November 14, 2003 Feature
From
Practicing Compassion to Practicing Medicine
Erika McLachlan, a nutrition science student and Ag
Ambassador at Utah State, has known for years that she wants
to go to medical school. But it wasn’t until this summer
that she knew why.
 Determined
and hardworking, McLachlan devoted three months of her summer
to an orphanage in Quito, Ecuador, where she worked 13-hour
shifts and tended to more than 20 babies each day.
"I can't even put into words the feelings I have about
it," McLachlan said. "At first, the work was hard
and the shifts were long. But after a while I realized we were
acting as the parents of those babies, and the work took on
a new meaning."
McLachlan’s responsibilities at the orphanage included
feeding, dressing and caring for infants. At one time she was
assigned to care for a premature baby with pneumonia, who needed
someone with her 24 hours a day. McLachlan slept over with her
at the hospital some nights.
"As I cared for this tiny baby, she taught me a sense
of love and compassion I had never before understood,"
McLachlan said. "Feeding her a small, four-ounce bottle
could take two hours, but the amount of time became trivial.
All that was important was that she was getting calories."
 Mclachlan
also traveled three hours upriver in a canoe to visit a clinic
that served 35 surrounding communities. After observing and
visiting with other volunteers and physicians, she discovered
possibilities for service in the medical field.
"For a person with a medical degree, there is literally
a world of opportunity," McLauchlan said. "As a doctor,
I will be able to serve others to the best of my capabilities
and participate in the type of humanitarian work I saw there."
McLaughlan, who has been busy submitting applications to medical
schools, said the lessons she learned in Quito changed her,
and will always be a part of who she is.
"It was an awesome experience and I was definitely reassured
that my decision to pursue medicine was correct," she said.
"As a patient sits talking to me—trusting me—I
will be compelled to give them everything just as I gave those
babies all my love. If I don’t give my all, who will?"
Story by Miaken Christensen, miaken@cc.usu.edu
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