At 6AM before the wave of patients were allowed in
An entire family being checked by Dr. Tan 
Doctors checking the health of the patients’ eyes 
dispensing area with opticians and optical tech students from across the street
Over the weekend, Remote Area Medical visited Las Vegas to help uninsured and people of low income to get free medical, dental, and vision care. Word simply spreads by mouth and a bunch of people were lined up the night before at a high school about 30 minutes away from my house. I only got to volunteer on Sunday, the last day they were here.
I arrived at 6AM on the south side of the school where it was fairly empty. I thought, okay maybe it’s a little early, so people weren’t there yet. I got inside, checked in under vision, got my blue shirt, and followed the arrows that led me to the school gym. Inside were a few volunteers setting up. Maybe because it was my first time or I’m just a nerd, but I got so excited seeing all the instruments lined up. They had one auto refractor, one visual acuity station, two lensometers (manual and the overused automatic), about 10 phoropter stations, about 7 slit lamps, a dilation area, and a dispensing station with plenty of glasses to choose from.
About 6:15AM, general volunteers, doctors, and a bunch of people needing glasses rolled in. It went from dead to non-stop busy in a matter of minutes. At first, I was greeting people at the door and directing them to line up, but then I moved to auto refract and check glasses. The girl that helped me was really nice. She learned quickly and she came all the way from UCLA to help out this weekend. She does cancer research there.
Maybe 50-60 patients in and 30 minutes later, Dr. Lee (a doctor I work for) approached me and told me to take her spot in assisting another doctor checking pressures and pupils and motility and dilating. So I did. Dr. Lee wasn’t feeling well and she was there for 12 hours the day before, so she headed home to rest. Dr. Z and I started a good system directing patients and keeping track of who needs what. I also scribed for him. It was fun, I got to learn a lot about pupils and pressures and how the tonometers work. Then we got backed up, so I ended up doing drops too and running around back and forth assisting other doctors and other volunteers that needed help with other instruments. I don’t know why they kept coming to me… Anyways, we went to grab our free lunch outside and switched with another doctor. When I came back, I was helping said other doctor for a while with a different tonometer which also decided to not work. Anddddd we were stuck. Long story short, everyone was just checked under a slit lamp instead with Goldmann.
I assisted and chat with Dr. Z as I scribed, yet again. He was nice enough to teach me about what I was scribbling. Just stuff like “all white and quiet OU” or “Angle 4+” and the C/D ratios. Little things I don’t get a chance to learn about at the office I work at.
I had to leave early for my cousin’s 18th birthday, but it was definitely a memorable experience. I met many kind-hearted doctors, saw a couple familiar faces, and learned so much more than I expected! (I thought I’d be taking VA’s all day or checking people in). I felt more like an intern training than just a general volunteer. I even got asked by Dr. Wellish if I worked locally, haha. Most of all, I reminded myself of what I really want to do with my life and my career. It’s not that I want to just look at people’s eyes all day and ask 1 or 2, but I want to help them achieve what they want by improving their quality of life through their eyes. The people I talked to and met through this experience really taught me the value of our eyes and the hardships people go through without proper care. The doctors there showed me the true meaning of being a physician and I picked up the qualities it takes to be a good one.
I hope each and every pre-optometry or any pre-health professional student will get a chance to participate in a mission. It will definitely open your eyes (no pun intended) to what this is all about. Plus, this kind of reassurance is gold when it comes to writing a personal statement.
Til next time!
Anne
heymissanne 