AFTER both her parents struggled with different cancer diagnoses in her youth, Marianas High School alumna Angeline Sahagun Salas knew that she had to become a doctor.
“I came from a low-income family and during one of our hardest moments, my family had to go into debt to pay for my dad’s treatment,” Salas said. “My mom was diagnosed at a later time and fortunately, had health insurance that covered most of her medications and travel costs to see specialists off-island. Seeing this disparity first-hand inspired me to go into the medical field so that I can represent my experiences and heritage.”
On Saturday on Guam, the soon-to-be Dr. Salas will spearhead the Teddy Bear Clinic, which aims to ease the fear children sometimes have when seeing a doctor.
According to a news release, “Children will play the role of the doctor and teddy bears will be their patients. Children will perform these tasks with…students from Guam Community College and the University of Guam studying to be health professionals. The teddy bears will go through different stations that involve various processes of seeing a medical doctor.”
Salas graduated from MHS in 2012 and moved to Guam to attend Guam Community College. She received a certificate in medical assisting from GCC in 2014, and obtained a bachelor of science degree in biology from the University of Guam.
Salas later became a researcher at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine before studying at Weill Cornell Medicine. She is due to graduate and will move on to a five-year residency in pediatrics and emergency medicine at the University of Arizona.
Salas said the idea for the Teddy Bear Clinic came from a brainstorming session on creating volunteer activities relevant to the medical field.
“I had been reading about how teddy bear clinics at other hospitals were very successful and thought that an event like this had never been done on Guam or the CNMI before, so why not try it?” Salas told Variety.
She said as a child, she herself was afraid of medical professionals.
“I still remember all the food ‘bribes’ my parents would offer just so I [would] agree to a shot!” she added.
Salas said the fear of medicine comes from a lack of understanding or control when patients find themselves on the examining table.
Her goal with the Teddy Bear Clinic is twofold: she wants to bridge that gap in a child’s understanding; and she also wants to see more Pacific Islanders in medicine.
“Children learn through play and experiences, and I hope that this event teaches them why doctors have to do what they do, and maybe inspire them to want to become medical professionals in the future.”
Salas said although there are many Asians in her school, Pacific Islander representation is “in the single digit to low-teens each year.”
Salas wants that to change.
“I think it’s important that more Pacific Islanders enter this field so that we can take care of our community in the best way we know how. We each have a role to play in the larger scheme of things, but not one person can do it alone. So let’s lift each other up, inspire each other, and help each other.”
Ageline Salas
