San Jose Party

The San Jose Clinic is throwing a party. If I remember correctly, I believe it was called "Art with Heart" night. I was at the clinic with a few St. Thomas students and our job was to put the RSVP cards in the main card and put them all in the envelope for the clinic to send out. There were 4 of us and we all worked together to be as efficient as possible. This was another example of how important teamwork is.

I've learned a lot volunteering here at the clinic. I've done everything from paperwork to organizing medicines to using my hands building and organizing storage rooms. I am very grateful for taking advantage of this opportunity and I'm looking forward to continue volunteering over the summer.

Something Different Cont...

Like I said last week, we were going to finish the job this week. We ended up building 3 more shelves making the storage room as neat as possible. Making these shelves is easier said than done. Each box weighed 109 pounds and if we didn't work together, it would've been very tough getting the job done. I learned that teamwork is very important. This volunteer experience served as a stepping stone to the future because I know medical school and working in the medical profession is going to involve a lot of teamwork, and I'm looking forward to all of the challenges and experiences ahead of me.

Something Different

This week was something new at the San Jose Clinic. I went from organizing in the pharmacy to working with their handy man in the storage closet. The clinic has been around for awhile so they have a lot of paper work stored. Unfortunately, their transition to the new building really left that secondary stuff gone unattended. It was this man and I's job to build new shelves and store all of the boxes neatly in the storage room. It was actually a lot of fun working with him. We put together 3 shelves but there was still much more work to do that we were going to continue next week.

Pharmacy Again

I guess the pharmacy is my calling for this volunteer experience. It seems like I'm an employee in the pharmacy now. I've really enjoyed the opportunity working behind the counter. Even though it's just organizing, my job is important in keeping the pharmacy running smoothly and organized

Pharmacy Cont...

I am really enjoying my time here at San Jose. I am learning alot about not only the people but also myself. I have volunteered at the hospital before but this place is just different. I respect how much they help the community. I know some people can't afford insurance but everyone requires healthcare needs and the fact that this clinic provides care regardless of insurance really opens my eyes to my future medical endeavours. The pharmacy puts in a lot of work to providing the medicines their patients need. I feel privileged working behind the counter at this clinic

Back in the Pharmacy

I came into the clinic this week not knowing what I was going to do. I was excited when I was told the Pharmacy needed my help. I really enjoy working behind the counter. Even though it's just organizing medications, it is fun seeing what goes on behind the scenes. Since there are many people who require more medicines than others, my job was to give those people there own plastic boxes. Once again, the point is to be more organized while conserving as much space as possible. Hopefully I will continue the pharmacy project next week!

Not So Much

This week was not what I expected. I was excited walking into the clinic thinking I was going to continue my pharmacy project, however that was not the case. I went straight up to the pharmacy but they had already 5 volunteers back there and it would have been too crowded with an extra body helping out. So I went back downstairs and met a pharmacy school student in the volunteer room. I ended up helping him out with his research Sam asked him to do. It was actually a very important task. We were searching the web in order to find out ways to provide care for uninsured cancer patients. This was more difficult than I had thought. It really put in perspective how hard it is for the uninsured to get high quality care. This experience has motivated me to search for solutions to provide high quality care at low cost.

First Time in Pharmacy

After walking into the clinic, the volunteer coordinator Sam presented to me the opportunity to work in the pharmacy. I was very excited because I've never had experience behind the pharmacy counter before. The head of the pharmacy was very nice. They wanted to reorganize the way they stored the medications. My job was to take the medicines out of the plastic containers and alphabetically place them into plastic bags in order to conserve space. My job was simple but I loved the opportunity to see first hand how this field of medicine works. I am looking forward to working behind the counter next week!

Second Day

Am I volunteering or did I sign up for a boot camp? This day wasn't so simple as the first one. Right when we got there the volunteer coordinator Samantha asked if Madeleina and I were ready to lift some heavy things. That got me a little bit worried. Then she said we were going to be working with the IT guy named Joe. I knew right then and there that this was going to be a long morning. We ended up moving a lot of boxes out of one room and then had to move 3 shelves from 2 other rooms into that one storage room. It's not easy moving shelves! However, that was the easy part. On top of moving the shelves, Joe, this other guy, and I had to move his VERY heavy desk a few feet back towards the wall. Let's just say it reminded me of football practice. What I realized about this San Jose Clinic is that anything can happen. The first day I was working on opening medicine boxes and the next I'm moving heavy desks. All I can say is I am looking forward to what the third day brings me.

First Day

It was my first day volunteering. I didn't know what to expect. I drove up to this beautiful San Jose Clinic facility being very surprised at how nice it was. I walked in and went on a tour. The place was nicer than most hospitals I've been to. I'm looking forward to knowing the ins and outs of this place. What really caught my attention the most was the doctors who volunteer their time to patient care. I hope to get to speak with a few of these volunteer doctors before I am done volunteering here and just ask what was their motivation or their reason for coming to San Jose. My first day ended with opening up medicine boxes which contained only 4 pills and stacking 7 of them into one box therefore resulting with a box containing 28 pills. It wasn't that life changing but it helped the clinic so I guess it was worth it.

Got The Job

I submitted my application to San Jose Clinic and finally heard back from them a few days ago. I'm going to start volunteering this week. I am very excited for this new experience. I am looking forward to playing an active role in bettering the health of citizens in Houston. Yes, I know my role is going to be minor, but it's a good start to hopefully becoming a great physician.

First Time Blogger

In cell biology, we were asked to create a blog about our volunteer experience. I'm not a big fan of change so this was new for me. I've never created a blog before, and I always get nervous about trying things for the first time. I've successfully created my first blog, and I'm excited to keep a blog of my experience this semester. I realized I shouldn't have been that worried because it's really not that difficult. Just a few clicks and bam, I am officially a blogger.