Two Lovely Days

By David Spero Life can be hard, especially with a chronic illness. But there can still be times of beauty, fun, and love. I had two days like that over the weekend, and even though I paid a price for them, I think they were worth it. On Friday, I went to City College of San Francisco for the graduation of their community heath worker (CHW) program. CHWs do vital work helping people change behavior, seek help, and navigate the health-care system. Some work with drugs and alcohol, some with violence and trauma, some with chronic illness, some with prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. Some do other things as well. It's all skilled work. I looked at their textbook, and I believe being a CHW is harder than being a medical doctor (MD). The personal skills they need must take years to develop. They need to be counselors, organizers, advocates, investigators, nurses, among a bunch of other roles. CHWs are not highly valued by the system, though. If they find work at all, it will be paid not much better than minimum wage, but they do it to help their community and help themselves get better. All of them have hard lives; most have been where their patients are now. One graduate said, "I have a PhD, a Personal History with Drugs." People's children, families, and friends were there, sometimes shouting support. This was a really big deal for the graduates and their loved ones. I was invited because I sometimes guest-lecture to CHW classes on empowerment as medicine. They use ...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs