OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
NOT Lost in Translation
Photo courtesy of Norton Healthcare / Jamie Rhodes . by JUAN POLO , MD
Ministry ( KRM ).
In 1995 , I arrived in Louisville with my wife and two teenagers . I had $ 400 to my name and a debt of $ 4,000 to a family member in Miami . I did not know the city at all . No relatives and no friends had ever lived in Kentucky . I was the only one able to communicate in English . We were sponsored by the Kentucky Refugee
Working in Burundi , Central Africa , opened my eyes and showed another way of living as a professional . It showed me that I could have a better life , like my African colleagues . I worked together with physicians from different countries . I saw their houses , their cars and how wealthy they were . I also saw that I could work outside my hometown and outside of my native country .
Passing the Boards was not easy . When I was in medical school , we never studied DNA replication . The hepatitis virus was not well known like it is today . So , after 20 years in obstetrics and gynecology ,
I had to quickly review all those subjects , many of them , absolutely forgotten . Thanks to Dr . Moises Dreszer , Dr . Leonardo Clavijo and Ms . Nayris Bracey : they truly helped me . I started to study with books and a dictionary . I had no money for a Kaplan course . I was forced by my circumstances to work full-time during the day and study from 6 p . m . to midnight .
The Internal Medicine Residency Program was my choice . It was an internship , at 43 years old , on call every three days and dealing with tons of abbreviations and slang that I had never heard in my entire life . I was like a sponge , absorbing everything , trying to understand medical students , residents and attendings in daily rounds . I had to guess the meaning of JVD , STD , CHF and DNR . Words that were very well-known for native medical students and staff were absolutely new for me . My only help was my old Washington Manual . For three years I prayed to the Lord 24 / 7 asking for the help of Saint Jude .
In those days , I promised that I would serve the growing Hispanic community and that I would remain in Louisville after grad-
6 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE