Journal #8 for the Community Clinic

Sara Johnston
6 April 2007
MIDS 201

Journal Entry #8

At first, I did not think my volunteerism at the Clinic would benefit me or others very much. I spent a lot of time standing around waiting for someone to give me something to do. But the more time I spent there, the more I learned what things needed to be done. Anytime there was a lull in rooming or triaging patients, there were always charts that needed to be re-filed. I also did not realize the value of being able to talk to the other volunteers. There is one man in particular. His nametag says James, but everyone calls him Butch. He at first seems a little strange, with some missing teeth, a ponytail, and a gravelly voice. He’s very personable though, and loves all of “his girls” who help him. Everyone teases him about all the girls that help him with the triaging on clinic days. He likes to tell us all stories from his life, ranging from his military service in Vietnam to the “real” carne asada burritos that he can only get in southern California. It’s also great to be able to talk to some of the doctors about their experiences in medical school, and what fields they think we pre-meds should or should not enter.


I also did not think I was providing any kind of great service to the patients. What I was doing, almost anyone could easily do, I thought. I now realize that it doesn’t matter that anyone can do it- they’re not doing it; I am. I was with Dr. A yesterday with a patient. When Dr. A was finished, the patient thanked him for just talking to them. I knew that I had helped put the patient in the room and get them ready for a doctor. At one point, I was standing waiting for more patients to room or triage. A doctor came out of a room and said he needed a female nurse. He had a female patient with a boil on her rear-end and needed a nurse to help drain it, and he needed a female in there with him because he was working in a delicate area on a woman. Anytime his nurse had to leave to go get something, she would pull me in the room so there would be a female in there at all times. I talked to the patient, and we even joked. She was not upset, and it felt so good to help her relax during an obviously painful and embarrassing time. I knew that this was not something everyone could do- some people might be grossed out or embarrassed by the situation. I was not, and realized how much I had served that patient. She also served me, by letting me know that I could handle that kind of situation and be able to comfort someone, which is what the medical profession is all about.


Some might also think that office work is menial and unimportant. I beg to differ. Addressing, stuffing, and licking envelopes for the Clinic newsletter is not unimportant- it lets all of the volunteers and others who come across it know what happens at the Clinic and how they can help. Stamping hundreds of appointment cards is not unimportant- that is how the patients stay in contact with the Clinic and know when to come back. When I stamped the cards, I had a few old ones to look at- I couldn’t believe how crooked and off-center some of the stamps were. It made me mad that whoever had done those hadn’t taken the extra half-second to try and make the cards look nice. Those cards reflect the Clinic and the people who work and volunteer there. I think I now understand why there was all of the red tape in the beginning to start my volunteerism. The Clinic only wants hard-working, dedicated individuals who will take what they are doing seriously. It doesn’t really matter what your letters of recommendation say- all of them are basically the same, promoting the individual. What matters is the fact that you took the time to fill out the application and to seek professionals to provide the letters. This is the essence of anything: as long as you put forth the effort, good things will come of it.