Salvador Enrique Villafana is a former UCSD Global Health major who graduated in 2021. Salvador Enrique Villafana participated in a field experience with COPE Health Scholars for approximately 6 months.
The COPE Health Scholars Program is an organization that allows passionate driven students in the healthcare field to explore the various health professions that exist and gain clinical experience where they are trained and supervised. COPE Health Scholars are trained 30 hours in patient care experience where they have the scope of practice to assist the patient care team and the healing process for patients.
During this time, Salvador assisted with the clinical education department under the supervision of the clinical education coordinator and manager Ana Salas. Salvador helped in preparing and executing clinical education classes such as Fire Safety, BLS, PALS, ACLS, New Nurses Orientation, and other workshops for CHMC faculty and staff. Salvador would also report to various clinical nurse educators and have witnessed their pedagogy in health education, literature research reviews, and clinical simulations. Salvador also shifts in Volunteer Services where he helps compile and manage the production of patient communication materials such as patient discharged folders and community health resources. Salvador also assisted with processing donated clothing for the targeted population surrounding the hospital. His shift was on Mondays from 7 am to 11 am and on Fridays from 9 am to 1 pm. Salvador received training on the fundamentals of hospital patient care delivery such as taking patients measurements, bathing/ambulating/feeding and making patients feel healed.
It's to be creative with the field experience you shift in and if you can apply your passions into it, then you'll get the most out of it. It's to have the initiative to learn, develop, and grow as global health students, and I feel as though I was able to learn much more by combining my global health classes with my field experience.
Salvador accounts that some valuable things received during the FE were affirmations and compliments during his shift at volunteer services and clinical education. Salvador was the first COPE Health Scholar to begin shifting at the Volunteer services department beginning in June 2020 due to COVID-19 and made an influential impact. Salvador was able to gain feedback regarding his enthusiasm, energy, and compassion to help during these difficult times. Salvador was notified that the department was impressed at his work ethic and friendliness to where they said that he "set the standard high for incoming COPE health scholars at volunteer services". While this was not direct clinical experience, it made him realize the importance of compassion, gratitude, and empathy in all walks of life, patient care, as well as for health workers. Salvador's glad that he was able to bring a smile in the administrative departments and make a small impact in the healthcare delivery at CHMC, and is grateful to be a health scholar. For students interested in learning more about the COPE Health Scholars Program, please visit their website at https://copehealthscholars.org/programs/health-scholar/overview/.