Clinic Day 1 (7/24) || Karen Nguyen
- UCLA Volunteer
- Oct 14
- 3 min read
AHHH CLINIC DAY ONE IS FINALLY HERE!!! Last night, I found out that my first role was in the pediatric department, so I was super excited to meet all the younger patients. With all that built-in excitement, waking up at 5 AM wasn’t too hard despite the fact that it was, well… 5 AM. Before I headed out, I recited all the việt questions I could ask the children like “Em tên là gì?” “Em mấy tuổi?” “Em thích ăn món gì?” For breakfast, I had a small banana and some yogurt, which actually held me over pretty well until lunch. As we headed to the clinic site, I noticed the same excited energy radiating from everyone else. We were all eager, half-asleep maybe, but definitely ready to take on the long day!
This year’s location was especially unique such that all the stations were set up in one large open space, which made it super easy to move between areas. I joined my pediatric group with Dr. Christine, who walked us through the basics of pediatric health exams (i.e what to look for, common health concerns, and so on). When patients started to fill up the space, my group and I decided to split off into two groups: Crowd control to lead younger patients to the table (1-22 year olds) and stationary shadowing. I was placed on pediatric crowd control, which started off pretty slow. For a while, there weren’t many kids arriving, and I mostly stood by, ready to guide the patients or translate. Eventually, I was reassigned to general crowd control, directing all patients to any available general physicians. It was here that things started picking up! At one point, I noticed a small girl standing alone, clearly looking around for someone. I approached her gently, but as soon as she saw me, she immediately ran to the other side of the room. I followed at a respectful distance, just to make sure she was okay, and she eventually found her mom. Since her mom was still mid-exam, Dr. Christine asked me to babysit for a bit. The girl was extremely shy, but she didn’t mind me tagging along. I tried out my rehearsed Vietnamese phrases, and while I didn’t get any verbal responses, I considered it a win that she let me stay nearby. She seemed to warm up, little by little. When her mom finished and came to get her, the girl turned around and gave me the tiniest wave goodbye. It was such a small gesture, but it meant everything to me. Lunch came around later and we all ate canh chua with rice, chicken, and a few more yummy dishes!
By the second half of the clinic, the space really filled up. Everyone seemed to be in their groove, and I got to bounce between different stations to help wherever I was needed. I started back at pediatrics, where Joshua brought a pack of stickers to hand out to the patients and everyone in the pediatric group got to choose to keep. Mine was a giraffe! I stayed for a bit to shadow Dr. Christine again and got to observe a patient exam up close. She laid the child flat and gently palpated their stomach to check for abnormalities. Later, I was moved to pharmacy to help prepare goody bags for patients. From there, I was pulled into optometry, which was struggling with a backlog of patients. I helped with crowd control again, organizing the line and answering questions. Despite the long wait, the patients were incredibly gracious. Some chatted with me about how long it took them to get to the clinic and what their lifestyles was like. Most of them were elderly and had little to no access to optometry care in their daily lives. By the time clinic ended, optometry still had a relatively long line with around 15 patients waiting, yet the optometrists were kind enough to get through everyone. Every patient was seen, and all of us in that section stayed over an hour late to make it happen. Although tiring, it was very fulfilling, especially seeing how excited the patients were having to get their turn. The day eventually concluded with an inspirational talk from Dr. Lu-Le as the second group waited for the bus. The bus ride back was a silent one, as everyone took their deserving rest from the long day. Dinner came around at the hotel with a variety of Vietnamese dishes. After dinner, I finally crawled into bed, and sleep hit instantly. It was a very needed rest.
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