Reflecting on My Year

As the NHC service term is winding down, I find myself at a crossroads. One part of me eagerly looks forward, counting down the days until I begin medical school. The other part of me thoughtfully looks back, finally realizing how important my experiences this past year truly are. Looking at my experiences this past year, it is easy to see things on the small scale. I see how my clients feel at ease when I utilize a telephonic interpreter to discuss issues that have been weighing them down. I hear the appreciation in their voices after I have spent half a day with them not only assisting them with their primary care provider appointment, but taking them to the pharmacy to get their medications afterwards. While I see the impact of my kindness and cultural awareness on individual clients, I am just now beginning to realize how impactful the skills I have learned through my NHC service term are on my life and my plans moving forward.

At the Nationalities Service Center I serve as a clinic liaison, interacting with refugees and asylees from around the world. In addition to being in a foreign country and learning new customs, many of the clients I work with speak a very limited amount of English. I have seen how excellent healthcare services can be when providers and office staff show patience, cultural awareness, and utilize interpreters when caring for my clients. I have also witnessed how the system quickly becomes frustrating when staff become annoyed at my clients because they do not understand things when they speak at a normal pace or are unable to fill out basic registration paperwork because English is not their first language. Before my year with NHC, it never really dawned on me how difficult it might be to receive care if you are not an English speaker because I have never had to deal with that struggle. After working with my clients for the past year and experiencing their frustrations firsthand, I know that the difficulties they have encountered will stick with me as I make my way through medical school. I have witnessed how providers feel uncomfortable or intimidated when they have to use interpreters during appointments. Exposure to differences in language capabilities this year has made me much more comfortable with the challenge of communicating with clients who do not share the same first language as me and motivated me to not let it get in the way when I become a practicing physician. 

Along with all of the interpersonal skills I have learned and developed over the course of the service term, my NHC year has also been impactful because it has reaffirmed my desire to become a doctor. At this time last year I was a mess. To the outside world, it appeared as though I was fully convinced about medical school. But deep down, there were some doubts in my heart about whether it was the right path for me. I was not sure if I wanted to go to school for four more years and felt very intimidated by the rigorous application and interview process required to go to medical school. A part of me wondered if it was all worth it. But now, having met with clients every day to discuss health issues, schedule appointments, figure out insurance problems, and get medications, along with shadowing physicians and nurses and interacting with staff at various clinic sites, I have never felt more confident about my decision to attend medical school. I know now just how much I love helping people, listening to their stories, and providing them with resources and guidance to improve their lives.

Coming into NHC Philadelphia, I was not sure what to expect. I knew it would be crazy, exciting, and physically and emotionally taxing, but never could I have imagined how much I could learn in the span of ten months. Taking a year before medical school to gain some real world experience was nerve wracking to say the least. But as the year winds down and I look back on what I have done and seen this past year, I see how my service term in going to have a lasting impact as I move on to the next chapter of my life.look forward to seeing how my year with NHC will continue to shape me in the future.

 IMAGE: http://thebolus.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/medicaltourism.jpeg

This blog post was written by NHC Philadelphia member Sheela Gogula.
Sheela serves as a Clinic Liaision at Nationalities Services Center.