My Opportunity To Volunteer For The Summer At Salina Regional Health Center

At the end of my sophomore year of high school, my counselor told me about an opportunity to volunteer for the summer at Salina Regional Health Center (SRHC). I was not ecstatic about medicine at the time, but my counselor, Mrs. White, knew I loved to serve others and be purposeful with my time. I applied and interviewed to serve as a volunteer and was placed as an escort at the front desk. As an escort, I assisted guests to the right location; delivered mail and flowers; and checked in, transferred, and discharged patients. Helping patients quickly became my favorite part of the position. I distinctly remember an experience that reminded me how small actions can impact someone’s stressful experience in a hospital. I was discharging an elderly

I was blessed to have had a quality teacher, because I fell in love with the human body. My friends and family may not have appreciated all of the applicable knowledge I was gaining, but I could not help but share. Whether I was learning about how a neuron sends a signal or the different types of muscle fibers, I was amazed how much goes on inside our bodies. To see the concepts I was learning in action, I took “Career Explorations” in the spring semester. This class allowed me to leave school early and spend time shadowing at a hospital. I chose to spend my time observing in the emergency department at SRHC. Day one arrived and I sought out the charge nurse as I was instructed to do. We headed to change bed sheets and she asked why I was there. I told her I wanted to become a physician with an interest in emergency medicine. She quickly walked me out of the room and introduced me to the physicians currently on staff and told me to follow them. I was giddy with excitement and spent the semester soaking up everything I could. While there was a lot I still had to learn, understanding the physician-patient relationship and inner workings of life as a doctor helped me grow my passion for medicine. I also found the mental challenge of being a physician

As my year of service came to a close, I had a lot of influential people pulling me toward a career in agriculture. In the spring semester of my freshman year, my family found out my dad has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Most people think this is when I recommitted to medicine, but it was not; however, this experience did remind me that medicine is real and raw. The people you work with are very important to someone- either a father or sister or child or friend. While everyone else was pulling me toward agriculture, my gut was pulling me toward