The Road to my Dream

My name is Karla, I am a recent graduate from UC Merced and a Central Valley native. I am currently at Livingston Community Health working as a scribe. As a scribe, I move around between 8 different clinics and get to work with multiple providers! My role consists of charting patients' chief complaints, their symptoms, diagnoses, ordering labs/imaging, and treatment plans. I am about halfway through my service year and, without a doubt, this has been one of the most rewarding and impactful years of my life. As a recent college graduate, I left school slightly worried about my future gap year and how I could work towards my goals. My goal? Becoming the first doctor in my family and coming back to the Central Valley to provide quality and low-cost healthcare to my community. As a Central Valley native, I understand the difficulties when trying to find some sort of volunteer opportunities or work in the healthcare field in this area. With limited experience, it can be difficult to grab onto one, and even more so when there are limited opportunities available for so many students. That is why being offered the opportunity to serve as a clinical quality coordinator for the ACTIVATE program, as well as a scribe, has been amazing. It is the best of both worlds. I get to scribe and take part in the clinical aspect, as well as take part in the public health side of the healthcare field.

Taking part in the ACTIVATE program at Livingston Community Health shaped my views of the healthcare disparities in our community very quickly. I was working alongside a nurse and a doctor to provide free resources and weekly educational meetings to patients on controlling their diabetes. Through this program, we have been able to significantly decrease patients' A1C levels and improve their quality of life with managing their diabetes and hypertension. This is where I quickly became aware of all the burdens patients go through that are impacting their health. The lengths patients went to make it to their appointments when there were transportation, financial, or language difficulties was large and inspiring. I got to see firsthand how some patients would walk miles to get to their appointments. I was able to help them set up transportation arrangements to avoid walking in the rain any further. I have also managed to improve my translation skills by translating for many patients when the barrier has been present.

This and many other interactions have all solidified my want to become a doctor and showed me the need for more Spanish-speaking providers in the Central Valley. Most of all, I have strengthened my interpersonal skills. Learning how to concisely and efficiently explain myself, speaking up for those who do not have the opportunity, and learning to work in a fast-paced environment. Volunteering in this health clinic has impacted me beyond what words can explain and I only hope every other person taking part in this program takes full advantage of the mentorship and opportunities given to them to help them grow and work towards a better future for the community and themselves. I, for one, am excited to take everything I have learned thus far and use it to become a doctor and return home to give the care needed in our communities.