David Knight Reflection Essay

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Dr. Knight Reflective Essay

Today’s interview with Dr. David Knight literally made my day and put a smile on my face. I have been stressing over the last two-month thinking, did I do the right thing, should I have come back to school? Over the las two week I started to ease my stress by bridging out of my comfort zone, I soon realized I was not the only one out there feeling the way I did. I made friends who have helped me with my confidence level and have a circle of motivation. During the interview, I was touched by Dr. Knights words when he stated “keep your dreams alive, you can be or do anything you want if you set your mind to do so, continue education and challenge yourself”. I will never forget these kind words, it makes me realize …show more content…

In the summer of 2009, he was asked to consider making a trip to John F. Kennedy Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia to assist / perform surgery. JFK is the triage / referral center for most of West Africa, built in the 1970s with contributions from USAID it was a full functioning facility until the civil war. The war lasted a total of 14 years and JFK was looted and reduced its capacity of 400 beds down to a single ward of 20 beds. Dr. Knight when he first arrived he reports JFK had started to renovate and only had 150 beds and is now up to 200 beds. Dr. Knight reports he felt that it was his calling to keep coming back as he felt it was calling and has committed to return every March & September and continues to go. He is on his 17th trip and feels when he returns to Liberia it’s like coming back home as he had made connections. His main goal during his bi yearly trips is to teach, especially residency programs. When he first arrived in the summer of 2009, JFK has a total of 2 uncertified surgeons, who at the time both took off for vacation and left Dr. Knight and team to perform many surgeries. Dr. Knight felt this needed to be changed and something needed to be done to improve life in the area. Dr. Knight became part of a training program to help develop future physician and healthcare workers for

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