I spent most of my year at the South Bronx Health Center settling in. Immersed in a continuous learning process, I was always refining my routine and developing an attack plan for assignments that fell outside my comfort zone. Despite inevitable moments of frustration, this experience was usually exciting. I was challenged to innovate and entrusted with creative control over projects such as a curriculum of prenatal educational materials and recruitment for a new group therapy program for parents. While helping to develop evaluation tools for the clinic, I took many stabs in the dark before finally presenting my findings to my team. This environment was thrilling since I watched my skills develop on a daily basis and got to put them to the test through direct patient service.
However, the problem with spending a year getting comfortable is that I feel in no way prepared to leave the clinic. I’ve been planning for transition but cannot help but think of all the loose ends I am leaving and projects that I feel could be perfected. Having witnessed the impact of high turnover on other organizations and the risks of entrusting one-year employees with significant responsibility, I have worried whether ideas will start to gather dust after my time. To be honest, like many other fellows, I am also a bit territorial about my work.
What I’ve come to terms with (and something that forms a core strength of GHC) is the fact that my work is much bigger than my part. I had the privilege of being one of the first two fellows at Children’s Health Fund but I feel fully confident that the fellows who follow me will achieve gains I never could have envisioned. The beauty of Global Health Corps is that I have gotten to know my replacement, Katie, over a period of months. We overlap for a week of crash course-style training and will stay in touch throughout her fellowship year. I feel certain that Katie brings a perspective on health promotion and education that stretches beyond what I ever could have offered. I have no need to worry about unfinished tasks or a wish list of projects remaining unaddressed. Katie can have an experience that is just as innovative as mine has been and channel that creativity into producing great results for our organization and, most importantly, for our patients.