Assalamu alaykum!
This week marks our first week in the community as part of our 6-week rotation in FCh260.2 Community Medicine. We will be assigned in Mendez and Bailen, Cavite. We will be leaving for Cavite this Tuesday, in sha Allah. But before that, we had to finish some series of orientations, trainings and lectures on community organizing. This is pretty exciting as you may all know that I am an avid lover of Community medicine. It's like my passion! haha. I am among the 10% of medical students who wouldn't hesitate to raise their hands when asked to practice as Doctors to the far-flung communities. The smell of the unknown adventure that lies ahead certainly excites my soul! Yohohoho!
Anyway. We were asked to submit a "Pre-Departure" Reflection paper with the following guide questions. I have a far longer response to all of them, but I had to cut the, short as we were limited to one page only haha. I am sharing this to everyone :)
See you around!
=====
PRE-ROTATION
REFLECTION PAPER
I.
What do I personally hope to achieve in this
community rotation?
I have been
working with my own community back in Sulu every time I go home for my summer
immersions. And I have always wanted to know how things work, especially in the
grassroots level, in other places here in Luzon. Perhaps I could learn
something that they have done in the community that we could apply back home.
Personally, I hope that I could become a better physician who is well-equipped
with the knowledge and skills to better serve my people. I will try and do the
best that I can to learn.
II.
Do I envision a future endeavor where I may
be able to use the experience I will gain from this rotation?
Definitely yes. I will surely make use of
this unique chance to learn and experience how to plan, organize, and implement
community-related health programs. This is something that I have always wanted
to experience since LU3 and now hopefully I could apply when I finally go back
home to Sulu as a full-pledged doctor to serve my own community, God-willing. I
also want to understand why things work and don’t work especially in our
current health systems. I wanted to have a deeper understanding on this
hopefully finding a way to solve it somehow—or at least help in that process.
III. What
role/s do I see myself in while in the community?
Aside from being a medical intern, learning
all the needed skills and knowledge while in the community, and more than just
being a substitute and temporary “physician”, I see myself becoming part or
member of that community. The best way to understand the people is to be with
them if not to feel and be one with them. Hopefully I could actively participate
and slowly take on the helm towards becoming that five-start physician.
IV. What
are my fears/anxieties in this community rotation?
After the previous orientation, I have heard
about the complaints by the community (especially foster families) about us
interns rotating in the community. I cannot, for one, speak for them as we are
all different individuals… But I can’t help but get worried as well. How are we
suppose meet those expectations by the community considering we are already—if I
may say—marked? Perhaps, we can also wish for the best then? No, we will do our
best so that by the time we leave our communities by the end of this 6-week
rotation, we will all depart with good memories to leave behind.
Another fear is
the expenses as we do not know the place yet. But I have been told that the
people there are so kind that they won’t leave you empty-handed (or in an empty-stomach).
So yeah, definitely looking forward to it!
Comments