Jim Marcin practices pediatric medicine at home and abroad
By Susan MacCulloch
Viewpoint Staff Writer
Dr. Jim Marcin of 26th Street practices pediatric critical care at U.C.
Davis Medical Center, just a brief commute from the home he shares with
his wife, Erin and their three children. But once, and sometimes twice
each year, his work commute takes him thousands of miles away for a two-week
volunteer assignment.
It's after taking these much longer rides-plane rides instead of a short
car ride-to work that he practices pediatric medicine with two nonprofit
organizations providing cleft lip and palate surgery to medically underserved
children overseas. It's an ideal way to
combine service with an avid interest in international travel.
Shortly after Jim and Erin moved to Curtis Park in 1998, Jim traveled
to Venezuela and volunteered with Rotaplast International, assisting surgeons
performing cleft lip and palate surgeries. As part of his medical mission
with Rotaplast and another U.S.-based nonprofit, Operation Smile, he screens
and preps children for surgery and provides after-care in the ICU. Jim's
travels with these organizations have taken him to China, Russia, Kenya
(twice), Morocco, Bolivia, Honduras, and this spring, to Calcutta, India.
Why does he go so far from home to take on these difficult medical cases?
"Honestly, probably the most gratifying experiences are carrying
the children from the recovery room and gently placing the sleeping child
in the arms of the mother, and seeing their faces light up with happiness,
full of joy, at how their child's face has been transformed," said
Jim. "In all seriousness, that's it."
"Many of these children are abandoned, orphaned or shunned by the
community. Many do not go to school but instead are kept home. The families
are ashamed; the children are embarrassed and recluse. All of that changes
in one day-that's Operation Smile's mission, to change the world one smile
at a time."
Together Jim and his wife, Dr. Erin Marcin, who is an obstetrician/gynecologist
at Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento, have explored Bolivia, Kenya, and
Morocco following Jim's medical volunteer missions. The couple first went
on an overseas medical mission together in Costa Rica while in medical
school at U.C. San Francisco. Later, during their residencies, they went
on a mission in Buenos Aires.
Erin flew with Jim to Calcutta last April, intending to travel independently
while he worked with the cleft palate team. When her travel arrangements
ran awry, the mission coordinator invited Erin to join the team. Erin
charted, nursed, and assisted teams bringing children into the emergency
room.
With no elevator, she recalls carrying children up and down several flights
of stairs.
"It was the most important thing I've ever done apart from having
my kids," said Erin following her work in Calcutta. The couple's
three children are Maret, 10, Gus, 8, and Adrienne, 5.
Balancing a demanding medical practice at home with family and trips abroad
is at times challenging. Jim acknowledges that his overseas' service wouldn't
be possible without Erin's strong support, the assistance of Marina, their
German au pair, and the couple's mothers.
Not surprisingly, Jim returns from each mission with a deep appreciation
for life in Curtis Park.
"I have a 'no complaint' policy which lasts about three weeks,"
he shares. "I have no right to complain about everyday life and its
irritants after observing the conditions so many people overseas experience
on a daily basis."
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