I emailed Sam to email my volunteer hours directly, saving the trouble of printing out the form and going to the clinic to get it signed.
This semester has just flown by, and I can't believe the Med Micro final is in a week. The service learning aspect of the course has by far been one of the most interesting parts of my college education to date. I feel like I am leaving the course not only with new knowledge about diseases relevant to everyday life but also with knowledge about health care at an underserved clinic.
New experiences and realizations I gained this semester range from volunteering at Art with Heart to learning the greater necessity of medical profession Spanish. I need to learn some more working Spanish before I go to El Salvador in order to ease the experience there.
Overall, this service-learning experience has been well worth the effort and should definitely be continued in the future.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Swine Flu
Panic about Swine Flu is setting in as schools close around Houston, and weekend events are being canceled. One girl at Episcopal High School in Bellaire was diagnosed with Swine Flu, but she has been treated and fully recovered. The one toddler who died due to Swine Flu apparently spent the day at the Galleria the day before he started showing symptoms of Swine Flu. This caused local news outlets to react with their usual scare tactics, causing pandemonium in communities.
Education Rainbow Challenge is a major event that occurs once in the fall and once in the spring where elementary and middle school children compete in math and science competitions. The American Chemical Society always volunteers at the event and show chemistry demonstrations for the kids and parents. However, due to this Swine Flu scare, the event has been canceled. This is such a shame since approximately 600 children attend the event, and UST always brings about 60 - 90 volunteers.
I have been paying close attention to reports on Swine Flu, reading emails from the embassy in El Salvador about the situation there. As of right now, there are no reports of Swine Flu in El Salvador, but I am slightly worried about traveling for the medical mission trip in two weeks. Stay tuned to find out any updates!
Education Rainbow Challenge is a major event that occurs once in the fall and once in the spring where elementary and middle school children compete in math and science competitions. The American Chemical Society always volunteers at the event and show chemistry demonstrations for the kids and parents. However, due to this Swine Flu scare, the event has been canceled. This is such a shame since approximately 600 children attend the event, and UST always brings about 60 - 90 volunteers.
I have been paying close attention to reports on Swine Flu, reading emails from the embassy in El Salvador about the situation there. As of right now, there are no reports of Swine Flu in El Salvador, but I am slightly worried about traveling for the medical mission trip in two weeks. Stay tuned to find out any updates!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Art with Heart
Last night was the 3rd annual Art with Heart fundraiser for San Jose Clinic. I arrived at 4:30p.m. to volunteer, and I ended up learning how to use the electronic tablets used for the art auction. I would be working the tables throughout the night to help people make bids on items.
I was on my feet all evening as people came up to me asking for help, placing bids, and checking on the status of bids already placed. I absolutely loved a painting titled "Rose" and was actually interested in bidding on it myself. It ended up going for $240 at the end of the night. Overall, the event raised almost $70,000. Personally, I thought they would've raised more, but there was a lot of art that went unsold at the end of the night, which was slightly sad.
The Cardinal showed up, and they had a live auction of his portrait, which went for $5000. The man who won it ended up donating the portrait to San Jose, so that was a really touching moment. Matress Mac of Gallery Furniture was actually the speaker for the live auction, and he was very funny.
I am really glad I got to be a part of Art with Heart as both a volunteer from San Jose and a volunteer from Tri-Beta. I met a lot of great people, saw workers from the clinic outside of the professional setting, and got to see local artists who actually put their work into the auction. It was a different experience, and I'll be interested in coming next year as either a volunteer or bidder.
I was on my feet all evening as people came up to me asking for help, placing bids, and checking on the status of bids already placed. I absolutely loved a painting titled "Rose" and was actually interested in bidding on it myself. It ended up going for $240 at the end of the night. Overall, the event raised almost $70,000. Personally, I thought they would've raised more, but there was a lot of art that went unsold at the end of the night, which was slightly sad.
The Cardinal showed up, and they had a live auction of his portrait, which went for $5000. The man who won it ended up donating the portrait to San Jose, so that was a really touching moment. Matress Mac of Gallery Furniture was actually the speaker for the live auction, and he was very funny.
I am really glad I got to be a part of Art with Heart as both a volunteer from San Jose and a volunteer from Tri-Beta. I met a lot of great people, saw workers from the clinic outside of the professional setting, and got to see local artists who actually put their work into the auction. It was a different experience, and I'll be interested in coming next year as either a volunteer or bidder.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Art for Heart
Sam Sherman came to UST yesterday at noon to train volunteers on using electronic tablets for the auction fundraiser to be held on Saturday, April 25th. Tri-Beta members will he helping with the auctioning and food running. It is our major volunteer event for this spring semester.
I was unable to make the training session yesterday because I had to go to the Children's Museum for the ACS Earth Day event, but I will be on the food station at Art for Heart. I look forward to helping out with this fundraising event for such a good and deserving clinic.
I was unable to make the training session yesterday because I had to go to the Children's Museum for the ACS Earth Day event, but I will be on the food station at Art for Heart. I look forward to helping out with this fundraising event for such a good and deserving clinic.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Holiday
San Jose was closed for the Easter Holiday, so I was not able to volunteer this week either. However, I will be more involved in the coming weeks since Tri-Beta is working with San Jose for their Art with Heart fundraiser. Now that I'm familiar with the place, I am excited to help in any way I can.
