Hello! Three to four times a month, students accompany CAPT Mark Stephens to local free clinics. Below is a write-up by 2LT Bryan Malave of his recent experiences:
"The moment I walked into the clinic, I was greeted by smiles and continued on to Dr. Stephens' patient room. He was draining a subungual hematoma and enthusiastically asked me to put gloves on and learn the process. I did so and finished up the procedure as he explained to me how he had prepped the patient first with anesthetic and discussed with the patient how she had sustained the injury. The patient got the finger slammed in a door four days ago and was in great pain. Dr. Stephens informed the patient of how to care for the finger and we called in our next patient who suffered from a chronic cough causing her pain and terrible discomfort.
"The 15 day cough prevented her from sleeping well and was really interfering with her life. Dr. Stephens examined her and diagnosed her with pneumonia. She had a fever, achy muscles, dry mouth, and had been sweating more than usual. He allowed me to listen to her breathing, which sounded normal but caused her discomfort to take in deep breaths, and he explained how he came up with his diagnosis.
"We then had a lady come in for cataracts in her left eye. The right eye was operated on last year and she needed the referral to get the other operated on as well. Dr. Stephens used this as an opportunity for me to learn technique in using the ophthalmoscope for the first time. The patient was complaining of dusty vision and did in fact have cataracts.
"After this patient left, I asked Dr. Stephens how he handled older Hispanic patients loyalty to "old school" remedies and often [in] opposition to modern medicine. The question stemmed from a comment the previous patient made regarding that she was not getting the flu shot because she didn't get the flu and even if she did, she would kill it with lemon juice. As a Hispanic, her comments remind me of things my own family members do and say. A shot of honey, lemon, and rum will "cut" a variety of ailments in the opinion of an elderly Puerto Rican. When I've tried to tell my grandmother otherwise, I usually just settle for her taking her doctor prescribed medication as well as the homemade concoctions. Dr. Stephens interestingly said he encourages home remedies as long as they are not unhealthy.
"Our last patient was an 8 year old boy's school physical. The child was in good health and was cleared to play sports. An important topic was discussed after the family left regarding how the mother could not read English. As a community support worker with at risk and victimized children in the Hispanic community, I dealt with this problem daily. The schools sent all the important paperwork like grades, conference letters, field day forms, etc. in English to homes where no one read it. An 8 year old is then responsible for educating his parents on how his or her education is going. Specifically with this patient who loved playing soccer, Dr. Stephens made the point that if the child had not told the mother what the form was and the mother not come to the clinic, the boy would have been ineligible to play soccer at his school. Who knows what the consequences in the long run of keeping a healthy child who loves playing sports from doing so, all because of a form that was never explained or translated."
This last part really spoke to me--equality of opportunity is frequently cited as being a bedrock of American liberty, but an example like this shows some of the many roadblocks some must face just to get to the starting line.
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