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MEDICAL YEAR
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improve with the use of support groups or maintaining current rela- “I was reminded of the importance of always extending grace to
tionships. I could tell you to include those management options in the people, because you never know what someone may be going
plan for my clinical notes, but I never knew how these groups and ther- through. The stories that these men and women shared were sober-
apies truly helped and impacted patients. ing and they opened my eyes to not be so quick to judge.”
During my psychiatry clinical rotation, I observed an Alcoholics
Anonymous Meeting, I walked into a small house filled with around “The thing I learned that was the most compelling for me was
20 people. Each person shared their history of addiction and each the way each woman described their compulsion to drink. They
story vastly differed. each took turns explaining their experience, but they all had a sim-
At the meeting, I introduced myself as a medical student and I ilar theme. Even when they knew that their lives were going awry
came to learn about Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Each member and faced with serious consequences, they could not stop the craving
shared their stories without hesitating. They trusted me with their and compulsion to drink. This made me realize how debilitating
vulnerability. After the meeting, I was individually greeted by this disorder is, and how sad it is that there are still people who
most members that wanted to share more with me and even think it’s simply a will-power issue.”
thanked me for my openness. My overall experience while attend-
ing these meetings as a medical student changed my view of Alco- We thank the learners for their willingness to share their experiences
holics Anonymous. It deepened my understanding of the chronic and reflections with San Antonio Medicine Magazine readers.
disease of alcoholism and it encouraged me to continue learning
and observing all the possible treatments for addiction, and now References
that I’ve not only read but seen the benefits of Alcoholics Anony- 1 Kastenholz, K.J., Agarwal, G. A Qualitative Analysis of Medical
mous, I can confidently recommend it for my future patients.” Students’ Reflection on Attending an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting:
Insights for Future Addiction Curricula. Acad Psychiatry 40, 468–474
“It was nothing like I was expecting… It was empowering for me (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-015-0380-3
to see how these people wanted to give back to the community that
did so much for them. Overall, I was blown away of the stereotypes Lori Kels, MD, MPH is a board-certified psychiatrist and an
that were broken by me going to this AA meeting and how many Associate Professor at the University of the Incarnate Word School
people need to experience these meetings to understand the hard- of Osteopathic Medicine, where she serves as the Psychiatry Clerk-
ships people are going through.” ship Director. She is also a member of Bexar County Medical Society
(BCMS) and serves as the UIWSOM representative on the BCMS Board
“I had a lot of respect and developed more empathy for my group… of Directors.
I learned to challenge my bias I had for individuals who are suffer-
ing from substance abuse, I learned it was not a moral dilemma but Madeline Kundler is a medical student interested in Psychiatry
one that included environmental trauma and hardships which are at University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medi-
not always apparent at first glance. I am more humbled and grateful cine, Class of 2024.
for all the opportunities I was given and the family support I am
given. I become more understanding and I know I will be a more
compassionate physician from this experience.”

“Being a family member of someone with alcohol use disorder is
exhausting and heartbreaking, but attending this AA meeting re-
minded me just how heartbreaking and exhausting it is to be a per-
son with alcohol use disorder.”

“I learned that many of the members had a daily struggle to fight
the urge to use, especially when life got tough.”

34 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • December 2022