The global economic recession has really hit home for me lately and made me realize just how much the health care industry is affected by it. My mother owns her own plastic surgery clinic, but with the down economy, people are not coming in for elective surgery. Patients cannot afford unnecessary surgery or time off from work, and this has really hit the company hard.
Plastic and cosmetic surgery runs under differing circumstances compared to health care covered by insurance and extremely differently than a place like San Jose. Events lately have me really looking at the logistics behind organizations and how things are really run from a financial aspect. This is the side of health care people do not see.
Anyways, happy Easter!
The global economic recession has really hit home for me lately and made me realize just how much the health care industry is affected by it. My mother owns her own plastic surgery clinic, but with the down economy, people are not coming in for elective surgery. Patients cannot afford unnecessary surgery or time off from work, and this has really hit the company hard.
Plastic and cosmetic surgery runs under differing circumstances compared to health care covered by insurance and extremely differently than a place like San Jose. Events lately have me really looking at the logistics behind organizations and how things are really run from a financial aspect. This is the side of health care people do not see.
Anyways, happy Easter!
Sunday, April 5, 2009
My Own Health
It was a long week, and I had a lot of personal things going on which meant I could not make it to San Jose this week. It's a long story, interesting yet irrelevant to this blog. However, I definitely plan on volunteering this coming week.
My time at San Jose has been really eye-opening, and I'm truly glad that I had the opportunity to volunteer there this semester. What began as a service learning assignment for Medical Microbiology turned into an enjoyable and highly informative real-life experience in a different aspect of the medical field.
No matter what emotional things happen in my life, it all seems so trivial to the realities of low-income health care. I feel lucky to have been given so much in my life, and I do not plan on taking it for granted. If anything, I am lucky to have health insurance and not be burdened by the possibilities of outrageous health care bills should an emergency occur.
Comparing my parents' plastic surgery clinic to something like San Jose, the two are drastically different in the way they are run, and each has their own unique good and bad aspects. My mother recently talked to me about our business, and the economy has hit it hard. People just do not have the income anymore to have as much voluntary plastic surgery. An underserved clinic like San Jose, however, is always in need because they provide primary care necessary for maintaining basic health.
Easter break is almost here, and I will have more time not only to volunteer but also contemplate on a lot of things about San Jose, medicine, and life in general.
My time at San Jose has been really eye-opening, and I'm truly glad that I had the opportunity to volunteer there this semester. What began as a service learning assignment for Medical Microbiology turned into an enjoyable and highly informative real-life experience in a different aspect of the medical field.
No matter what emotional things happen in my life, it all seems so trivial to the realities of low-income health care. I feel lucky to have been given so much in my life, and I do not plan on taking it for granted. If anything, I am lucky to have health insurance and not be burdened by the possibilities of outrageous health care bills should an emergency occur.
Comparing my parents' plastic surgery clinic to something like San Jose, the two are drastically different in the way they are run, and each has their own unique good and bad aspects. My mother recently talked to me about our business, and the economy has hit it hard. People just do not have the income anymore to have as much voluntary plastic surgery. An underserved clinic like San Jose, however, is always in need because they provide primary care necessary for maintaining basic health.
Easter break is almost here, and I will have more time not only to volunteer but also contemplate on a lot of things about San Jose, medicine, and life in general.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Extended Spring Break
I have been traveling like mad the past two weeks. I left for New York the morning of March 14th, took a train to Boston the morning of March 17th, flew back to Houston the night of March 19th, was in town for the 20th, and flew to Salt Lake City for the ACS National Meeting the morning of March 21st. I just got back from Salt Lake the night of March 24th. Absolutely exhausted, missing my own bed, and having piles of work to do, I was not able to volunteer this week but shall resume next week when things calm down a bit.
This semester flew by, and it is almost April. Now that I am familiar with San Jose, I am excited for the Tri-Beta volunteer event where we help with the Art with Heart auction they are having on April 25th. It is a big fundraiser for them, and I am glad to have the opportunity to be a part of it this year.
Commenting on the new setup of the prep area for vitals that I described in the last entry, I personally like being out front in the desk area with other people, but it gets crowded behind the reception desk. It is supposed to help them increase speed and efficiency, but then they have to run papers back to the medical records room. It may be a trial run, so we will see if they keep the new setup for an extended time.
See you next month!
This semester flew by, and it is almost April. Now that I am familiar with San Jose, I am excited for the Tri-Beta volunteer event where we help with the Art with Heart auction they are having on April 25th. It is a big fundraiser for them, and I am glad to have the opportunity to be a part of it this year.
Commenting on the new setup of the prep area for vitals that I described in the last entry, I personally like being out front in the desk area with other people, but it gets crowded behind the reception desk. It is supposed to help them increase speed and efficiency, but then they have to run papers back to the medical records room. It may be a trial run, so we will see if they keep the new setup for an extended time.
See you next month!
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