First Day of Volunteer Work!

My first day of volunteer work was not what I was expecting. Well I got lost again!! I'm just starting to realize that my husband was right! I'm definitively horrible with directions! Thankfully I got out of the house 30 minutes earlier so I had that wiggle room. When I got to the clinic, there were lots of patients already! It was not even 8 a.m. The director located me into the eye clinic. The first hour and a half was very slow. I was suppossed to serve as a translator but they were not needing my services. During that time I read all the spanish panflets they had available. To my horror, the grammar and sentence structures were just wrong. I corrected ALL those panflets because I could not believe that whoever translated the information did a good job. I also noticed that most of the patients that had an appointment in the eye clinic were women. Also, the nurses were really nice to show me the triage process. I realized that ALL of the patients in the two hours I spent there on my first day suffered from diabetes. One of the volunteer doctors told me that most of the patients' underlying problems are due to diabetes. The patients either do not take their medication on a regular basis or they just do not get any treatment and underestimate the potentially dangerous consequences of diabetes. I learn so many new things today, even if it was a bit slow. I found myself very curious about the dynamic on San Jose.

Updates

Well I'm so happy!!! Last week I kept in continuos contact with the director of volunteer affairs at San Jose clinic. I was getting a little worried that I was not going to be able to start volunteering this week. Thankfully, this past week I finalized and was accepted at San Jose. Another Cell bio student is there with me so it is a good thing! This past Saturday I went for an orientation. I was really amazed to see the facilities in which the clinic operates. It is a brand new building really pretty and chic. This past saturday was filled with patients since UT dental students were there volunteering. I was so happy to see that UT dental volunteers at San Jose on a regular basis at least once a month. I was so nervous about what to do there, and I honestly was not quite sure of how to approach the director. Well, she was so much nicer than what I expected, so she took the time to show us how the clinic functions, the many facilities and doctors that volunteer there and also she shows us the safety measurenments in which the clinic works. I got an excellent impression of the staff that works there and I saw that there were mostly hispanic patients so in a way, I can help the doctors that do not speak spanish with translation and things like that. After the tour, we were able to sit down and talk with the coordinator as to our assignments and our time in San Jose. I decided on volunteer every friday for two hours. I would have loved to be around the dental clinic but sadly, it is too hectic. However, I was promised to shadow a dentist some time around the end of this semester which is really thoughtfful. I really appreciate the attention and caring the staff showed us this past saturday. Also, since we need to do a poster at the end of this semester about a popular disease in our clinic, the coordinator was more than happy to give us some ideas. She is looking for something like a brochure for kids for the dental clinic. We could teach them good oral habits and so on. I am very excited to work with San Jose. Finally, just today I got an e-mail from the Development coordinator at El Centro de Corazón and they offered me some volunteer oportunities there shadowing one of their dentist. I am so excited about that too!!!! I guess that good things do come for those who wait.

Searching!

This week has been pretty hectic. Trying to find a place to volunteer  is not as easy as it sounds. I am very very interested in volunteer at the Montrose Clinic and San Jose Clinic. This summer I tried to volunter at San Jose but they did not have anything available. It was so hard not being able to help. Last wednesday I drove around the Montrose Clinic and I really liked the environment and the vibe, sadly they have not answered my mail or calls. San Jose finally answered me yesterday with good news! They will be able to accomodate me. I was also thinking on volunteer on The Children's Assesment Center. But honestly, having a kid myself it would be hard and it make me have an uneasy feeling all over. Well... On Monday, I am planning to drive around San Jose Clinic and on Wednesday I'm hoping to fill out the application and make a tour around the facility. I know that San Jose does a noble job extending their hand to those uninsured people who desperatively need medical or dental assistance. I'm hoping to learn a lot from this experience and to enrich my awareness and sensibility on these cases.

For now, let's just enjoy the weekend and Happy Labor Day!!!