The time I have spent volunteering with Crossroad so far has been
nothing short of amazing and inspiring to me. As a VIP who has done the
traditional route of assisting patients with referrals as well as the
non-traditional route of being a Tobacco Treatment Group (TTG) VIP has
helped me grow in more ways than I could have imagined.
After
moving to Cincinnati in the summer of 2016, I wanted to get integrated
and get to know my new community. A colleague suggested I look into
volunteering with Crossroad, and it has been a truly eye-opening
experience. Crossroad's patient population showed me the disparities in
healthcare I have heard talked about, but never seen first-hand. As a
referral VIP, I was eager to help patients in any way possible, and was
always striven to be as efficient as possible. Through my first
rotation, I picked up organizational and communication skills.
However,
it is through my second rotation as a TTG member that makes me feel
like I've made an impact on others. The TTG is a group therapy style
meeting to discuss tobacco cessation as well as living a healthier
lifestyle. Each week we have a check-in with how much the patient smoked
in the past week and how their week was, a short lesson on various
topics relating to tobacco or health, and then goal-setting to end the
session. As someone who is passionate in fitness, nutrition, and
well-being, this group seemed like the perfect fit for me. Through the
TTG, I learned not only how to communicate with others better, but also
how to climb out of my shell and speak up when I have something useful
to say. Seeing the patients progress each week as well as knowing that
they took in at least a little of the information taught to them each
week is what brightens my Mondays.
Volunteering
with Crossroad has been one of the best choices I've made since moving
to Cincinnati, and I am so grateful for everything this experience has
taught me so far.
-- Tiffany Shi
No comments:
Post a Comment