Audra Halcomb is a senior at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, double majoring in Biology and Spanish, with her eye on possibly sneaking a Linguistics major or minor into the mix. Her goal is to pursue medicine with a focus on primary care and pediatrics. Outside of her studies, she is a dedicated fiber artist who crochets freehand using geometry to make almost anything she can imagine. She is also a black belt in Taekwondo and spends her free time roller skating.
Perspectives in Healthcare is brought to you by CareYaya, America's number one rated solution for in-home senior care, providing industry-leading quality care at the most affordable rates from over 50,000 students nationwide. CareYaya is known especially for delivering the most reliable and affordable overnight senior care and 24/7 care in many major metro areas including New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Atlanta and nationwide.
Audra came to CareYaya after spotting an announcement in a pre-health newsletter and jumping at the opportunity. She saw a parallel between elder care and her intended field of pediatrics, which some might consider its polar opposite. To her, the connection was clear: both fields serve people who may be more vulnerable due to age, and both require a deep well of patience and compassion. She also saw it as a chance to develop the kind of bedside manner that no summer cashiering job could teach her.
For more than a year, she has cared for a wide variety of people with vastly different needs. Some visits involve helping with household tasks and cleaning, work that other caregivers might pass over as not educational enough. Audra sees those visits differently. Helping someone maintain a cleaner home, she believes, is helping them maintain their independence. Other visits have involved mobility assistance, personal hygiene, physical therapy, medication reminders, and the quiet but vital work of making sure someone eats safely. She says she learns something new on every visit, no matter how familiar or routine the tasks may seem.
One afternoon, she was guiding a woman through physical therapy exercises that on better days she could power through without much trouble. That day was different. Her movements were stiffer and slower, and when the frustration became too much, she began to cry. Audra paused the session, made sure she had water, and offered comfort. She told her that bad days happen, that progress is not always linear, and that she had signed up not only for the good days but the hard ones too. When they finished the exercises, Audra felt deep pride for the persistence the woman had shown. It is a moment she says she will carry with her.
There was another visit she cannot help but share. One of her clients spoke Portuguese as a first language, close enough to Audra's Spanish that the two of them found their own way of communicating across the two. The client called it "Portuñol." Audra calls it one of the most meaningful connections she has made.
What caregiving has sharpened most in her, she says, is bedside manner. She puts it simply: the people you serve can sense when you are being insincere. Kindness, patience, and honesty are not soft extras. They are the work. The experience has also reaffirmed her commitment to primary care. She has seen firsthand how the shortage of general practitioners and primary care providers affects her clients and their families, and that is where she wants to direct her energy when she enters medicine.
Her advice to anyone considering caregiving is warm and direct: if you are willing to put your adaptability to the test and go the extra mile for people who genuinely need help, this is your chance. Whatever patience and compassion you bring in, she says, the work will only strengthen it.