COM Outlook Spring 2020

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY | 21 “How much can I do? I’m only a medical student.” As I prepared for the trip, these thoughts lingered in my mind. When the first day of clinic began, I, along with my classmates, felt nervous about whether we knew enough to help. During medical outreach trips, volun- teers are morally responsible for practicing within scope (i.e., only practicing procedures we are trained in). As a first-year stu- dent, I only had one semester of knowledge and basic physical exam skills, so I was apprehensive about my potential during the first few hours. Up until that point, I had only taken the vital signs of classmates and family members. Day one started out slow and chaotic. Students were grouped into teams of five or six. Many students worked individually but didn’t communicate, resulting in clinic-flow delays. However, by the afternoon, hardheaded students—myself included— adapted and transformed into efficient team members. Fueled by the productivity, our student teams began to thrive, and the clinic ran smoothly. The confidence boost over the week was evident, as students took pediatric blood pressures, blood glucose readings on diabetic patients, and the tem- peratures of toddlers who were thermometerphobic. By the end of the trip, and after evaluating more than 1,000 patients, we realized how much we do actually know— and have the potential to do—as future health care providers. Medical outreach trips provide a unique opportunity to grow as both a student and as an individu- al outside the classroom. There will always be more facts to memorize, but there are also certain clinical skills that require ongoing maintenance and care. As we work toward our clinical years, we must set time aside from the books to practice confidence, communication skills, and providing reassur- ance to our patients. o PAVING YOUR PATH BY TIMOTHY P. CROWE + “By the end of the trip, and after evaluating more than 1,000 patients, we realized how much we do actually know—and have the potential to do—as future health care providers.” —TIMOTHY P. CROWE Timothy Crowe, Charles De La Rosa, and Michelle Wu are first-year KPCOM students. First-year student Timothy P. Crowe examines a patient.