Now I am the type of person who tries to make the most out of every moment, but it is people like Barb Grinwis and environments like the one at Oasis of Hope that have instilled that quality within me.
As a free clinic, Oasis relies on our community to provide for our community. One component of this (out of many) is the donation of medications. Many times, for example, a loved one is put on hospice at home. When this occurs, various home health staff will travel, daily, to the home to make sure the patient is properly cared for. To assure that all supplies are available, hospice will keep the home well-stocked with necessary medical supplies and medications. When the loved one dies, however, the family is stuck with an abundance of medicines they no longer need. We, at Oasis, have the opportunity to take that abundance and benefit the lives of many in our community by redistributing it to the patients we encounter who demonstrate need. So we take and sort those medications, stock our pharmacy, and wait until we can redistribute. The only problem is: medications have expiration dates.
As a free clinic, Oasis relies on our community to provide for our community. One component of this (out of many) is the donation of medications. Many times, for example, a loved one is put on hospice at home. When this occurs, various home health staff will travel, daily, to the home to make sure the patient is properly cared for. To assure that all supplies are available, hospice will keep the home well-stocked with necessary medical supplies and medications. When the loved one dies, however, the family is stuck with an abundance of medicines they no longer need. We, at Oasis, have the opportunity to take that abundance and benefit the lives of many in our community by redistributing it to the patients we encounter who demonstrate need. So we take and sort those medications, stock our pharmacy, and wait until we can redistribute. The only problem is: medications have expiration dates.
The pharmacy was long overdue for a cleaning. It needed the expired meds to be disposed of, the shelves needed to maximize their space, and the medications needed to be categorized by use (all hypertension medications together, all hyperthyroid medications together... you get the picture). After all, when different medications are added with random donations while others diminish after being distributed, it is hard to keep track of what we have available.
Usually, I'm up for helping Barb and the clinic with anything, but with keeping up with my internship and this blog, I sometimes would shy away from the tasks that didn't leave me with a story to tell. The "shy" was creeping up from within me as the task-at-hand was being explained, and my "make the most of it" attitude was nowhere to be found.
That was until Barb said, "As you sort through the medications, look up each one that you do not know. Then, think of our patients and how they could benefit from each one."
So I could have just sorted some medications, but now I have a story about how I learned pharmacology!
In all reality, though, having an "I can learn from everything around me" mindset is invaluable. After successfully interviewing at various Physician Assistant schools, I had a lot of undergraduate, pre-PA students have asked me what they should do to ace their future interviews. My advice, again, was to make the most out of every situation.
To get into PA school you need good grades, volunteer experience, patient care hours, and the ability to demonstrate a genuine passion for patient care. Sure, you could go through the motions: rack up the patient care hours without learning anything, study only for the grade, and volunteer in the easiest settings possible. Your resume may look alright, but you're not going to be a better person, student, or candidate for PA school because of it. This is especially true when it comes to interviewing, because if you don't strive to learn from every environment you find yourself in, you're going to have a hard time showing an admissions committee what you've gained from all of the bullet points on your resume. Afterall...
Usually, I'm up for helping Barb and the clinic with anything, but with keeping up with my internship and this blog, I sometimes would shy away from the tasks that didn't leave me with a story to tell. The "shy" was creeping up from within me as the task-at-hand was being explained, and my "make the most of it" attitude was nowhere to be found.
That was until Barb said, "As you sort through the medications, look up each one that you do not know. Then, think of our patients and how they could benefit from each one."
So I could have just sorted some medications, but now I have a story about how I learned pharmacology!
In all reality, though, having an "I can learn from everything around me" mindset is invaluable. After successfully interviewing at various Physician Assistant schools, I had a lot of undergraduate, pre-PA students have asked me what they should do to ace their future interviews. My advice, again, was to make the most out of every situation.
To get into PA school you need good grades, volunteer experience, patient care hours, and the ability to demonstrate a genuine passion for patient care. Sure, you could go through the motions: rack up the patient care hours without learning anything, study only for the grade, and volunteer in the easiest settings possible. Your resume may look alright, but you're not going to be a better person, student, or candidate for PA school because of it. This is especially true when it comes to interviewing, because if you don't strive to learn from every environment you find yourself in, you're going to have a hard time showing an admissions committee what you've gained from all of the bullet points on your resume. Afterall...
You look like a good candidate by being one.
I only hope to continue to maintain a student's mindset moving forward into PA school, and, if I do, I owe it all to the positive influences in my life that have encouraged me to never be satisfied with "just enough", but rather to optimize my time and my opportunities wherever I may find myself.