#theVIPExperience Post #19: Lindsay Weaver

If I could tell a younger Lindsay what to expect from Crossroad, it wouldn't be directly treating an underrepresented population and diving into root causes of the health problems they face. It also wouldn't be solving problems such as gentrification, medical discrimination, and poverty. I would tell young, naïve Lindsay to expect making lots and lots and lots and lots of phone calls.

I jest, of course, but only a little bit. I have become quite good at making phone calls, so I'm adulting really well!

Communication, in fact, is an important tenant of what Crossroad VIP's do. We help bridge the gap that separates our patients and their outside appointments. We help make sure they understand all the details of their appointments so they can get there and be in charge of their health, as well as set up appointments they would otherwise be unable to make. Through active communication, we learn that it's not necessarily laziness or ineptitude that explains why patients no-show; sometimes it's a late bus, or lack of insurance coverage, or a hectic work schedule, or other personal circumstances.

It's also through communication that we help learn our patients' anxieties. I've had a handful of patients thank me for scheduling appointments, and then ask me to pray for them and their families. This is what reminds me of compassion, which literally means "to suffer with". As a practicing Catholic at Xavier, prayer  brings us to communicate all our thoughts to God, and it becomes all the stronger when we invite others to pray with us. But it requires so much vulnerability to ask someone to pray for you. Who wants to open up to a classmate, let alone a perfect stranger, when faced with a challenge in life? It warms my heart when our patients let us into theirs. Suffering is hardly a desirable thing, but to choose to empathize with people unlike you helps us to see beyond the surface, perhaps into the divine.

But that might be a little over-romantic. More often than not, when we call our patients, we get a brief thank you, or a barrage of frantic and unrelated questions, or a filled voicemail inbox. It's still worth it, because I so often imagine that I would be the same way if I were in a similar situation. My next advice to that younger Lindsay would be to shake off the frustrating moments, and learn from them. I have probably learned more from what I have done wrong and had to work to correct than what I have done right the first time. "Suffering with" doesn't mean I get to suffer with others only when it's convenient for me; it means to choose to do what is best for our patients at all times, even when you're frustrated about every little thing.

All that being said, I love being a Crossroad VIP, and a referral team leader this semester. I love the everything our program stands for. I love being able to share my enthusiasm for medicine and social justice to others and to hone new skills I haven't thought to learn. And most of all, I love our Crossroad community.

-- Lindsay Weaver