“Although I have spent considerable time in Mexican communities, both in the United States and in Mexico, I gained a new perspective this month straddling the border at Brownsville. Thank you for this opportunity to learn a deeper and further insight into my community and into myself.
“The other side of the river. The other side of the country. The other side of the world. I look forward to these challenges and I am excited about the journey that lies ahead of me. Thank you for this opportunity to learn a deeper and further insight into my community and into myself as well. I will look forward to our continued contact as I begin this process and will keep you informed along the way. Best wishes to your continued endeavors and success with this incredible rotation.”
D. Harris, MD, Georgetown University
“I believe I do a better job of asking questions of my patients now. I don’t pry, but now I realize I need a better understanding of their backgrounds in order to serve them well. I am a better physician, because I now go beyond the diagnoses of illness and include the concepts of circumstance.
“Community for Children helped us to achieve competency as advocates on multiple levels. The things I experienced during this elective lit a fire in me to take up new crusades for children’s and adults’ rights, including health care.”
J. Genuardi, MD, Christiana Care-Delaware
“Community for Children is designed to begin to help physicians change the world, little by little, by exposing problems and giving us the tools to build better solutions. I am grateful for this experience!”
A.Thyssen, MD, Driscoll Children’s Hospital
“Community for Children has allowed me time. Time to listen, really listen, to the world around me. Time to consider problems larger then my daily patient load and time to ponder a solution. Time to reflect….”
D. Dow, MD, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
“Listening to the story of a 14 year old Honduran boy, witness to and victim of multiple acts of violence, who traveled alone all the way to the United States looking for a better life - an opportunity - only to find himself locked in a shelter full of boys just like him, awaiting deportation...that broke my heart. Was that the purpose of this rotation? To break my heart? I thought it was to learn how to advocate on behalf of children. Perhaps one cannot fully be a child advocate until one's heart is broken, and the reality of the plight of the immigrant child is inescapable.”
“The Community for Children program helped me decide on working with Hispanic patients. I want that to be my priority. Also, going on house calls in Brownsville and in Mexico has strengthened my resolve to include this in my future practice. It not only informs me as a physician, but also fills my heart and soul….I sincerely thank you for allowing me to experience a month like no other during my medical school years. The images, the people, the stories. They all made this such an amazing experience.”
“I‘m grateful for the chance we had to interact with and learn from the plethora of physicians, researchers, community mentors, etc. Everyone, had an important point of view to share, and welcomed us graciously. Thank you for giving us this space to step back, to feel less alone, to remember why we wanted to become doctors, to listen to our hearts. It has been an invaluable experience.”
B. D’Amico, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
“My experiences in Mexico proved reaffirming, yet redirecting. Yes, I need to learn the language and culture. However, that’s for my comfort. I feel like an outsider because my culture treats them like outsiders. The gracious way I was accepted in Cd Victoria taught me that I did not need to be less white for them. They were fine with my whiteness, my broken Spanish, and my ignorance. If I have the patience, they can teach me what I need. I know that now. After this rotation, especially the experiences in Victoria, I feel comfortable giving preference to the continuity clinic choices that feature a predominantly Spanish speaking population. I will learn; they will teach me.”