Mother Theresa once said, “What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”
This is especially true if you go home, love your family and help your community. Chris Culhane, a fourth-year medical student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, had an opportunity to come home for four weeks in October to live with his family in Shawano and work at the nearby Menominee Tribal Clinic in Keshena. His dad, Dr. Kevin Culhane, has been helping patients at the clinic for many years.
“I discovered an elective at UW-Madison that included a rural training track with ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano that included work with the tribal clinic,” Culhane said. “This seemed like a perfect chance to learn and help people at the same time. I wanted to get insights about this unique, under-served population and the challenges they face every day. And, of course, I welcome any opportunity to come back to Shawano and reconnect with my:family and friends.”
Culhane was greeted with open arms by both the clinical staff and patients.
“They were so welcoming and willing to help me with my education,” he continued. “The clinical staff was open to the things I’m particularly interested in, like OB. They would take time to call me in the middle of the night to observe. The community health nurses took me on their rounds to learn more about the things impacting the health of their patients, like access to quality food and impoverished living conditions. But I was equally impressed with the kindness and friendliness of the patients.”
Helping under-served populations isn’t new to Culhane, who spent more than a year working for a volunteer program in Ecuador.
“I think it’s important to give back, and I really want to do something to help communities thrive,” he said. “I have a few more rotations to complete in the coming months until I discover where my Family Medicine Residency will be next year. I’m so grateful to ThedaCare for providing a great environment to grow. The insights I’ve gained in the past four weeks have made a profound impact on me.”
Maybe Mother Theresa was right. The future Dr. Culhane might be promoting world peace, one patient at a time, wherever “home” happens to be.