Volunteering at the Child Life Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital, one of our patients was a seven-year old girl, who spent more than four months in an oncology unit. She was so frus-trated and depressed. She wouldn’t even look at me when I first met her. That was quite disap-pointing, but I knew that there must be a way of communication with her. I patiently offered her multiple amusement options while smiling. Finally, after a whole month, she changed and became more and more motivated and interested in playing, painting and having fun, which was a big surprise for everyone. This experience reminded my grandmother while she was suf-fering from breast cancer and we were trying to cheer her up, yet she wasn’t interested in any activities at all. It was then that I became inspired and determined to pursuing a career in medi-cine because it allowed me to bring together …show more content…
I began working to-wards realizing my lifelong dream of studying medicine. Living in another country has been a blessing, but not without its challenges. The contrasts in culture and lifestyle have been given me a more informed view of the World and its diversity, which assisted me significantly throughout my volunteering experience. I have come to embrace the uniqueness of each per-son, religions, cultures, ethnicities, and beliefs, which are unique in the American health care system. To prepare for medical school in the US, I have spent the last three years, focusing on improving my cultural and linguistic fluency in English, and on building my English scientific vo-cabulary. Classes at New York Language Center taught me speaking and writing skills as well as American norms and Folkways, while enrollment in and completion of the courses at New York University Clinical Nutrition Program gave me the comprehensive view about the US education-al system that is necessary for application and performance in medical
The most stressful and challenging situation was during my volunteering in the Rehab unit at the hospital. I was assigned to help a student therapist in assisting a patient in walking. The Patient was overweight and it usually takes more than two people when assisting the patient in walking but the therapist and the patient felt confidant enough that she would be able to walk without much help. When the therapist and I began to assist her in standing the patients knees buckled under her and she fell and began screaming in pain. The combined strength of the therapist and I were not enough to help get up and the only thing we were able to do was straighten out her legs and comfort her until more help came. I felt really bad what happen but
Goode, T. D., Dunne, M. C., & Bronheim, S. M. (2006). The evidence base for cultural and linguisitc competence in healthcare. The Commonweatlh Fund , 1-46.
President John Adams once said, "There are two kinds of education. One teaches you how to earn a living. The other teaches you how to live” (Adams). I agree with Mr. Adams and I think colleges should provide both types of education. Calling for students to complete community service hours will build the grounds on which they build the rest of their lives. However, many people don’t even give community service a chance. They say they’re too busy, it’s not for them, or simply choose not to do it. At my high school, we were required to complete thirty two hours of community service for graduation; many students came to love it.
Community service has become a requirement for an eighteen year old student to get admitted in an university or to pursue a paying job. Although I am involved in many community service, I personally believe that it should not be a requirement. A student should desire to work voluntarily. He or she should not be forced to perform the community service to make their college application look better. There are several learners who are against volunteering. The high school students have various things to see and learn. They should be able to help others by their own choice. They should not perform it just to graduate. Pressurizing can lead to have short-tempered apprentices which is not good.
Bentancourt et al. (2005) allows asserts that there are three distinctive reasons why cultural competency is so very important for the American healthcare system. American is composed of a very diverse population, which mean healthcare providers will continual be exposed to treating individuals from various backgrounds and from various cultures; their beliefs regarding their health or healthcare may range widely. When patients have a deficiency in the English language, proper healthcare delivery becomes increasingly more difficult as they will present symptoms in the syntax of their culture and their first language. Also, research shows the communication between the patient and their provider directly correlates to their satisfaction as well as their responsiveness or willingness to follow the health provider medical instructions; this ultimately affects the patient’s health outcome (Bentancourt et al., 2005). It’s fair to say that a successful health outcome is also contingent upon the interaction of the health provider and patient. Reports generated by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) – “Crossing the Quality Chasm and Unequal Treatment, confirms that cultural competence that focuses on the care of patient through
I had to plan fun events, but also make them very inexpensive. This was an
Furthermore, as I wanted to advance in my career, my family and I came to the United States for a better future. Though I had several obstacles such as language barriers and financial problems, I got accepted to Florida International University with the FIU Academic Achievement scholarship and joined Alpha Epsilon Iota Academic Honor Society, where I gained experience that strengthened my desire to study medicine. Feeling so grateful for the opportunity given to me, I begun to volunteer at Miami Children’s Hospital in the Pediatric Oncology Unit. Working w...
Up until a few years ago I never thought that one of my grandparents would be in a nursing home. I had always been lucky to have them healthy. However, this changed about a year ago when my grandfather had a mini-stroke, which caused him to require extra care my grandmother could not provide. Watching my family deal with my grandfather made me aware of the care and services the elderly need and has made me realize how important it is to volunteer at a local nursing home.
Booker T. Washington once said, “ If you want to lift yourself up, lift someone else up”. This quote is meant to stress the importance of volunteering and how it not only benefits the people in need but also the volunteers. Volunteering is an essential aspect of society because it teaches responsibility, humbleness , and helps save money. A wide range of people use volunteer services including senior citizens and disabled veterans. The Salvation Army is the world’s second largest nonprofit organization. The Salvation Army gets the majority of its funds by donations and from stores that are maintained by volunteers and the people that they assist. The stores use donated goods as their merchandise. Every cent that is made by the Salvation Army
Volunteering enables an individual to make a positive impact on his or her community, while empowering the individual to better his or her life. This summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer at many diverse locations. From the hospital to the local library, I truly value my experience and treasure everything it has thought me. Volunteering lets us experience and learn things that we otherwise would not have learned; volunteering opens doors for us that we may not have been able to open before. Volunteering provides us with guidance and tolerance which we may use in the future to aid us in our decisions. At first glance, volunteering may seem to only benefit those who are helped, but on a deeper level, one can realize that volunteering benefits the volunteer as much as, if not more than, those who are helped. Not only does volunteering make a difference in one’s community, but it also helps the volunteer become a smarter, happier, friendlier and more caring individual.
Thousands of homeless animals are looking for forever homes in America. Volunteering is a great way to give to your community and socialize the animals at the shelters. Working with dogs and cats that have not had good starts in their lives helps them trust again. It helps animals get over the trauma they have had before they went to the shelter. Socializing makes the animal more adoptable and they are given a chance to get forever homes. Volunteer at your local humane society 's and help out the animals like I have worked with in shelters.
A common misconception about volunteering is that it only helps the cause. Often times that aspect is the only part that is highlighted when the topic of donating time comes up. There is a different side of volunteering though. Many volunteers donate their time to help better the community they live in and the people that live in it. When they choose to do this they not only help others but they are also helping better themselves. Volunteering benefits a person by building connections with peers, improving family life, expanding career skills, overcoming self doubt, having lasting life impressions, and creating new opportunities.
A reflection of my volunteering experience can be summarized in two words: Life-changing. It is hard to explain the feelings that occur when you involve yourself in selfless acts for your community, such as volunteering. There is a feeling in your heart that you cannot ignore, maybe it is the happiness you feel or the overflow of emotions in helping others. In other words, it is a feeling in which you want to share with others. Maybe with a friend, maybe a classmate, maybe a family member, or maybe even a stranger. Either way, spreading how life-changing volunteering can be is a great start to making a positive change in your community by simply by involving others.
If you had the opportunity to change the world and your life, would you? I have many experiences with volunteering and each time it has left an impressionable effect on me and benefitted the world because of it. Volunteerism gives a person the opportunity to change people’s lives, including your own. Volunteering is crucial to a functioning society and can better the world one person at a time. Volunteerism is essential to creating a functioning society, personal well being, and advancing careers.
"I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver."