While growing up, I did not have much experience with those outside of my socioeconomic class. Volunteering at Crossroad Health Center has helped me to see a side of healthcare that I had not seen before. Compared to how I grew up, the patients at Crossroad have drastically different lives. I had never before considered the lack of health insurance, transportation, a phone, or even a place to live as problems that so many people experience. Since I began volunteering, I have had the ability to interact with many patients who have one or more of these struggles either through face to face discussion or talking to them about appointments over the phone. Through these interactions, I have learned how important it is to these individuals that places like Crossroad exist and that there are so many people working there that are willing to help them in any way that they can.
Another useful skill that volunteering at Crossroad has taught me is the methods that physicians, nurses, and others use to communicate and how important they are to the overall care of the patient. Through using the Athena system, I have had firsthand experience with this and been involved in helping to give the patient a better quality of care overall.
Volunteering at Crossroad Health Center has been a great experience for me as it has helped to open my eyes to the inequities in the world. I plan to carry these lessons that I have learned with me so that I may one day apply them and be a better physician because of it.
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