Yesenia Ordaz: Community Analysis

Volunteering at the Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home over the summer was an invaluable experience. As I became more comfortable, I began extending my duties beyond physical tasks such as serving food or transporting residents. I started interacting with the residents on a more personal level, not as a volunteer, but more as a friend. In return, the residents became increasingly open, and the nurses watched as I conversed with residents they had deemed as reserved. Sometimes when I helped residents they would say nothing, but at the same time they said everything I needed to hear. I probably appreciated helping those residents, more than they appreciated me. Every night when I went to bed, I felt I had actually made a difference. This volunteering experience allowed me to realize that whatever I do in life, I want to go to sleep feeling the same way I did that summer.

As a recent graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and a new Research Technician at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, becoming more familiar with different healthcare settings and helping others in doing so have always been of my interest. From my experience of volunteering as a piano teacher for inner-city children in Baltimore, I have learnt that even a small commitment and emotional support can make a big difference in the daily lives and the happiness of those in need. I have briefly familiarized myself to the hospital environment by shadowing physicians and conducting biomedical research but have yet to translate my volunteering experiences and the lessons learnt from them to the healthcare setting. I am a friendly, optimistic,

Serving individuals in underserved communities takes more than just intellect, it takes character. Filling your brain with the knowledge of various medications is not enough; rather one must empty oneself and become a vessel for compassion. It takes more than a steady hand, but a steadfast heart and a devotion to ethics and the integrity to align with them even when no one is watching. It takes empathy, it takes virtue, and last it takes a passion for cultivating caring and watching it bloom. Contributing to the Nurse Corps mission while nurturing for individuals in underserved communities, I will use these principles as my guiding light in attending to the visible and invisible needs of every patient I serve.

My community service work at County Hospital is to care for the rudimentary needs of each patient. My goals are to provide inspiration during the healing process, teach kindness and compassion, and discover my own abilities for empathy. "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I'll try again to tomorrow (Mary Anne Radmacher)." My hope as a volunteer is to help each patient find that voice, find that courage to go forward.

My personal experience gives me emotional strength and purpose to serve the vulnerable sections of society through pediatric health care. Growing up in a remote town in

Through the many trips that my family has taken to the hospital due to various reasons, I have become fond of the hospital and its many wonders. After all the things that the medical field has done for me and my family, I decided to contribute to my local hospital to volunteer and help out those who pay visits to the hospital. Through my exposure to various clinical populations, I want to improve my ability to serve others in this capacity that can guide me towards the medical profession in the future.

In my community many people do not understand the struggles of kids with serious illnesses and the financial and mental toll it has in the parents. To have more understanding of the problem I encourage people to volunteer at hospitals to gain more knowledge about the problem.

Apart from her academic accomplishments, Dr. Ochoa has dedicated her life to the service of others through medicine and mentorship. “I’ve known since I could remember that I wanted a career with the purpose of helping others. I have this burning passion for service work and I’m extremely lucky to be able to combine it with my love for medicine and education.” When away from the hospital, Dr. Ochoa spends her time mentoring minority and low-income students along with her husband and fellow HSF alum, Mauricio Segovia. Also, wanting to give back to her Latino community, Dr. Ochoa donates to scholarship organizations such as HSF and the New Orleans Hispanic Heritage Foundation Scholarship.

Throughout the years I feel that I’ve had a number of valuable experiences, my most significant experience is my volunteering experience at Children’s Hospital Colorado. I still remember feeling utterly terrified on my first day volunteering, pondering all the possible ways things could go wrong. I suddenly felt as though I have never experienced this before. I was on my own, responsible for myself and all of my actions.

