Posted on November 10, 2014
Hello! My name is Talia and I am a first year MHS student in the Department of Mental Health at the School of Public Health. I find Generation Tomorrow very inspiring because of its commitment to community outreach and advocacy, and I am humbled to be part of the third cohort. I am working at the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD), the oldest operating health department in the USA.
During my first day at BCHD, I was immediately put to work. After a brief orientation, and watching my supervisor test just one client, I was allowed to test the next client that came into our office.
In the beginning I was nervous, but I introduced myself to the client and began running the test for HCV. After counseling the client about HCV, I told him that he would have to wait 15 minutes for the results. He responded: “I did not know I was going to have to wait.” I did not know what to say. My supervisor noticed my hesitation to respond and informed the client that if the he were to test positive we would be able to connect him to the care that he needed.
From this experience I realized the similarities between the client and myself. While I was nervous about whether or not I would obtain accurate results, the client was even more nervous about what the results would actually be! In the future, it will be my priority to create a comfortable environment for the client by celebrating the decision he has made to get tested and by offering the support that he needs no matter what the test results are.
