The patient who stood out the most to me was this lady who had heart disease. Our conversations were never in a good logical flow, nor did they deepen our liaisons since she forgot who I am the moment I left the room. However, I personally found our interactions to be clear hints of her unique character. Although I was just a strange volunteer who visited (I received an email that she got discharged last week) for a short companion once a week, the prayers she would speak to me sounded very sincere. As an international student from a Buddhist family, my experience with this religious and caring person widened my perspective in terms of putting myself in the patients’ shoes. Choosing to tell white lies that I also believe in God and his mercy for our lives, I had a great, unforgettable opportunity to reflect on how beliefs, whether religious, spiritual, or philosophical, can shape one’s psychological journey towards the end of their life.
I used to think that doing whatever the patient wants should be the most prioritized option when communicating with them. Since I visit my patients after classes in the early afternoons, I occasionally encounter them leaving their meals untouched, oftentimes seeming uncomfortable with a tray full of food right in front of them. Under the firm belief that pleasing them for so-to-speak emotional support by advocating their (temporary) food refusal, I would help shift their attention from food to something else, such as cues to their old memories in their lives. But then, recently, after coincidentally witnessing a nurse of the hospice physically feeding the patient regardless of the explicit discomfort they showed on their face, I learned that acting impolitely and going against the patient’s will can sometimes be the optimal option for a medical caregiver. Although certain criteria must be fairly balanced, as a person in charge of the patient’s physical well-being, which can affect their psychological well-being in the long term as well, a medical professional should know when to take their responsibility to willfully do something their patient will strongly dislike—no matter what.
Although high GPAs, fancy lab work, volunteering hours, and shadowing experiences are all critical for a decent medical school application, a competent applicant must be able to showcase their interpersonal skills with their patient(s) as well as devotion to service. Particularly in that sense, the Athena Institute Pre-Med Hospice Volunteer Program has provided me with a great opportunity to engage in regular patient communication at the bedside, which has also helped me develop a mature mindset as a caregiver for those entering the end stages of their lives. Furthermore, the monthly reflection meetings with the designated Chaplain and other volunteering students allowed me to utilize my weekly volunteering sessions as not only some extracurricular activities but also spiritual steps to take as a pre-med student. Communications with the ‘colleagues’ inspired me with a handful of new ideas to better support and converse with my patients, and I think such occasions have eventually broadened my horizon despite the individualized volunteering sessions.