Port Townsend

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This being my second year on HCASB, you would think that I knew exactly what to
expect this time around. On the contrary, I wasnt sure if this week would be similar to the last,
would I hear the same advice, would I see the same procedures? I had never gone to Port
Townsend before, even though a great majority of my friends have. I googled all the activities,
restaurants and routes to be prepared, but when our group arrived we were surprised that we
found our way around easily and only ate at places providers recommended anyways. We
quickly became comfortable, to say the least.
After a year of doing research at the Center of Pediatric Dentistry, I came into this spring
break with a lot more knowledge and more specific questions I wanted answered. Shadowing at
Port Hadlock Dental Center was the perfect experience to give me a well-rounded perspective of
the field. I needed to get out of the world of research and school clinic to see what private
practice was all about. I was extremely fortunate that Dr. Young not only has accepting of my
lists of questions but also more than willing to discuss the answers to them. Sometimes the
hardest thing to come by is an honest conversation, and I was lucky enough to have at least 20
with Dr. Young. Just in my first day I learned more about what to expect after graduating dental
school than I had from any pre-dental workshops I had been to. From repaying school loans, to
discussions on Dental Town, to relationships in dental school, I was more than ecstatic talk about
everything and anything dentistry.
When I wasnt asking Dr. Young about which composite material he preferred I had the
privilege of observing him in his craft. I saw root canals, denture waxing, surgical extractions,
and more crown seatings than I ever had in my entire life. Dr. Young was thorough but quick and
at times I forgot I was shadowing a dentist and thought I was watching a sculpting demonstration.
The finesse and artistic aspects of dentistry were prominent in my week shadowing. From patient
to patient I followed closely behind Dr. Young watching, learning and taking notes. I saw him
deal with complicated patient cases and then ask me what I thought about the situation. I
observed him interacting amicably with all his patients and even partook in some of the banter
myself. That is why I am so grateful and thankful that Dr. Young quite literally let me be his
shadow for the week. And thank you to the staff of Port Hadlock Dental Center for accepting two
curious undergraduate students into their daily routine and taking the time to get to know us. It
was hard to leave such a warm group of people.
Outside of shadowing, my group and I had such a wonderful time eating at different
restaurants, seeing a movie at the Rose and getting multiple cones at Elevated. Like I said before
we got used to the town quickly and I know many group members spent ample amounts of time
in the Safeway by the hospital. The roads grew instinctive day by day, the Starbucks staff learned
our names and we started craving Elevated ice cream but before you knew it, we were getting
ready to leave. I had such a memorable week in Port Townsend with a group of students that I
am now excited to call my close friends. I just want to thank everyone who had to deal with my
constant calling; asking for more student spots or helping me figure out plans. Molly Hong,
thank for you making the impossible into possible and working out a schedule to allow two of
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our students to participate; as well as letting us live in your house! Lilian Ho, thank you for
dealing with 5 rowdy undergraduates, you were an insight into the medical school world that was
highly valued among our members. Debbie Fountain, The staff at Jefferson Primary Care, Dr.
Dimitri and the staff at Port Hadlock Dental Center and Port Townsend Highschool, thank you so
much again. We will never forget our week in Port Townsend and we will never forget you, a
visit back is surely in order.
-Van-Anh La, Port Townsend Team Leader 2013
This year, I had the opportunity of shadowing at Jefferson Healthcare in Port Townsend
with an amazing group of UW students. Last year during HCASB, I spent the week in Grand
Coulee and this year I was looking forward to deepening my understanding of rural medicine and
how it differs from urban areas. I shadowed four amazing physicians: Dr. Bickling, Dr. Parker,
Dr. Hong, and Dr. Harris. I was so amazed at the strong relationships they had built with their
patients, which is easy to accomplish when living in a small community where everyone knows
each other. During my time shadowing, it was confirmed to me that the relationship aspect of
medicine is very important because without building trust, patients are more hesitant to disclose
information about themselves that may further direct the provider on how to treat the patient and
what types of medications to prescribe.
Through my observations, I saw how the job title of a physician incorporates a variety of
other professions and descriptions including a scientist, detective, teacher, counselor, healer,
mentor, and a friend. I am absolutely sure that a career in medicine is the right fit for me for this
reason. In the week that I shadowed at Jefferson Healthcare, I was exposed to and gained a new
interest in family medicine. With my plans of serving my country of Ghana as a physician, I
became aware of how the practice of family medicine would provide me with the tools I need to
take care of a the whole spectrum of ages within a rural African community. The incentive I have
for wanting to practice in a rural setting is not only the fact that I was born in a rural community,
but also because physicians have more freedom on what kind of patients they would like to see
and what procedures they can do. These family medicine practitioners that I shadowed can all
deliver babies and perform cesarean sections, which probably wouldnt have been possible if
they were in an urban setting where specialists are more numerous.
Overall, I had a great experience at the clinic and loved the friendly atmosphere. It was
inspiring to be in an environment filled with people all working together to make their
community well. This has been by far the most memorable and exciting HCASB trip that I have
experienced!
-Dorender Dankwa

