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A change of pace — volunteer your time
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Why volunteer? Our days as fellows are already packed with clinic, research and other work responsibilities, family and downtime. “What’s downtime?” many of you might be asking. All too often, it’s easy to lose sight of how privileged we really are. We need to make time to help others and in the process, rejuvenate ourselves, as individuals as well as physicians.
 Edward C. Chao |
Two compelling reasons for volunteering immediately come to my mind. I believe that we as physicians have a responsibility to be advocates and leaders, beyond the immediate surroundings of the clinic or hospital. I have found that volunteering is one simple way to give back, remind me to be grateful, and bring a sense of balance to my life. Serving others is an incredible opportunity to create something that no amount of money can ever buy — the knowledge that you’ve made a small difference in someone’s life. You become a part of something larger than yourself. I also find that volunteering gives me a chance to step back, take a look at the big picture, and reenergize, much as a writer puts aside a draft for a few days and then returns to it later with a new perspective.
There are countless ways to contribute to the community. One of the most rewarding and enjoyable is to take part in a walk or run for a cause. All that is needed is a small sacrifice of weekend morning time. These events offer an opportunity for comity, as colleagues can bond outside of work. These activities also encourage individuals to come together for a common purpose, while exercising and having fun. I took on the challenge of forming a team at work for the Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes, the annual 5 K walk held in cities throughout the nation to support the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org/stepout). Since I don’t have any friends who have deep pockets, ours has been a grass-roots effort. The vast majority of our contributions were from individuals — family, friends, colleagues donating $10, $25 or $50. These can add up quickly. I was reminded again both of the power of one person to make a difference, and how that can be multiplied many times over when 29 people pull together as a team. I’ve also learned more about some of the responsibilities that go along with leadership, such as motivating people and balancing varying priorities.
Though the economic crisis has made even more challenging than usual the task of seeking donations, as I write this, we just reached our goal. Most rewarding of all to me, was the moving e-mail I received this morning from a friend who wrote to tell me that she couldn’t take part in the walk, but wanted to say, “Thank you for being our champion! I appreciate it more than you know.”
As I write this, we’re just under a week away from event day. Other walks I found for diabetes are the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Walk to Cure Diabetes (www.jdrf.org) and the Global Diabetes Walk, which is supported by the World Diabetes Foundation (www.worlddiabetesfoundation.org). Of course, fundraising through walks is just one of the myriad of ways to contribute. You could volunteer at a free clinic or even travel to help out, like an endocrinology fellow I know who recently spent an entire month in Fiji, teaching medical students and residents, as well as seeing patients. You can volunteer your time doing something completely unrelated to medicine: read to children, help build homes, the possibilities are endless.
I just hope that this brief column has given you a bit of food for thought to help you find something that’s right for you and that you enjoy, if you haven’t already. Now off I go to lace up my sneakers!
Edward C. Chao, DO, is a Fellow at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center in the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism and is a member of the Endocrine Today Fellows Advisory Board.