About 347,126,472 seconds - that is the amount of time it will take for me to finish my undergraduate degree, medical school, and four years of residency. While evaluating the next eleven years of my life, I realized my journey is not about the money or about a higher status in society; it is about equalized healthcare. I want to work towards providing anyone-no matter their status- with the healthcare they deserve, without any discrimination. It should not matter what insurance they have, what the color of their skin is, or the socioeconomic status they hold.
Becoming a volunteer intern at Crossroads Health Center has allowed me to serve the underprivileged by scheduling referral appointments. I have now become an advocate for these patients’ healthcare rights. I find that this internship is slightly like driving a car. I think that during every shift you come into contact with a plethora of different scenarios that are different than ones you have experience with or have been trained for much like every time you drive a car, you face a different situation with different cars around you. In these experiences, I have learned a couple of lessons:
One is the influence insurance has on healthcare in our country. The discordance between hospitals and insurance companies is astounding. Going through referrals where insurance is an issue are truly an eye-opening experience. I have never had to think about insurance or how there are two bills that need to be covered at the end of an appointment- one for the hospital and one for the doctor. Only people who are financially stable or have good benefits from work can afford insurance that truly covers all their medical needs. Most of the patients at Crossroads do not fall into this category; and as a VIP, I can fix these problems or play a part in at least minimizing this discord.
I have also learned to never give up on your patient. Though clich̩, patience and persistence are key. There are some referrals that have obstacle upon obstacle blocking you from your goal of trying to help the patient. These are the times that test you Рthe times where I have learned to keep my voice gentle- to take deep breaths and continue doing my job. In healthcare, patience is particularly important. I have a job to do and while obstacles are frustrating, it is important to remember what my goal is: to make sure that the patient receives the care that he/she needs.
These seemingly obvious lessons were ones I knew of before I started as an intern; but I got to experience them as a VIP. I feel the struggles and frustrations of the patients I talk to. And because of the patience and persistence I have learned, I take that burden off the patients. Scheduling one appointment in a patient’s journey to getting the care he/she needs seems like a small, meaningless task when you look on it from the outside, but once you become a VIP, I think that is when you truly understand the struggles people encounter in the healthcare system and you realize that what you are doing actually has meaning- your effort makes a difference.
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