretty relaxed the whole time and my day seemed to go by pretty quick. It wasn't bad being in lab and eating all day... Thank you by the way for feeding all of us! Our group was well organized and divided and conquered apoptosis!
Until next time
Thursday, October 27, 2011
wow, its tomorrow already
Hello again,
So today was trip #7 to the clinic and once again I was mentally prepared (though maybe not physically) for a veryyyy long day. Thursdays are just the worse. Clinic-Class-Lab-Work-MCAT class- Clinic-Class-Lab-Work-MCAT class- Clinic-Class-Lab-Work-MCAT class- over and over. No time to eat, definitely no time to sleep, and I think my body is starting to get tired. But it's ok, in the end it will all pay off :)
On to my time at the clinic. Today was kind of slow and fast at the same time. Ironic I know but I was back with Dr. Bellows and we only saw 2 patients this time and neither spoke one word of Spanish so I did not need to translate. They also had us for some reason working int he pediatric area. All that did was reaffirm I do not want to be a pediatrician. Hearing kids yell from 8:00 am is definitely not what I want to do for the rest of my life. You would think that since I work at an elementary school I would be used to it, but again all that did was reaffirm that I could not possibly bring myself to be an elementary school teacher, or middle or high school teacher for that matter. However, one day I would like to be a professor of something once I have finished my medical career, but only time will tell. Anyways, I had a pretty interesting conversation with one of the patients today. I figured I would stay and talk with the patient since it takes the Dr just about forever to get her the prescriptions and instead of me just sitting there waiting for him he said it was ok for me to stay in the room. She was a very nice lady with a lot of stories to tell. I could however definitely see myself speaking to patients for the rest of my life. It's amazing how grateful they are for everything the clinic is doing for them, they, much like myself, truly do understand that a clinic like San Jose is hard to find. Until next time
So today was trip #7 to the clinic and once again I was mentally prepared (though maybe not physically) for a veryyyy long day. Thursdays are just the worse. Clinic-Class-Lab-Work-MCAT class- Clinic-Class-Lab-Work-MCAT class- Clinic-Class-Lab-Work-MCAT class- over and over. No time to eat, definitely no time to sleep, and I think my body is starting to get tired. But it's ok, in the end it will all pay off :)
On to my time at the clinic. Today was kind of slow and fast at the same time. Ironic I know but I was back with Dr. Bellows and we only saw 2 patients this time and neither spoke one word of Spanish so I did not need to translate. They also had us for some reason working int he pediatric area. All that did was reaffirm I do not want to be a pediatrician. Hearing kids yell from 8:00 am is definitely not what I want to do for the rest of my life. You would think that since I work at an elementary school I would be used to it, but again all that did was reaffirm that I could not possibly bring myself to be an elementary school teacher, or middle or high school teacher for that matter. However, one day I would like to be a professor of something once I have finished my medical career, but only time will tell. Anyways, I had a pretty interesting conversation with one of the patients today. I figured I would stay and talk with the patient since it takes the Dr just about forever to get her the prescriptions and instead of me just sitting there waiting for him he said it was ok for me to stay in the room. She was a very nice lady with a lot of stories to tell. I could however definitely see myself speaking to patients for the rest of my life. It's amazing how grateful they are for everything the clinic is doing for them, they, much like myself, truly do understand that a clinic like San Jose is hard to find. Until next time
Friday, October 21, 2011
Busy ...Busy...
Hello!
Well today is my 6th trip to San Jose. I was already mentally prepared for an excruciatingly long day because it starts at 7:00am when I wake up, to the clinic by 8:30, Class all day, go to work, MCAT class from 6-10 and home by 11:00pm. However, even though it seems horrible, the less you think about it the easier it is. Today at the clinic seemed very quick. Maybe that was because my mind was somewhere else. The whole time I was going over our cell presentation since I had to present right after being at the clinic. However, during my time at the clinic, I was able to see one patient (whom I did not need to translate for) but he was in the early stages of diabetes. This seems to be a very prevalent disease at this clinic and the majority of patients I have seen have some form of it. This patient however has not really been put on medications for it since he is not fully diabetic yet and they are hoping to keep him healthy a little longer by him losing weight and exercising, which he has been doing. He lost 20 pounds since his last visit. The doctor said it is inevitable they are just hoping to prolong the full onset of it. The clinic yesterday was kind of slow so I was only able to see that one patient. I also was with a nurse practitioner this time. She is amazing with the patients and she is one of the nicest people I have ever met. She genuinely cares for her patients and gets to know them. All her patients speak very highly of her. Hopefully next time I get to see more patients.
Until next time!
Well today is my 6th trip to San Jose. I was already mentally prepared for an excruciatingly long day because it starts at 7:00am when I wake up, to the clinic by 8:30, Class all day, go to work, MCAT class from 6-10 and home by 11:00pm. However, even though it seems horrible, the less you think about it the easier it is. Today at the clinic seemed very quick. Maybe that was because my mind was somewhere else. The whole time I was going over our cell presentation since I had to present right after being at the clinic. However, during my time at the clinic, I was able to see one patient (whom I did not need to translate for) but he was in the early stages of diabetes. This seems to be a very prevalent disease at this clinic and the majority of patients I have seen have some form of it. This patient however has not really been put on medications for it since he is not fully diabetic yet and they are hoping to keep him healthy a little longer by him losing weight and exercising, which he has been doing. He lost 20 pounds since his last visit. The doctor said it is inevitable they are just hoping to prolong the full onset of it. The clinic yesterday was kind of slow so I was only able to see that one patient. I also was with a nurse practitioner this time. She is amazing with the patients and she is one of the nicest people I have ever met. She genuinely cares for her patients and gets to know them. All her patients speak very highly of her. Hopefully next time I get to see more patients.