Through my compassion, responsibility, and teamwork I will be able to leave a positive impact on the patients, staff, and parents that visit this facility. Although I may only be a high school student volunteering a few hours a week at this local hospital and I may not be handing a scalpel to a doctor, what I do has the power to bring a smile to someone's day. This opportunity to make their experience better is definitely worthwhile. To conclude, I would also like to thank the Plano Presbyterian Volunteer Services coordinators and directors for providing this great opportunity for High School students like myself who are exploring the medical

The biggest influence of my life has been the Dr. Bill Neches Heart Camp for Kids. Heart Camp is a weeklong summer camp for children who live with Congenital Heart Disease. I have been attending this camp since the age of eight and have worked as a junior counselor the past two years. As I have grown older and learned more about my heart problem, I realized that I wanted to work with children who are faced with similar trauma. By attending Heart Camp, I have had the wonderful opportunity to speak with many nurses who work at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Not many teenagers have the opportunity to have a personal connection with people that save lives every day. By attending Heart Camp, I have met dozens of health professionals that I am

My involvement far exceeded my expectations by not only providing me with experiences and responsibilities most students in my situation lacked, but by also providing me with the opportunity to learn more about myself through the conversations I had with my residents. At Brookdale, I directly oversaw the well-being of the residents by ensuring each resident was receiving the necessary care, while also assisting with the administration of medications. Most importantly, through interactions with residents like Mr. Doe, I learned how to empathize. By starting conversations and getting to know slight details of a person’s life, I was able to differentiate between a person’s actions and who they really are. In Mr. Doe’s case, he was stubborn and angry not because he was intrinsically so, but given his circumstances, he was simply frustrated by the loss of his independence and individuality. Simply through this recognition and a brief conversation, I was able to provide an outlet so that he and many others could have a brief opportunity to convey their true selves. Even after a grueling week, consisting of a full academic course load, going into work never felt like work. Every conversation or interaction that I had with an individual ending with a smile on his or her face negated all of the fatigue or stress I was feeling in that moment. My success in uplifting the spirits of each person I worked with is most evident when I was distinguished with the Family Member of the Month award after two years working for Brookdale. Amidst exhaustion, I continued to excel in all three facets of my life. The driving force behind it all was knowing how much of a difference I was capable of making, which was

Vanessa is a rising senior at Baylor University looking to pursue a career in the medical field, specifically pediatrics. Although this is a difficult practice area to achieve and sustain success, Vanessa is up to the task because of her determination and passion for helping the people around her. She has demonstrated a willingness to help others through her commitment to her team members as a part of the Baylor Women’s Tennis Team. While on the team she has embraced a leadership role, being an example for the other girls of what it means to be successful in the classroom, on the court, and in life. Despite the great deal of time she spent with the team, she was still committed to serving others which she demonstrated through her volunteer work both in Waco and overseas. She made a difference in the Waco community through her volunteer service with the Salvation Army, providing meals to families in need, and Baylor Cub Tennis, teaching local children how to play tennis. She has also shown her commitment to helping those in need through her Medical mission trip to Haiti, where she spent a week providing training to hospital staff on inventory software so that they could locate specific items and recognize expiration dates. Vanessa finds where she can

Hospitals are a great way for a medical student to serve the community as well as gain valuable experience in their future field. For this reason, I have spent around forty hours from the end of the summer up until now volunteering at HonorHealth hospital. I volunteered as a transporter, what this means is that I move equipment, medical documents and lab samples around the hospital. I also help discharge patients by pushing them in a wheelchair to their car. Through this experience I was able to make life easier on people who were vulnerable and trying to recover as well as the busy staff member who treated them. I had many interactions with people and by from this I have a better understanding of impact my service had. I will be discussing: How psychology can explain social interaction, how outside factors can influence a person 's sense of self, how behaviors and situations can help you understand a person, the importance of communication as well as focus, and the environment shapes the organization.

During my time there, I shadowed a pediatric doctor. While I was asking him questions, he was called into an emergency surgery, and I was unfortunately not old enough to watch according to the hospital restrictions. So as I was waiting around, a PA swooped me up and let me shadow her instead. I was embarrassed to admit to her that I was not aware of a PA’s responsibilities to the hospital. Throughout the rest of the day, I followed the PA into patient rooms and recovery rooms. I was able to observe how the PA interacted with patients with such a reassuring and caring attitude that I had not seen with the previous physician I had met. I not only respected her compassionate personality, but I related to it.