Spending my first Spring break as a part of HCASB in Port Townsend has given me the
extra push I needed in my journey towards a career in family medicine. Although I was only
part of the Jefferson Health Care team in Port Townsend for a short amount of time, I truly felt
like everyone around me was supportive of my passion. From this experience I was able to learn
more than I had expected from not only the physicians and nurses, but also from the patients that
I was fortunate enough to meet. It was truly inspiring to witness such dedicated health
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professionals that go beyond their job to become active ambassadors of healthy living in their
community.
Now that I have returned home to Seattle I am still going over the conservations I had
with the physicians I shadowed in my head. Having observed other health professionals in my
past, it was quite rare that we were able to talk in depth about the cases we saw, or the questions
that I may have had. However at the Jefferson Health Care Clinic, I was surprised that I was
able to have such meaningful conversations with the physicians I shadowed. It really helped me
understand and learn about the physician-patient relationship dynamic. Therefore I was able to
recognize the possible styles a physician could use when working with their patient in sustaining
their health. From our conversations, I hope to incorporate their philosophies with my own in
hope of becoming a family medicine practitioner.
In addition to seeing how well the physicians and staff attended to their patients at
Jefferson Health Care, it was also great to see how adamant everyone was in encouraging
alternative methods of health care. Coming from a metropolitan environment, I havent had too
much experience with naturopathic medicine. Nor did I think I would ever need to know about
alternatives to Western medicine. This was quite the contrary in Port Townsend. I learned that
more and more patients are interested in alternative methods of improving their health.
Therefore the physicians that I shadowed were aware of these alternative methods and have thus
been able to tailor their treatments perfectly for their patients needs. Altogether I found that the
extra work that the physicians put in to accommodate for their patients allowed them to have an
even better relationship and more compliance in sustaining the patients health.
As a whole, my week in Port Townsend with HCASB has been a blast. I felt that I was
able to walk away with an open-mind and a more powerful passion for rural medicine. The
relationships I have built with the health professionals at Jefferson Health Care has left me
refreshed and will always be cherished. Thus I sincerely hope that HCASB continues to provide
more priceless experiences to students that are avid about providing high quality rural health care.
-Rosalynn Nguyen
My overall reflection on healthcare alternative spring break was that it was such an
insightful and amazing experience. As a freshman, this was one of my first job shadowing
experiences. I had always an interest in dentistry and the subject of science but never really got a
chance to actually observe closely with a healthcare professional. This past week has taught me a
lot about discipline and what the world of healthcare was really about. In addition, it also gave
me a better perspective of the clinics in a more concentrated rural area in comparison to the
clinics in a big city or suburban area. I was also able to witness the patient and calm manner of
professionals in how they practice and deal with their patients sets the foundation to their career.
From my personal point of view, I got to witness the dentist I shadowed, Dr. Young interact with
his patients with a calm, assured, and friendly manner. He made sure each of his patients felt at
home. He also carried out his procedures in a proficient manner and answered any questions that
his patients may have had. He was confident in the options he gave for his patient that was best
for their needs such as if they really needed to have gum surgery or a root canal procedure. Even
if it wasn't preferable to them, he based his choice on what was best for their needs. I also able to
take several notes on the structure of the teeth, how the procedures were done, the way Dr.
Young interacted with his patients, and also how his assistants the dental hygienists dealt with
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the patients themselves. I saw a very friendly and comfortable environment with a foundation on
dentistry.
Although I have learned so much in the past week, I know that I definitely want to keep
on learning and exploring the career of dentistry some more. Dr. Young was able to answer a lot
of my questions and provide advice on how to run a clinic, what to expect in dental school, and
the different scientific subjects revolving around research and questions of teeth in dentistry. I
am definitely interested in shadowing on my own. I also was able to have conversations with
several of the dental hygienists and I learned about how the function of a clinic also would
depend on both the dentist and the hygienists as well. I was able to observe cleaning from the
hygienists in a closer point of view than I have before. Although most would rather spend their
break elsewhere, I loved every moment and aspect of shadowing in the clinic. The hours while
they were tiring went by fast for me and I was eager to take notes and record on the insight of the
communication between Dr. Young and his patients and his employees. I remember watching Dr.
Young examine the bite guard on the patient and how smoothly the procedure was carried out. I
knew at that moment I wanted to be able to have the chance to have that experience during my
practice and be able to utilize the tools given to perform the procedure.
While the job shadowing experience was educational, it gave me the opportunity to really
bond with team members. We all had a lot to learn from each other in our different passions yet
our driven motivation to pursue healthcare. It also was beneficial for both the healthcare
professionals and the students I feel. Our team as students were given the opportunity to really
take time to connect well with the healthcare professionals and have a better sense of
appreciation for what they do in their career. Although I liked dentistry before, I now have a
better sense of appreciation for the work, effort, and knowledge behind the details of procedures.
It's definitely more complicated than it may seem. It was really nice to be able to have
meaningful conversations with about medical or dental cases during the week. I hope that the
next year when I do apply, I am able to shadow in another place or even the same area where I
could have another wonderful connection with the healthcare professional. Although it was just
one week, it felt like a meaningful year of immense knowledge. I know I definitely have more to
learn but I am willing to continue my motivation and passion for science and healthcare.
-Dorothy Nguyen

-Ashwin Karnik