Key insight 3
Providing encouragement in difficult health situations can improve quality of life tremendously
Through my time in community service, I have seen firsthand the weight placed on those experiencing difficulty with their health. Not only is it physically exhausting, but the toll it takes mentally is unexplainable unless you have felt it or seen it yourself. This is not only experienced by the individual, but by their caretakers and family members also. From the outside, it can be easy to feel helpless, unsure of how to aid or support the family and person best. It is vital, though, that we do in whatever ways possible, as the difference it can make is tremendous.
In my time outside of the classroom, I had the opportunity to be a member of the University of South Carolina’s Dream on 3 team. This organization works with student-athletes at various universities to pick a “dream kid” with life-altering conditions and give them a dream weekend with their favorite sport at the university. When I first became a part of this team, I knew the work would be impactful, but I truly did not understand how much until we began. Upon choosing our dream kid, the impact was immediate. We had not yet even fully planned the weekend, and already the benefit of having a team of support behind him was present in his life. He was able to sleep through the nights, which was not something he had been able to do for months previously. His mood was lifted, and he was more present in his various therapy appointments. The more time we spent with the child, the more his spirits improved, and the better he did in his day-to-day life. My artifact is the itinerary for his dream weekend, where we spent quality time with him around Columbia. Seeing the impact had in his life from having a group of people support him, encourage him, and show they believed in him was eye opening. This experience showed me there are so many ways to positively change their experience, and everyone, including myself, has the resources to do that. I am attending dental school and plan to be a pediatric dentist, and the knowledge I have gained from this experience is something that I plan to apply in my future career. Being able to support my patients in all aspects of life, not just involving their health, is something that will contribute to their trust in me, leading to a more positive response in their healthcare.
In the class PHIL 321, Medical Ethics, we discussed a vast array of moral and ethical dilemmas in healthcare. One topic discussed in the class was the topic of optimism, and what place it has in the healthcare setting. Some people believe that optimism is not realistic, and should be used lightly by healthcare professionals. Others, though, believe in positive psychology. This is the idea that those who are more positive and optimistic have better health outcomes than those that do not. My within the classroom artifact, positive psychology notes from class, are what initially gauged my interest in the subject. I truly believe I saw positive psychology in motion during my beyond the classroom experience with Dream on 3. Seeing the difference made in the child’s life by providing support, encouragement, and optimism made it clear to me that this attitude could carry into his outlook on his health. Furthermore, the idea of positive psychology is something I would love to implement in my dental career. Oral healthcare generally has a negative connotation, and people do not enjoy going to the dentist, often seeing it as scary. If I can aim to change the narrative surrounding dental visits and make the environment more positive and optimistic, my patients can have better health outcomes.