San Jose Clinical Reflections

For my service learning project, I chose to volunteer at the San Jose Clinic. The mission of this clinic is to provide healthcare to those who are uninsured and cannot afford to pay the costs of regular healthcare procedures.

During my time of volunteering at the clinic, I did not get a chance to interact directly with patients, but was put on a project to design personalized thank you cards for all those who were involved in helping with the clinic’s biggest fundraising event of the year, the “Art with Heart” auction.

At the “Art with Heart” auction, the San Jose Clinic invites many of Houston’s biggest corporations to come and bid on pieces of artwork that have been donated to the clinic by artists, both local and nationwide. In the previous years, the clinic has been able to raise $100,000+ to help fund the costs of medical equipment/lab tests at the clinic each year!

While working on my project, I was also able to reflect a great deal upon the important mission of the San Jose Clinic. I felt incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to be a part of this charitable work. I realized just how much work it requires for the clinic to operate each year. Numerous of healthcare providers such as doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, etc. all volunteer their time and effort in order to provide for the clinic’s patients. Moreover, many companies donate their pharmaceutical drugs and medical instruments to the clinic, to help alleviate some of the expenses for the clinic. Finally, many regular volunteers, like myself, help with office work or coordinate various functions of the clinic, such as the “Art with Heart” fundraising event.

Through working with the San Jose Clinic, I learned to appreciate something that I had previously taken for granted: the opportunity to have healthcare treatment. Many people in the third world countries have never had a regular check-up, and many people inevitably die of curable diseases that were gone undiagnosed, due to the lack of healthcare providers and facilities. However, even in the United States, there are those who are uninsured and, unfortunately, would rather put their health in jeopardy than to incur the high expenses of healthcare procedures. Thus, I am so proud to have helped with the San Jose Clinic, because I know that a significant amount of people have benefited from the healthcare opportunities that has been made possible by the clinic.

Overall, my experience at the San Jose Clinic was very rewarding. I was able to get in touch with my creative and artistic side in designing the “thank you” cards! I also enjoyed meeting and getting to know the staff at the clinic, and felt great to have helped with their wonderful cause. I intend to continue volunteering at the clinic, and hopefully in the near future, be able to come back to the clinic as a healthcare provider after medical school!