Reflective Essay: My Literacy In The Medical Field

For as long as I can remember, I was always interested in watching “doctor shows.” I watched shows like House, M.D., Scrubs, and E.R. Being young, only four or five, I could not really follow what was going on in these shows. The doctors and nurses would use language I had never heard before, but I still continued to watch the shows and make up my own story line. As I grew up, I still continued to love the medical field and watched the same TV series over and over. I took several health science classes in high school, but still could not completely understand what the doctors were saying. I wanted to further my knowledge of medical terminology and the medical field, so I began to do some research on what was available in the community. Last summer, the Medical Explorations program at UT furthered my literacy in medical terminology.
Thankfully, I was accepted into a wonderful program the summer going into my senior year. I was so excited for the experience. It was a six-week, Monday-Friday, 8am-4pm program. Each week I was assigned to shadow a
The doctors I shadowed were very helpful and understood that I was just learning. They would take time out of their busy schedule to explain a word, procedure, or surgery to me. This professional courtesy really helped me become more literate in medical terminology. I began to get familiar with the words they would continuously use and added them to my vocabulary. I would come home every day and tell my mom what new words I had learned. She began to see me use medical words more in my everyday life. “You seem to have learned quite a bit of terminology through your program” (Puckett). I soon felt a connection with the doctors as I too could speak a little bit of “their language.” I continued to study on my own, ask the doctors questions, and listen carefully to enhance my ability to communicate with health care