Because of SCOPE’s goal to address the needs of the low-income community in West Los Angeles by helping individuals find empowering resources and providing them health education, I think it is a groundbreaking program of which I am proud to be a part. We are concerned in addressing not only the specific medical needs within a community, but also the daily necessities to maintain individuals’ physical and mental health. The relationships that I have developed with SCOPE patients have altered the way I view healthcare and have motivated me to further engage in addressing health disparities. My experiences have shown me how important it is to extend help to the community and assist in the diffusion of knowledge among the community to help it better care for its members.
Before SCOPE, I was naively unaware of the socioeconomic and health obstacles faced by people living right among us. By volunteering with SCOPE, I have not only learned about these various issues through one-on-one patient contact, but I have also learned we can do something about it through education and outreach. Often, I have been frustrated by the helplessness of patients’ situations i.e.., when they don’t qualify for Medi-cal because they make slightly more than the cutoff incomes or when they cannot get access to affordable housing because the waitlist has become ridiculously long. However, it is these types of situations that remind me about the important personable and educative role that doctors can play in their patients’ lives. Helping patients through SCOPE makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
As a volunteer at the Teen Clinic site, one of the most memorable volunteer experiences I had was with a middle-aged, female patient, struggling with health and nutrition issues along with a recent history of domestic violence at home. When I introduced the SCOPE program to her, she was hesitant as she had bad experiences with other programs. However, when she saw the multitude of resources we offered, and how helpful those resources were, she was completely ecstatic. She gave me such a warm, long hug with a huge sigh of relief on her face, knowing she now had the tools to overcome some of the biggest obstacles in her life. She still keeps in contact with the program today, knowing that she can get the information and resources she needs.
SCOPE’s supplementary physician shadowing program is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the duties and responsibilities a physician has. I was able to shadow them as they talked, diagnosed, and helped their patients through the variety of problems they had. On one of my shifts, the resident brought me in to see a patient with a heart related birth defect, where she not only explained the cause of the disease to me, but also explained a variety of options she will be presenting to the patient’s parents regarding treatment and lifestyle changes important to the safety of their child. The experience truly opened my eyes to the immense positive impact a doctor has on the lives of their patients to live fully and happily, which is the driving reason I wish to pursue a medical career.
Ucla Scope 