Until next time!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
I wish I may... I wish I might...
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Today was one of those days where you stop and think but before I do that I guess I must go back some. Recently a lady from La Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (the medical school in Mexico) asked me to consider applying to their program. I was obviously reluctant because I want to stay home or at least in the United States. Not that there is anything wrong with Mexico, but home is here for me. So back to today, at the clinic, I was deeply saddened at the way some of the personnel there treat the patients. The physicians are all amazing and do the best with what they can but some of the medical assistants, LVN's, etc treat the patients as if they were inferior and a bother. The majority of the nurses and assistants there are Hispanic who speak better Spanish than they probably do English, however I HARDLY ever see them speak to a patient in Spanish. Instead they just bark out commands: "Sit down", "Stay in your room", "I already told you..." which in turn just scares the patient more since they don't understand and they are being yelled at at the same time. I have also seen these nurses walk in the room without saying a work, toss things around until they find what they want, take a throat culture, blood sample, etc. and just leave the room without saying a word to the patient. This... I cannot find words for. It makes you sad and angry and confused all at the same time because you cannot understand how people can be this way. At the same time this whole experience is making me realize the type of person and hopefully one day physician that I do not wish to become and will do my best to always keep that in mind. These patients are not coming to the clinic for fun, they need our help and to take that position for granted.. its just .. I don't even know what to call it. As I do my best to translate for these patients, I find myself stumbling on words that are obviously not in everyday home Spanish (unless you come from a family of doctors which I do not) like triglycerides, lipids, BMI, etc. Even coming home and asking what the words are, my parents cannot tell me. Today I fully understood how much these patients need me. And not me per say but the translations I am providing. I understood that a little extra effort goes a long way as a patient left in tears as she was hugging me for being such a help as she explained to me she's usually scared to ask questions because she felt people were bothered. Another patient told me how proud she was of me for going to school, and aspiring something better for myself, as often times our culture seems to fall short in. Like I said today was really an eye opener. Maybe going to school in Mexico wouldn't be such a bad idea after all. I would love to become completely fluent , dive completely into the culture that I love so much, and essentially help end this gap between Spanish speakers and their doctors. I feel like a child wishing to be an astronaut or something, but like Gandhi said: I must be the change I wish to see in the world.
Until next time...
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Zooooom!
Hello again,
Last week's visit to the clinic just seemed to drag on and it was amazing how time seemed to go so fast this week. It seemed like I had just gotten there, and like nothing, the two hours were gone and it was time for me to leave. Also, today I actually had to do quite a bit of translating which could have also made it seem faster. Our first patient was one of the first patients in all my visits that actually physically appeared sick. Of course the others were sick or had something wrong but you couldn't tell just by looking at them. This patient however, right away could tell that she was feeling horrible. Dr. Bellows let me look at her throat and asked me what was unusual about it. Of course I am no throat specialist but I could clearly see little white sacs that just looked attached to her tonsils. He told me those were pus sacs and tested her for strep throat which came back negative. Nice of the patient to actually let me look. I think she was just feeling so bad and wanted someone to make her feel better, no matter who it was. We gave her good medicine so hopefully she can be on her way again. Today we also had our first young patient. I guess since there is a pediatric section, we don't really get to see young people. She was 17 so I guess that was too old for pediatrics. This patient was also very rude and very short with the doctor (I'm assuming because she is just young and a bit immature) however the doctor remained professional even though the reason for her visit was a little strange and the doctor didn't really know what to tell her without offending her. She pretty much got sent home with the "prescription" of "stop wearing sweaters while its still hot and wear deodorant!" Dr. Bellows also spoke to me today about his time as a doctor and how when he first began his surgical career, anesthesia methods and monitoring devices were MUCH different than they are today. I guess we never really pay attention to how lucky we are to have so much technology and how much safer and effective it has made medicine. I really enjoyed my time at the clinic today and hope to continue to learn and experience more.
Last week's visit to the clinic just seemed to drag on and it was amazing how time seemed to go so fast this week. It seemed like I had just gotten there, and like nothing, the two hours were gone and it was time for me to leave. Also, today I actually had to do quite a bit of translating which could have also made it seem faster. Our first patient was one of the first patients in all my visits that actually physically appeared sick. Of course the others were sick or had something wrong but you couldn't tell just by looking at them. This patient however, right away could tell that she was feeling horrible. Dr. Bellows let me look at her throat and asked me what was unusual about it. Of course I am no throat specialist but I could clearly see little white sacs that just looked attached to her tonsils. He told me those were pus sacs and tested her for strep throat which came back negative. Nice of the patient to actually let me look. I think she was just feeling so bad and wanted someone to make her feel better, no matter who it was. We gave her good medicine so hopefully she can be on her way again. Today we also had our first young patient. I guess since there is a pediatric section, we don't really get to see young people. She was 17 so I guess that was too old for pediatrics. This patient was also very rude and very short with the doctor (I'm assuming because she is just young and a bit immature) however the doctor remained professional even though the reason for her visit was a little strange and the doctor didn't really know what to tell her without offending her. She pretty much got sent home with the "prescription" of "stop wearing sweaters while its still hot and wear deodorant!" Dr. Bellows also spoke to me today about his time as a doctor and how when he first began his surgical career, anesthesia methods and monitoring devices were MUCH different than they are today. I guess we never really pay attention to how lucky we are to have so much technology and how much safer and effective it has made medicine. I really enjoyed my time at the clinic today and hope to continue to learn and experience more.
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