School: Michigan

Within my involvement in the Athena Institute program, I have learned about the value of death; it is not something to be feared, rather death is simply a natural part of life. Far too many people choose to run away from and avoid death at all costs, instead of choosing to find meaning in the … Continue reading “Reflections on the Value of Death, Life’s Meaning”

This year was my second year as part of the Athena Institute Pre-Med Volunteer program. I have already graduated, and this past year, I applied to medical school. I put extra effort into reflecting about my experience as part of the Athena program so that I could articulate it well in my application and at … Continue reading “Reflections of a Second year Athena Institute Hospice volunteer”

When I first stepped foot in a hospice facility, I was unsure of what to expect. Although I was accompanied by my supervisor who would be giving me an introduction to my patient, there was this overwhelming sense of dread; it was like a pit in my stomach. “Hospice is where people go to die,” … Continue reading “Confronting Death”

Undoubtedly, there is a general fear and discomfort surrounding death. People are quick to ask why I would ever want to volunteer to visit hospice patients instead of choosing something more uplifting. The answer is simple: The patients I’ve met are more than diagnoses and life expectancy calculations. My experience with hospice has taught me … Continue reading “Life Lessons at the End-of-Life”

I am very thankful to have been part of this program.  I have learned a lot about end-of-life care and the role of physicians in this field, and I also feel that I have grown as an individual.  Before this program, I always assumed that health professionals need to do everything they can to prolong … Continue reading “Reflections of a Hospice Volunteer”

This past year truly has been unprecedented as the entire globe and all of its institutions navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, hospice care as well as the elderly might have been the hardest impacted experiences that provide an overall negative outcome. COVID-19 has a particularly high fatality rate for elderly individuals and those who … Continue reading “A Year Unlike Any Other”

My most meaningful hospice patient relationship was with an elderly lady named “Joanne”. With COVID-19 restrictions in place, I never had the chance to meet her, but I wrote weekly letters to her from the beginning of October to the end of March. At first, I was skeptical about sending cards to Joanne. I realized … Continue reading “Life Learning through Letters”

When I began my time in the pre-med hospice program, I was coming off of three months of working as a nursing assistant in a woefully understaffed nursing home, made worse by the constant rate of employee turnover due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While I found this job satisfying because it gave me the chance … Continue reading “Crafting Meaningful Relationships in a Medical Career”

My first encounter with the Hospice Volunteer Program started with a topic relating to the first fear and anxiety that all doctors have: unable to fix a medical problem. As an individual who is interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, I have the same stereotypical thought that doctors are supposed to “fix problems” and … Continue reading “The Pathway to Death is Not Road To Failure”

I am incredibly grateful to have participated in this program. My experiences with the patients that I visited have fostered my development of two crucial traits: empathy and compassion. I quickly learned that as a volunteer, my job was to assess what the patient needs at that moment of that particular day. Empathy was essential … Continue reading “Hospice Volunteering: A Year of Growth and Development”