Personal Narrative: My Life In The Dominican Republic
The summer before my senior I was in the Dominican Republic and had the opportunity to shadow an OB/GYN and watch as he delivered a baby. It has always been my dream to become an OB/GYN and I was about to watch my first birth. My uncle who is a pediatrician set me up with this opportunity.
I arrived at the hospital and was quickly prepped and rushed into the delivery room as there was already a woman in labor. The room was full of nurses, student doctors and of course the obstetrician. After about 15 minutes, I noticed the baby’s head had still not come out. That’s when the doctor told the mother to push harder. He kept telling her to push harder and calling her “morena” which in English means “black girl” and it can also be offensive in Spanish. The baby would not come out so the doctor straddled the mother and began pushing her stomach while saying “empuja morena” which means “push black woman.” …show more content…
Initially he had the same mentality the other doctors and nurses had. He told me the Haitians take advantage of the resources offered by The Dominican Republic. This shocked me especially because there are Dominicans who migrate to the United States and also use the resources offered here. At first I was not able to change his mind. However, a few days later he called me to say that he thought about what I said. He understood and agreed with my point of view and how he was going to change the way he treated his own patients. That day I learned a lesson no one could teach me. The experience made me want to become a doctor even more and ensure that no one receives that type of treatment. It also taught me that when I become a doctor nothing should prevent me from breaking the Hippocratic oath, and that I must take an oath for myself. The oath being that no matter what background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity I will treat everyone
I arrived at the hospital and was quickly prepped and rushed into the delivery room as there was already a woman in labor. The room was full of nurses, student doctors and of course the obstetrician. After about 15 minutes, I noticed the baby’s head had still not come out. That’s when the doctor told the mother to push harder. He kept telling her to push harder and calling her “morena” which in English means “black girl” and it can also be offensive in Spanish. The baby would not come out so the doctor straddled the mother and began pushing her stomach while saying “empuja morena” which means “push black woman.” …show more content…
Initially he had the same mentality the other doctors and nurses had. He told me the Haitians take advantage of the resources offered by The Dominican Republic. This shocked me especially because there are Dominicans who migrate to the United States and also use the resources offered here. At first I was not able to change his mind. However, a few days later he called me to say that he thought about what I said. He understood and agreed with my point of view and how he was going to change the way he treated his own patients. That day I learned a lesson no one could teach me. The experience made me want to become a doctor even more and ensure that no one receives that type of treatment. It also taught me that when I become a doctor nothing should prevent me from breaking the Hippocratic oath, and that I must take an oath for myself. The oath being that no matter what background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity I will treat everyone