Volunteer Orientation :-)

On Friday afternoon I drove over to San Jose Clinic for my orientation. I was surprised  when I arrived at my location that the building is new and looks really nice. To be honest, I was expecting something different considering the area the clinic was located in. When I walked into the clinic I noticed that the inside was beautiful. There were stained glass and paintings covering the ceiling and walls. Sam (volunteer coordinator) later told me that the stained glass were antiques some of the nuns had kept away and that the building and all its necessities were built on donation! When I met with Sam in the lobby I was happy that she was very fun and energetic. The orientation started off with a video over OSHA regulations, paperwork and a tour. During the paper work, Sam told us that they serve people who are living at 200% or more below Federal Poverty Level. THAT IS AMAZING. I couldn't believe that there were so many people in this area living with those conditions and that San Jose Clinic were so generous enough to not charge them for visits. There are 60 doctors on staff who are NOT paid and volunteer their time. Hearing that pleased me so much because in the future when I become a doctor I hope to give back by volunteering or participating in doctors without borders!
During the tour, Sam showed us all the sections of the clinic including the pharmacy and dental unit. Each section is divided in an organized way and the decorations for the pediatric unit were very cute :). Once the tour was over Sam let me know what tasks I will be doing for my volunteering session. I will be transferring their hard copy patient files into their computer database! She said it will be a lot of work but I am up for it!
Another exciting thing Sam let me know was that once my 10 hours of volunteering are up I can start shadowing doctors! I am looking forward to my time at San Jose!

until next time!