Hey guys/gals/whoever you are!
I know it’s been a MIN-UTE… or like 5 months… since I last posted, but hey I’m back and I’m trying to generate meaningful content for this lil blog of mine! So I’m just going to jump right into it and describe my experience of giving back and why It is so g*ddamn important as a medical student. (Also, take a sec to follow my instagram as I tend to post things there too! @theunconventionalmd !!)
So as you’re along your journey in medical school, have you decided that you’re going to be the next Christina Yang? Or is Derek Sheppard that you aspire to be? I know, that’s a corny ass reference but I promise it will be pertinent to my spiel! But seriously, have you thought long and hard about what type of physician you aspire to be or are you saying, “maybe I’ll wait until rotations start to figure all that out”? First off, there is absolutely positively NO PROBLEM with either of those options! Second, have you looked around your campus and seen what potential clubs are available to help guide those questions/choices? If you answered no to that, boy you have some EXPLAINING to do!
Here at AUC SOM, there are SO MANY FRIGGIN CLUBS! I say that with the utmost enthusiasm and support because I belong to a few myself! I personally fell in love with Pediatrics when I was in high school being a nanny as well as when I was an outpatient medical scribe for about 2 years. In that same time as a scribe I fell in L-O-V-E with Orthopedic Surgery, 1) because it’s cool AF, 2) TOOLS AND BREAKING BONES, but 3) because the physicians which I was working with held a very close relationship with their patients and the parents of the patients. Therefore, coming into Medical School I had the general idea that I wanted to be in Pediatric Surgery 1 KABILLION TRILLION percent—which I have come to digress from absolute certainty to, “Maybeeee if I get the best Step 1 score I need and become an active member in all these clubs/interest groups, get SUPER awesome letters of recommendation from my rotations, THEN I will apply to residency in Peds Surg.” Again, this is just my thought on my personal journey into residency as a foreign medical student or IMG (International medical Graduate) as we are classified by the AAMC and National Board of Medical Examiners. Being an IMG has a stigma, but FYI when it comes to Step 1 USMLE scores a 250 is a 250 no matter WHO scored it!
Anyways back to our regularly scheduled programming… as I mentioned, there are many clubs and interest groups at my personal medical school and I thoroughly recommend seeking some of your own personal interest while you are on your medial school journey or are looking to being your medical journey!
One of the clubs/interest groups I joined is called “PIG”, yes like the short, stubby, & pink ‘oink oink’ animal! PIG stands for ‘Pediatric Interest Group’ and this group on campus is devoted to the development and understanding of the role of the Pediatrician in the medical world as well as focusing on pediatric-focused community service and clinically applicable learning activities.
Throughout the semester, the group throws many meetings with fellow Pediatricians either in person or via skype on important pediatric issues/health concerns. In an early meeting in the semester, one of the school’s newest Deans, Dr. Colin Mitchie, MD, gave a lecture on his experience working with sickle cell patients as well as basic health policy differences between the United States and the United Kingdom and how that affects the well-being of children. This week, we have another lecture discussing vaccination of children, which by and large is a GIANT area of debate among parents and the medical community. Along with these meetings, we have events throughout the semester for the children of students and faculty on the island as well as the for the children of the Sint Maarten community as well. Over the Easter weekend, the group put on an Easter Egg Hunt for the children and it was a hip-hoppin time! (Honestly I had to shoot my shot on that joke… although it was bad, it’s still funny right?.. No? Okay I will see myself out now….)
The event in which I participated in this past weekend was PIG Day, with the Player Development organization here on Sint Maarten. The aim of this event is to provide help with the local Player Development Organization & the community children of Sint Maarten via reading, tutoring, helping with Coach Tom’s items around the program site, teaching coin collecting, aiding with reading and writing, and teaching the children how to play baseball (among many other activities)! This event, truly and deeply, made me so grateful that I get to participate in giving back to the Sint Maarten community following Hurricane Irma and in my short time on this island for my basic science years. The day began for me by being bused over to Philipsburg with about 20 other members of the group, and upon arrival being greeted by two very friendly island dergs (dogs for the non-animal educated peeps)! After meeting Coach Tom, he gave us a quick rundown of the program, why it exists in Sint Maarten, and who we were helping within the community through the continuity of the program. This story was truthfully heartbreaking, and to maintain privacy of those people involved, I will not detail that story; but what I will say is this, as medical students, we are FORTUNATE AF to be able to live our lives and we should be giving back to the outreaching communities as often as we can because truth is THEY NEED US and appreciate us more than we will ever know.
Sooooooo, my role in this event was to help with the writing of Thank You Notes to the students whom were helping out with Coach Tom and the kids within the program. I spent about an hour with a few different children in the program, chatting, asking them about their lives in Sint Maarten, what grade they were in, their favorite class in school, their siblings, etc. It was very interesting to see that these children were so happy and so open with the students helping them in this program they attended. It honestly warmed my heart to see so many of my classmates painting a shipping container, building picnic tables, painting book shelves, reading with the children, and teaching baseball. Looking around the facility, I felt a sense of true bliss and happiness that we were contributing to making so many children of Sint Maarten’s day better by giving them some of our time and help. This experience reinforced to me that I need to be in Pediatrics, however form of the specialty that I can be.
A thank you letter written by a child in the Player Development Program (OWWW my heart hurts it’s so sweet)
Now to why I think as a Medical Student you should be giving back—basically it boils down to this lil nugget of wisdom (I’m not wise, but I’ll sure as h*ll try to be): Giving back for two hours on a Saturday or whatever day it is will fulfill you faaaaar more than those few hours of studying you think you missed out on. Give back often and to all who need it, because Karma sees it and we all need all the good Karma we can get, amiright?! Go sign up for those events for the community, give a couple hours out of your weekend, and HELP OTHER PEOPLE OUT! It is so important that we as soon-to-be physicians see what community outreach does for patients and their families, as opposed to just saying “There’s X service available to you for help, blah blah blah”. Because that’s really all the patient hears if you yourself have never taken the time to give your time and help people like them in their situation, BLAH BLAH I DON’T CARE BLAH. Bottom Line: Giving your time is more rewarding, and you’ll thank yourself later when you do give it to people without expecting an ounce of anything in return.
Don’t be the careless physician, get your hands dirty, get to know the community, and understand your recommendations and advice!
AUC PIG at Player Development Program in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten on April 7, 2018.
The Unconventional MD 