Tangible Meanings

I remember walking into my freshman orientation at Boston College (BC) anxious about what the next four years meant for my future career. As I sat listening to the introduction, the speaker proclaimed that after our departure from BC, our mission will be characterized by the phrase, “men and women for others.”

To me, this phrase epitomized the purpose of doing meaningful and tangible work in my career. As a person who loved solving problems and puzzles growing up, I enrolled as a premed student. Not only could I solve real-life problems as a clinical physician, but the profession also characterized “for others.” After all, as a doctor, I am saving lives right? The patient needs treatment. Doctor treats patient. Patient is cured. Perfect.

However, earning acceptance into medical school meant receiving good—no—great grades. It also meant engaging in leadership positions, clinical hours, shadowing exposures, and some research experiences.

At first, I thought participating in a medical aid trip would offer me key exposure to service, as well as predicate my first strides toward becoming a doctor. So, as a naive underclassman, I joined GlobeMed at BC, a club that dedicates its time to discussion of current global and local public health issues, as well as sponsors a service trip to India. I also wanted to volunteer locally, so I signed up for shifts at the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center (EBNHC) in their emergency department.

Initially, I thought GlobeMed’s meetings were underwhelming. Only four students were able to go on the service trip because the club believed in “grassroots partnerships with local NGOs around the world.” I didn’t understand why the entire premed club was focused on partnership to tackle clinical health issues. I just wanted to help people feel better! I decided to shift my focus to my placement in the EBNHC emergency department (ED) because it felt like the better fit for my aspirations.

The first time I entered East Boston, I immediately noticed that the area was comprised of many low-income, immigrant residents. As my experiences in the ED increased, I realized that certain problems stemmed from beyond the specific illness or injury that the patient suffered that day. Many patients had multiple issues in common, such as lack of a primary care physician (PCP) or limited education. For example, patients would come to the ED in need of a pregnancy test, or treatment of chronic conditions such as diabetes or asthma. The lack of regular healthcare from a PCP or a clinic made their conditions worsen. These problems weren’t the patient’s fault at all– this was one of the consequences of being an underserved population. There aren’t enough healthcare practitioners in the area to guide patients through a healthy lifestyle change. Despite these limitations, the head ED physician used his knowledge of the community’s core problems in conjunction with his clinical background to find the proper treatment for each patient. As an ED physician, he knew his community members by first name, and essentially acted as a PCP when treating their chronic conditions. He also made sure the hospital had translators on staff which was essential for communication. On occasion, doctors would even ask me to translate for the Hindi or Gujarati speaking patients. The ability to explain their symptoms in their native language —whether Arabic, Spanish, or Hindi made a significant difference in many patients’ comfort and trust toward their healthcare practitioner.

As the son of two Indian immigrants, the prevalence of a medically marginalized population in our country was shocking to me. It was then that I realized being a doctor is not simply about treating someone who is ill. Shadowing in East Boston was the gateway for me to explore root issues in patient care. Eventually, I realized that the core issues in East Boston were the exact problems that GlobeMed tried to tackle.

With a new mindset, I decided to give GlobeMed another try, and I fell in love with it. Under GlobeMed’s model, students value the importance of sustainable long-lasting partnership interventions, as opposed to a two-week service trip with little or no oversight. BC partners with the Chinmaya Organization for Rural Development (CORD) in Tamil Nadu, India. CORD is an NGO that facilitates sustainable development in various rural parts of India.

As part of GlobeMed, we helped CORD empower their local population with the funding of various health projects, such as installment of 100 toilets to prevent the spread of diseases and vaccination clinics for children. These experiences have steered me toward believing in a multidisciplinary approach to patient treatment —and disparities in medicine as well.

We should still strive to be men and women for others, but as future doctors, our mission should not be to simply cure the patient. A multidisciplinary approach to patient care not only focuses on the clinical aspect of medicine, but also ties in a person’s background and surroundings in order to provide the best possible treatment options. Therefore, as a first-year medical student, I’ll make sure that partnership, accompaniment, and population health are some key ideas I keep in mind as I progress on this rewarding journey.