"I knew exactly what I wanted out of my internship experience, but I ended up getting so much more. I wanted a clinical experience, where I could use my budding medical Spanish, shadow a physician, and contribute to the place hosting me. Caroline Berger had just been in contact with Salud Para La Gente, and helped organize a placement. I worked half time shadowing the CMO Dr. José Chibrás, the other half with Lizet Salas-Obregon in the Community Pregnancy Services Program (CPSP) at Salud.

"I learned that I can make a difference ..."

"I worked with a primarily Spanish speaking population and got to see a great doctor in action. Dr. Chibrás was whatever he needed to be to help his patients. He was stern with a non-compliant young diabetic with foot sores; I saw him speak loudly, slowly and respectfully to an elderly lady losing her hearing; and he convinced a proud father to seek help for himself, and later that man thanked him for his help. I have a much wider frame of experience with physicians now that my first year of medical school is concluding, and every time I think about Dr. Chibrás, I am more amazed at the skill he displayed.

"In the CPSP I was quickly thrown into the contribution portion of my internship. Lizet put me to work interviewing and prepping patients, who spoke only Spanish. I found myself forced to use skills I'd only practiced in class. I was working in CPSP's gestational diabetes program, and found myself interviewing new and expectant mothers about topics such as nutrition, gestational diabetes, social services issues, prenatal checks, postnatal checks, even nursing - and all in Spanish.

"I learned more that semester than any other time about what I was truly getting into. I learned I could work through language and cultural barriers, just using respect and patience. I learned that it's a special privilege to be allowed into a person’s life and heal some of their suffering. I found my Spanish wasn't as bad as I thought it was, when an old farm laborer told me, 'Your Spanish is beautiful, because you are learning it to help people like me.'

"Now when I interview and examine my own patients, I use techniques and methods I first saw Dr. Chibrás use. In fact, I just received a dean’s letter for exceptional clinical skills - which I owe largely to Dr. Chibrás. I think the most important lessons I learned that semester were that I really wanted to be a doctor, could see myself doing it everyday, and even dared to believe that I could. I learned that I can make a difference."

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"I found out about the Halpern-Watson family practice through Caroline Berger, the Health Science Intern Coordinator.  She helped me set up the internship and was always available to talk to or answer any questions that came up.

"Dr. Flavio Cornejo was my mentor at Halpern-Watson.  Dr. Cornejo was amazing.  I learned how to take patient histories, how to take S.O.A.P. notes (that stand for subjective, objective, analysis, and plan) about specific diseases, and how to do certain examinations.  By the end of my internship I was seeing patients alone before Dr. Cornejo would come in.  I'd give Dr. Cornejo their histories and S.O.A.P. notes when he entered the room.  We also visited the I.C.U. and E.R. together where I'd help admitting patients.

"Working at my internship fed my passion for medicine. It also reaffirmed my interest in working with underrepresented and under- or uninsured populations. Dr. Cornejo’s first language is Spanish, so we had a lot of Spanish speaking patients, and that first hand experience allowed me to practice and perfect my medical Spanish and expand my cultural competency.  The internship prepared me not only to work with patients, but how to work with other doctors, nurses, supervisors, insurers and pharmaceutical companies."

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