By: Isabella North, MS-1.

Isabella North is a 1st year podiatric medical student at Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine. She is a finalist for the Women’s Month Scholarship.

Walking on campus and looking at the billions of advertisements as I walked by, there was one particular advertisement caught my eye: “Become a Language Partner.” I signed up not knowing anything that I was getting myself into. As a language partner, we are paired with a non-native English speaker and are to help them with conversational English and teach them about North American culture. I was paired with a woman named Seda. She was a Turkish woman who was completing her post-doctoral degree for the last six months in the biology department. We emailed for quite a bit until we met up for the first time in the student center. I was very nervous, and I could tell she was as well. We both looked at each other, unsure what we were getting ourselves into.

The first meet up was nothing like I expected. She could barely speak any English or understand what I was saying. After the first meeting, I felt defeated, but then Seda gave me a hug and said, “Thank you so much!” I realized that just being there and trying to speak with her meant the world to her. As our weekly meetings continued, we started to try to understand each other more. We found ways to work off each other such as writing words down on notebooks and spelling them out, or googling the meanings of words and translating from Turkish to English. This process of elimination, decision making, and communication reminded me of the physician-patient relationship that I hope to soon experience. Throughout each meeting, she became more comfortable attempting to speak in English and talking about her culture, and would compare her culture to American culture based on things I said. It was interesting to compare and contrast different things that we grew up knowing in our native countries. Through her, I learned how to explain simple, yet complex things. While listening to her speak of her culture, I became aware of the diverse health beliefs, practices, and needs that each human has. I felt empowered being one of her friends and tried to make her experience in America something special.

This process of elimination, decision making, and communication reminded me of the physician-patient relationship that I hope to soon experience.

Towards the end of our time together she reached out to me and thanked me. She stated that I was one of the only people who actually would sit down and try to understand her. As a future podiatric physician, it is important to note that inclusion of everyone is important. This experience has made me realize that I will always make sure that none of my patients feel the way Seda did when she first came to America. My experience has made me want to work with disadvantaged populations to reduce disparities and make sure that everyone I meet feels like they are being listened to.

As a future podiatric physician, it is important to note that inclusion of everyone is important. This experience has made me realize that I will always make sure that none of my patients feel the way Seda did when she first came to America.

My future career goals are to work as a podiatrist and practice in a rural community, most of which are medically underserved. I want to work within a practice that supports interprofessional learning and team-based care. This is important to me in order to be able to provide quality care, prevention, and treatment to patients. My previous experiences have motivated me to work with disadvantaged populations to reduce health disparities and make sure that everyone I meet feels like they are being listened to regardless of their skin color, culture, language, or socioeconomic status. I wish to provide this care for my future patients. Within this type of practice and rural setting, I know that my love for people, passion to advocate for patients, and desire to provide the best healthcare available would be met.

My previous experiences have motivated me to work with disadvantaged populations to reduce health disparities and make sure that everyone I meet feels like they are being listened to regardless of their skin color, culture, language, or socioeconomic status.

By Isabella North, MS–1

School: Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine

Support Hallux Magazine’s Writing

Have the urge to write something? Are you motivated to publish something worth sharing? Want to give advice, helpful tips, or podiatry information to the younger generation? Visit our Authors section before submitting. Get in contact with us and one of our student journalists will reach out to you. We hope to get from people around the world that way.