Taking Time to Thoroughly Listen

“What kind of a provider will you chose to be?” This question has resonated in my mind ever
since I was originally asked it a couple months ago at a CVIP intern meeting. It is easy enough
for one to say that they strive to become a provider that wants only what is best for their patients,
but what does that truly entail. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to be an intern at the
Crossroad Health Center that I was finally able to start to grasp my own answer to this question.


Having had my first rotation at the West location, I have had the opportunity to intern alongside
a couple of the best pediatricians that I know. Through shadowing, I was able to see the wide
variety of underserved patients that these providers see on a daily basis. However, whether it was
treating a screaming newborn or an annoyed adolescent, the providers did one thing consistently:
they thoroughly listened. This I have come to find is what in my opinion sets Crossroad apart
from the countless of other health clinics and hospitals around the country. In today’s society,
healthcare has become so focused on being an efficient business that a provider can often lose
sight of what truly matters: the patients themselves.


A vivid example of this for me was a toddler who was brought into the office for the third time in
just two months. The boy had been constantly sick over the past couple of weeks and his mother
was starting to become desperate for answers. Instead of quickly prescribing an antibiotic, the
pediatrician thought outside of the box and started to ask what at first seemed like unrelated
questions to the mother regarding the environment in which the boy lived. Then, after obtaining
the results from a simple blood test, the pediatrician was able to finally give the mother an
answer to her son’s poor health: his lead levels were far above normal range. This was most
likely linked to the older apartment building in which the child lived that may have been painted
with paint containing lead at some point in the past, a problem common in Cincinnati. If the
pediatrician hadn’t taken the time to step back, this boy might have never been correctly
diagnosed and his health could have continued to fail. This for me is one of the countless
examples in which thoroughly listening has made a huge impact on the diagnosis of the patient.


Additionally, Crossroad has continually reminded me of what it means to be part of a health
team. Even though I may not even have my college degree yet, I have been constantly shown
that there is still so much that I can do to help and that my tasks are equally as necessary in order
to keep the clinic running smoothly. Whether it is reminding a parent to take their child to an
essential appointment or assisting a mother in finding the necessary transportation they need to
make it to a referral appointment, I have come to find that we can all make a difference one
patient at a time as long as we are willing to step aside and truly focus on the patients and their
needs. Ultimately, I hope that one day I am able to deliver as comprehensive of care to my
patients as the providers at Crossroad are able to provide to theirs.

– Klara Lisy