Participating in the ANOVA program has been an invaluable experience for me because it has provided me with the opportunity to interact with patients in a way that I never have before. While many premeds may have clinical jobs where they are doing routine patient care, we often don’t get to build emotional connections with the patients and understand their worries and fears. This emotional intelligence is a very important component of being a physician, and one that is overlooked, especially when it comes to hospice patients where the purpose of treatment is comfort and not necessarily survival.
The component of this program that I learned the most from was my patient relationships. I have had three patients throughout the course of this program, with one dying in December, another getting released from hospice because she was doing better in January, and my most recent patient that I met in February. I became very close with the patient that was recently taken off hospice, who I will call “Nan” for privacy purposes. This patient was an older woman with no kids or spouse but a lot of friends in the nursing home. Every week we would exchange stories, with her asking about my life, friends and classes, while she told me about memories from when she was younger.
I learned a lot from “Nan.” She was very optimistic and always friendly, no matter how hard life got. I know it wasn’t easy to be away from family, miss holidays, and be scared about one’s health constantly, but she was always so polite and easy to talk to. My relationship with “Nan” gave me hope about aging and getting older and showed me the kind of patience and understanding that I want to have in my life as well.
My approach to patient care has definitely changed because this program has given me the opportunity to get close to patients in a way that I never have before. I work at UPMC as a care attendant, but even then I am emotionally separated from my patients. This experience helped me understand the day-to-day life of patients, including the extreme amount of sedentary time and the lack of in-person interaction.
I see my role in patient care very differently now. As a physician, I will have to speak to patients in order to understand their preferences and tailor the plan to fit them best. This is something that I don’t have to do as a care attendant because I am just following orders, so I’m glad I got to have this experience to understand the compassionate side of being a physician as well. I will make sure that when I see my patients in the future I will be sociable and understanding because I now understand that I might be the only person they’ve seen all day. I have also learned how to lead with warmth and appear more approachable, something I struggled with in the past. This can help me seem less intimidating as a physician so that my patients can be honest.
I see the value in the way this program will inform my career path as a physician, and I know that medical schools will recognize this as well. I plan to put this program as one of my most meaningful activities, so that I will be able to write a longer essay about it as well. I will use my relationship with “Nan” and the lessons I have learned to show med schools that I have practice and training in emotional care, not just routine patient care.