As a clinic volunteer Boyd has worked almost every Saturday for 15 years. He directs other volunteers and advises them about each one’s role in this clinic. He treats almost 100 patients with the help of other volunteers each Saturday. He orders medication each week after discussing the medication needs with the pharmacy volunteers. He also orders supplies as needed. During the week, he arranges referrals to specialists if possible. Boyd has developed an electronic medical record system that keeps track of medication utilization, patients seen, and diagnoses established.

What a joy it is really to see people for medical reasons for free – no money and no time allotment. And in the God context it becomes even more joyful and rewarding.  A lady came recently to the Manos Juntas Clinic to be seen as a patient. I was in the midst of understanding that this particular patient was having profound emotional pain and I asked what was troubling her life over the last few months and she began to share her heart as a mother hurting for her children. Since medical school days God began to put in our hearts, Glenda my wife and I, the desire to make medical practice more than touching the body’s ills and actually extend our work to touch lives in soul and spirit. Medicine for us is a door to heal the body, the soul and direct the spirit to the only wise God Who really can heal in every sense. I am involved in one other free medical clinic in Oklahoma City, but it is a real pleasure coming to Manos Juntas and working along Dr. Boyd Shook     to give a physician’s touch to needy people looking for medical care.

I started to volunteer at Manos Juntas in 2001. Initially, I volunteered because I needed the hours to apply for medical school but after awhile I realize that working at the clinic gives me the most compelling reasons why I want to be a doctor and what a doctor role really meant to be - to use the knowledge to help those who are in need around you and to contribute to society. These reasons keep me going tirelessly for the past 9 years and I anticipate many years to come. I graduated from OU with a bachelor degree in 2001 and joined the MD/Ph.D program at OUHSC in 2003. I finished my Ph.D. in 2009 and I anticipate attaining my M.D. at the end of 2010.

I started volunteering at Manos Juntas Clinic during my freshman year in college. I started only coming every other weekend helping with the triage of patients. The more I came, the more I found myself enjoying the many experiences I had by interacting with the patients, fellow volunteers, and physicians. I currently volunteer on a regular basis performing triage, shadowing physicians, and helping with various laboratory tasks. I would sum up my experience here at Manos Juntas as very educational, fulfilling, and throughly enjoyable.

My name is Casey Prammanasudh and I’ve been volunteering at Manos Juntas since January of 2009. I usually work in triage and in the lab. I enjoy interacting with the patients and I like the hands-on aspect of these two positions. I am currently applying to medical school and working on a master’s degree in public health. Volunteering at the clinic has turned out to be my primary inspiration for entering into public health. I have always been interested in both human rights and medicine as an undergraduate student, and working at the clinic has given me an opportunity to combine those two passions.

Dat and Jennifer Pham have been volunteers for the Manos Juntas Clinic for over 9 years. They graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University College of Pharmacy in the fall of 2007. Last year they decided to become a permanent family by becoming married in a beautiful ceremony. Their contribution to Manos Juntas has been magnificent and above and beyond. They have assured quality in managing the pharmaceuticals of the clinic.

My name is Phuong Vu. I am currently a pharmacy student at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU COP). I have been volunteering at Manos Juntas Clinic since 2006. Let me start by saying that I love Manos Juntas Clinic! The MJ Clinic has been having a big impact on me and my future career.  I had known that I would want to be a pharmacist later on in my life, but I have never had any idea what a pharmacist really does when I just got out of high school. By volunteering at the clinic every Saturday for over the last four years, the clinic has shaped me into a more informed pharmacy student.  The clinic provides me the opportunities to interact with other healthcare professionals such as physicians, pharmacists, nurses, medical students, pharmacy students, and so on. And more than anything, Manos Juntas Clinic has given me the warm feeling when I help patients getting better in their health. Since the first day I volunteered at the clinic, I have come to realize more potential in me, and it is all because of Manos Juntas Clinic! Thank you, Manos Juntas Clinic! You are #1!!!

Hi! My name is Crystal. I am currently a student at OU College of Pharmacy. I have been a part of this clinic for more than 2 years now. I still remember the time when I first started to volunteer. I was an undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma at the time. I had heard about Manos Juntas and decided that I wanted to see what it was all about. On that first day that i came, I had no idea what was in store for me. i saw the clinic, met the people (patients and volunteers), and fell in love with the place instantly. Rarely do you see such a group of people so dedicated in helping other people. I was in awe and i wanted to be part of it too. While i volunteered here I learned how to do a variety of things such as counseling patients on their medications, taking blood pressure and glucose levels, and more. My time at Manos Juntas has been an amazing and educational experience. It is because of this clinic that I realized how i want to define myself as a pharmacist in the future.

