Walt Disney World seems like an odd place to find an aspiring doctor. All of my fellow College Program interns were performers or business majors.
When I told people what I was studying, they always had the same question:
"What are you doing here?"
My shadowing and prior experience with medicine during college convinced me that the most important skill physicians could have was the ability to relate to their patients with compassion and empathy. In pursuit of the ability to connect with people, I studied abroad, minored in medical philosophy, and now had come to Disney. Every permutation of humanity can be encountered at Disney World—each year, there are millions of visitors from across the globe, speaking hundreds of different languages.
My mission was to …show more content…
"You don 't know what you 've done for us."
Two weeks later, a letter was delivered by Guest Services explaining that The Great Movie Ride held incredible personal significance for Abby 's parents. They had tried for years to get her on it, but she was always terrified. After their tour with me, it was now Abby 's favorite attraction and they could ride as a family.
When I reflect on this and what led me here, I know I have a strong desire to extend compassion and empathy for the well-being of others. In my current volunteer position in the Emergency Department at Legacy Hospital, I am able to provide a similar sense of comfort and understanding. As I once reassured Abby while silver screen gangsters fired fake bullets, I recently held the hand of an elderly man with declining memory as he waited, scared and lonely, for his missing caregiver to return.
This philosophy is one of the things that led to me to develop an interest in osteopathy. After meeting my current mentor, Dr. Julian Uselman, a DO practicing family medicine in Silverton, OR, we have corresponded extensively on what it means to practice as an osteopathic physician.
When I told people what I was studying, they always had the same question:
"What are you doing here?"
My shadowing and prior experience with medicine during college convinced me that the most important skill physicians could have was the ability to relate to their patients with compassion and empathy. In pursuit of the ability to connect with people, I studied abroad, minored in medical philosophy, and now had come to Disney. Every permutation of humanity can be encountered at Disney World—each year, there are millions of visitors from across the globe, speaking hundreds of different languages.
My mission was to …show more content…
"You don 't know what you 've done for us."
Two weeks later, a letter was delivered by Guest Services explaining that The Great Movie Ride held incredible personal significance for Abby 's parents. They had tried for years to get her on it, but she was always terrified. After their tour with me, it was now Abby 's favorite attraction and they could ride as a family.
When I reflect on this and what led me here, I know I have a strong desire to extend compassion and empathy for the well-being of others. In my current volunteer position in the Emergency Department at Legacy Hospital, I am able to provide a similar sense of comfort and understanding. As I once reassured Abby while silver screen gangsters fired fake bullets, I recently held the hand of an elderly man with declining memory as he waited, scared and lonely, for his missing caregiver to return.
This philosophy is one of the things that led to me to develop an interest in osteopathy. After meeting my current mentor, Dr. Julian Uselman, a DO practicing family medicine in Silverton, OR, we have corresponded extensively on what it means to practice as an osteopathic physician.