Each year, rising medical costs render health insurance inaccessible to increasing numbers of people, who then skip routine well-checks and ignore potential problems. Preventable diseases can become serious, leaving families with insurmountable medical bills. Many people visit emergency rooms for health problems that could have been resolved through routine care. Though the severity of this problem cannot be underestimated, hope lies in the doctors and charitable organizations serving vulnerable individuals and families.

Wanting to help such a group, in 2006, I secured a summer internship with Inner City Health Center (ICHC), a non-profit, volunteer-based organization providing medical, dental, and counseling services to the medically underserved. Founded in 1983, the clinic now provides nearly 20,000 patient visits each year. Located in the Five Points area of Denver, Colorado, ICHC has come to serve an increasing number of Hispanic patients -- many of them recent immigrants. Spanish is commonly heard in the clinic; but few of the doctors speak fluent Spanish. I saw my Spanish skills as the best possible avenue by which to make a significant contribution at ICHC.

Beginning work in early June, I could scarcely learn my way around the clinic before my translation help was eagerly accepted. On my first day I explained to a pregnant woman in her thirty-ninth week that her elevated blood pressure, high urine protein, and abdominal pain pointed to preeclampsia. She was induced just hours later. I helped a worried family understand that their infant's fever was not from surgery weeks earlier, but a case of meningitis requiring immediate attention.

Our family practice clinic offered a wide range of services, so each day brought new personal challenges and medical problems. As an interpreter/translator, I improved not only my Spanish fluency but also my skills with different patient / physician communication styles. I worked with different volunteer clinicians each day, benefiting from their varied medical backgrounds and different styles in dealing with patients, gaining insights into the scientific as well as the human communication and interpersonal aspects of medicine.

I particulary enjoyed ICHC's weekly obstetrics day, since maternal-fetal health has been a significant interest of mine. Each Wednesday, volunteer obstetricians turned our clinic's focus to the care of pregnant women. Seeing them repeatedly, I formed comfortable, trusting relationships with many of the patients. These clinics, along with ICHC's pediatric program, reinforced my previous interests in infertility, perinatology, and neonatology. And, while gaining this excellent experience, I was happy to provide signficant help to the clinic, sparing the busy nurses and receptionists from translator duty.