“I was surprised at how much of an influence my patients would have on me personally, as well as professionally for the future.”

As we approach the halfway mark of our service year, we’ve grown accustomed to the lifestyle of serving as AmeriCorps members at each of our respective sites. As such, it is an appropriate time to reflect on how our service year has gone, and what we anticipate for the future. In particular, one thing that I have recently given much thought to is how my perceptions and expectations for this program have changed so drastically from the beginning of the service year.

I entered Philadelphia Health Corps with a superficial understanding of what I would be expected to do throughout the service year. These duties included providing services in the form of access to care and interacting with patients on a daily basis, among others outlined in our position description. However, until I began my service year I did not realize the depth of what these duties entailed. I was surprised at how much of an influence my patients would have on me personally, as well as professionally for the future. Personally, my patients have helped me develop a better understanding that every individual you meet has a complex background that they carry with them. Professionally, I have realized that spending time and interacting with patients on a daily basis is something that I genuinely enjoy. Hearing the patients’ stories and getting to know them on a personal level is an experience in our service year that I will take with me when I (hopefully) become a physician in the future.

I can honestly say that my service year has not gone how I would have expected it to go and in no way does this imply a negative connotation. As I stated earlier, my perception of the service experience itself has drastically changed since starting, but these perceptions were not limited to service itself. I have also been pleasantly surprised by my fellow AmeriCorps members that I am fortunate enough to now call my friends. As a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, I already had a support network at home with familiar friends and family. To be quite honest, I initially did not spend an extensive amount of time with fellow PHC members as I already had comfort in a nearby community. However, as the months have gone by, I have been lucky enough to encounter some of the most wonderful and interesting people in the Philadelphia Health Corps; not only are my fellow members extremely compassionate and loving, they also share many of the same goals and aspirations as I do.  I oftentimes think to myself that it would be nice to know when you are in the “good old days” before you actually leave them; to recognize what you have before it is gone. And so...friends, comrades, fellow members: we’re in the good old days now and should take advantage of the time we have together and recognize the impact we can still provide!
 

This post was written by PHC member Samuel Kim.
Samuel serves at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health - Ambulatory Health Services as a Patient Assistance Program Advocate.