I started volunteering at Manos Juntas about 2-3 years ago.  I love Manos Juntas because it provides me with an opportunity to pursue my passion of helping people. Also, the clinic allows me to learn a variety of things like disease processes, medications, health promotion, and a little bit about non-profit organizations.  I am currently a nursing student at the University of Oklahoma and my career goal is to earn my Doctorate of Nursing Practice.  I ultimately would like to "work for the people," in clinics like Manos Juntas.  This clinic has helped me develop my passion and has taught me many things such as how to interact with patients, the interdisciplinary aspect of medicine, and personal skills like patience.

I started volunteering regularly in October 2008. I usually work in triage, helping patients directly, but I also frequently train new volunteers for triage. Occasionally I'll do miscellaneous tasks like refilling glucose strips or finding a missing chart, too. I volunteer at Manos Juntas because I really believe in what we do -- providing health care to Oklahomans who would otherwise be shut out of the system. I'm also grateful for the opportunity to get hands-on experience in a health care setting and the opportunity to learn from practicing physicians. I am currently a senior at the University of Oklahoma, but I want to attend medical school next year. Manos Juntas has cemented my desire to practice medicine and has specifically drawn me toward primary care. I wouldn't trade my experience here for anything!

Hi, my name is Hailon, and I have been volunteering at Manos Juntas for a little over a year now, and I am really enjoying it. My sister was a former volunteer here and introduced me to this clinic during my first year of college, and I am exceedingly grateful that she did. The best part of this clinic is the variety of people that you meet, from patients and fellow volunteers to knowledgeable doctors and medical students. Interacting with this variety of people has not only taught me important skills, such as taking a patient's blood pressure, but has also taught me the value of service to others and exposed me to many different perspectives. These perspectives have added to my own and enriched it. I hope to continue volunteering at Manos Juntas in the years to come to see what else I can learn.

I started volunteering at the Manos Juntas Clinic ever since it started, about 15 years ago. I started working at the registration desk, checking in our patients. Then to pulling patients records and refiling them back. Now I come in during the middle of the week to refile the folders from the previous Saturday so it is easier to have them in the files ready for the next Saturday. I also have done a little in the pharmacy but discovered I would rather file than count pills. I do volunteer because i enjoy reaching our to people and helping those who need help.

I have lived in Oklahoma all my life except for four years that I was in the Navy during the Vietnam war.  I worked for 26 years for Kerr-McGee Corporation as a computer programmer and retired in 1994.  I have almost always volunteered at something.  I spent 16 years volunteering at Contact (now Heartline), a telephone service where anyone with any problem can call and find a listening ear to hear them.  I helped with a food pantry that provided food to persons living with AIDS for five years, and helped with the Church of the Open Arms food pantry for one year.  I have volunteered at the Manos Juntas medical clinic for about five years.  For the last year I have been responsible for coordinating the volunteers from Epworth UMC.   We are responsible for checking in clients and organizing client files.  I find the work at the Manos Juntas clinic to be very rewarding.  Each time I work I am awed at seeing the work that is being done by a wonderful group of volunteers.  I believe that many of the clients truly have no other viable option for getting health care.  Many have chronic conditions that would significantly reduce their quality of life if they did not have the medications that are given out at this clinic.

My name is Daisy Colindres. I have a Masters Degree in General Education. Currently I am working as a teacher of Spanish and English as a Second Language at Dove Science Academy. I have worked at the Manos Juntas Free Clinic at Epworth Methodist Church for three years. My duties include preparing patient’s information folders for the doctors. Once the patients have seen the doctor, I enter all patient information, prescriptions, etc. into the computer program and return the paper work to the patient folder.  Then the folders are filed and ready for patient’s next visit. Working at this clinic has been a very rewarding experience for me.

 

I am currently a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma. I started volunteering at the Manos Juntas Clinic sometime in middle-school. I used to triage patients and help out in the lab or pharmacy. Recently, I have been helping Alejandra to expand the patient and volunteer database and also to create and issue ID cards. In the beginning, coming to the clinic was something that my older brother and father insisted that I do, more for the experience than for volunteer hours. But over time, I began to really enjoy talking with the patients and tending to their needs and requests. Beign exposed to the multitude of issues, both health and non-health related, allowed me to see how important this clinic and the volunteer doctors are for the surrounding community. Working here showed me that I could truly enjoy working in the healthcare field.

My volunteer work with Manos Juntas started in January of 2007. I started helping in the pharmacy counting pills. Then I started to work with the patients medical record program. In March 2009 I became full time involved with Manos Juntas. Now I do a little of everything. I still work with the medical record program. I do data entry of lab results and patients and volunteer general information. I designed ID cards and forms for our patients and volunteers. I redesigned the Clinic interiors. I create promotional materials such as brochures, post cards, and web site redesign. I research and write grant applications for the Manos Juntas Foundation. I am proud of what we do through Manos Juntas in reaching a hand to those in need!