Twice a month, CMDA Atlanta medical students volunteer at the Clarkston medical clinic serving refugees and their families. Sarah Coyle is a second-year medical student at the Georgia campus of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine here in the Atlanta area. Sarah has not only served with us in Clarkston, but last summer she went with our Atlanta team to the Dominican Republic to medically serve the Haitian communities working in the sugarcane fields. Below is her story of how serving here in Clarkston is having an impact on her faith and on training her to become a Christian doctor.
What I love about spending my Saturday at the Clarkston Clinic is that I am intertwining my medical education with the greatest call on my life: to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the world around me.
In my first two years of medical school, I learned far more than I thought possible, and I don’t think I will ever grow tired of learning about the way God designed the human body. But when Dr. Keller asked me to do an eye exam on one of our patients, I was humbled and had to laugh at myself a little when I realized just how much of a neophyte I am when it comes to my physical exam skills. What was so valuable in that moment was when Dr. Keller gave me a minute to try and figure it out and then came alongside me to instruct me on how I could improve and become more confident. He was patient and took the time impart what is in his muscle memory from years of clinical practice to someone like me who’s just starting out.
In getting to work alongside Dr. Keller and the many other providers who give of their time and resources, I think I speak for all of the students who’ve served at Clarkston when I say it is a great blessing every time I get to serve alongside them. They are helping a global community in the name of Jesus, and they are helping propel the next generation of physicians and healthcare providers to do the same. - Sarah Coyle, student GA-PCOM
Sarah Coyle serving a patient in the Dominican Republic