AMCAS Most Meaningful Experiences Sample #15

AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Sample #15

Experience Type: Community Service/Volunteer – Medical/Clinical

Experience Name: Medical Translator at Eastview Family Health

Contact Name & Title: Dr Elliot Raj

Contact Email: [email protected]

Contact Phone: 1902334545

Organization Name: Eastview Family Health Clinic

City/State/Country: Lenexa / Kansas / United States

Most Meaningful Experience: Yes

Dates: 11/20XX-03/20XX

Total Hours: 300

Experience Description: As a medical translator at Eastview Family Health Clinic, my role was to translate medical documents, mostly prescriptions, into Mandarin, French, and Punjabi. My mother is Chinese, and my father is Indian. They both made an effort to teach me their languages, as well as English, when I was growing up. Being interested in languages, I took French in high school and continued practicing after I graduated. As a translator, I also sat in on some patient appointments to help doctors communicate with patients who didn’t speak English at all or very well. (556 characters, with spaces)

Most Meaningful Experiences Remarks: During my first year of premed studies, I was searching for clinical experience when my parents recommended I volunteer at a clinic as a medical translator. When I found Eastview Family Health, they were looking for someone who could translate Mandarin, Punjabi, and French, which fit my background perfectly. I worked primarily in the clinic as an interpreter for patients communicating critical medical information, such as prescription history, symptoms, and complaints. There was one patient who told me while we were waiting for the doctor to return with the results of a rapid test that she wasn’t sure if she was going to come to the clinic today because she was worried that she wouldn’t be understood. She was even considering moving back to India because she couldn’t find a clinic that could accommodate the language barrier. She’d been in the US less than a year. Eastview Family Health gave me a chance to explore the communicative and interpersonal aspects of health care. I also observed how physicians interact with patients in a warm and welcoming manner, despite communication difficulties, to gain their trust. In my future practice, I hope to incorporate this welcoming attitude and communication style to help patients from different backgrounds receive the care they need. (1,293 characters, with spaces)

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