A Visit to the Montgomery Sickle Cell Clinic

Hello! In addition to my academic learning, I have gained experience in civic engagement and community service through the traveling sickle cell clinic. The clinic travels to surrounding cities providing patients a chance to meet with their hematology specialist team. There are many benefits to this service including convenience for the families, cost effectiveness, enhancing care with the primary care provider, and many others. My first clinical experience was at UAB Montgomery Health Care System.

The clinic team sees a variety of patients, ranging from birth to nineteen years. Most patients are referred to the Children's clinic by their pediatrician. Most clinics there is a representative from the Sickle Cell Foundation that provides additional educational sessions, information, and videos on various topics.

During my clinic I shadowed Kristen with two patients and it illustrated several points for me.  I have tried to condense my experience into the most important points below.

• The severity of illness ranges on a spectrum depending upon the type of sickle cell disease (discussed in earlier post), treatment, and the individual. Some patients are seen once a year with no complications, while others are in the hospital almost every week.
• Having a child with a chronic illness changes the entire family system. The families were a source of knowledge to me about not only the disease process but the emotional experience as well. 
• Complications can start early in life. One ten year old patient was at clinical risk for stroke based upon transcranial doppler results. It was hard for me to imagine what it must feel like to worry about stroke prevention in your elementary student. 
• Despite all the hardships and health complications, they are still children. Giggling, playing, "I hate homework" children. They were a joy to be around.

Overall it was a terrific experience that allowed me to move beyond the book work and help with patients. I enjoyed meeting patients and their families. While my background research was important I feel that I learned much more in the community setting gaining experiential knowledge.

Thanks for reading!