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Volunteering Experience In Nursing Home

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As I stood outside St. Joseph’s Nursing home at 8:00am on a cold November morning, I could feel my palms sweating and my heart racing as I was about to start my first day of volunteering. Part of my initiation as a young adult in the Catholic church was a requirement for twenty hours of community service and for the sheer convenience of being on a weekend, I chose to volunteer at the nursing home. On my first day I was amazed to see how the dedication of the medical staff created a positive environment filled with creative activities for the residents. From organizing games that encourage physical and mental exercise to reading books to the residents, the experiences I had over the next few weeks made it clear to me that a patient’s emotional …show more content…
Although various volunteering experiences provided me with insights into the different aspects of the medical field – from the impact of health insurance on healthcare to the vital role of nurses – volunteering in the “Critical Care Unit” at Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center for the past two years has been by far my most challenging, yet rewarding experience in a hospital. Patients in this ward often are often severely injured or battling life threatening diseases. I had been in the department for only two months when I experienced the loss of a patient for the first time. A patient who was placed on life support was about to be taken off the ventilator. A priest was called to read the final rights and there was muffled crying from the family of the patient. Finally, the machine was turned off and I watched the despondency in the staff as his body was covered and transported away. It was then that I began to reflect on the immense responsibility I would be undertaking as a physician comforting both patients and their families in some of the most trying and vulnerable times in their lives. Nevertheless, the integrity and kindness with which the doctor and nurses comforted the family affirmed for me the ability of medicine to impact people’s lives …show more content…
Specifically, I had the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge acquired in a classroom to contribute to research in these fields. Not only did this experience provide me with practical skills of communication through professional writing, collaborating with other researchers and novel investigative techniques, but also demonstrated the vital codependence between physicians and researchers. Scientific research provides insights into the inner working of a human body and enables the invention of innovative treatments and therapeutic drugs, while physicians deliver these treatments and provide feedback to guide further research. Additionally, with the exponentially advancing knowledge in the field of medicine in the next few decades, I realize that my effectiveness as a physician will significantly depend on my ability to adapt and integrate new knowledge into existing techniques within medicine. I believe my experience with research has prepared me well for this

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