Day 3 - August 6th

We started our day off at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD, taking a long and breathtaking walk to get to the campus. We met up with Petty Officer Vega and he toured us around the campus taking us first to the library and then to the anatomy lab. On the way to our venues, he explained the benefits of going to medical, pharmacy, and technical school at the University including: debt free graduation, an allowance, and a more diverse education. We also had the opportunity to meet some incoming freshman who were looking forward to the grueling yet rewarding year ahead of them.

At 10:30 AM, we switched gears and headed across the street to the National Institute of Health (NIH) for our next tour. The first building we visited was the state of the art NIH Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center facility. There we saw the great work scientists are carrying out from cancer all the way to genetics research. And to digest all of the information we consumed in the long morning, at 12 PM we took a lunch break in the Clinical Research Center cafeteria. The most interesting part of the day lies ahead of us...

After lunch we were collected by a tour guide and taken around the National Library of Medicine. My personal favorite stop was the National Library of Medicine at the rare books collection. An especially ebullient man took us in a secure room and allowed us to witness history unfold before our eyes, literally. The craftsmanship, thought, and dedication that went into producing such books and pieces of art and knowledge just cannot be comprehended. Medicine is too broad a subject for any one person to become skilled in in their lifetime and to fully appreciate how far it has come, one has to examine its roots. How, without any modern tools, great physicians like Avicenna made discoveries that have been incorporated into modern medicine is a marvel all should behold.

The final and the most exciting part of the day offered us the deepest privilege of meeting the Acting Surgeon General of the United States of America, RADM Boris Lushniak. He explained the two fold duty of the Surgeon General which is first, serving as "America's doctor" and the second, serving as Commander in Chief of the United States Public Health Service. We then went on to have an extremely honest exchange of words during our Q and A portion of our hour long meeting. RADM Lushniak opened my eyes to the duties of the Surgeon General and how they are more broad than what meets the eye. He and his office are tasked with researching public health issues until they can find enough evidence to come up with a near-certain conclusion and then to put out call-to-actions like the recent one regarding skin cancer. The work done in this office is absolutely incredible and very important in securing the health of our Great Nation. This was one of the best days of the OSG Internship and really made the experience.

Day 2 - August 5th

As our OSG adventure continues, we set off to the HHS  building downtown to meet with presenters who educated us about the responsibilities of SOC, or the Secretary’s Operations Center.

After touring the facility and meeting with staff, we took the metro over to NACCHO. There, four presenters shared information about their departments. They spoke of various topics  ranging from preparedness, accreditation, and equity to chronic disease, and each presenter painted a picture of what their responsibility entailed and how their departments affect the local and global communities.

We had the chance to grab a quick lunch at the local food trucks where all of us tried new cuisines.

Newly recharged by our meal, we headed towards Mr. George Sifakis’ office. There, we met with his assistant who briefed us on advocacy and it's importance. We spent the rest of the day in meetings    on Capitol Hill with congressional officer representatives talking about HOSA Future Health Professionals and Perkins Funding.

The meetings were a success! To celebrate we all went down to Vapiano’s and enjoyed some quality Italian food. We headed to Georgetown Cupcakes afterward and each enjoyed the famous delicacies. The ended with a twilight tour of the monuments lead by CAPT Tosatto. The beautiful monuments glistened under the lights and made us appreciate their history even more.

All in all, the day was long but rewarding! Can't wait for what tomorrow will bring!

Day 1 - August 4

Today marked the beginning of our internship at the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General.  We were all very excited to get started this morning, and we began by talking with ENS Sophia Yang, our program host, about the overview of our week. 

After brief introductions, we had the opportunity to hear from CAPT Patrick Denis.  He gave us an introduction to the Office of the Surgeon General and US Public Health Service.  He also shared some insightful advice for leaders: “Know what you know and find out what you don’t know.  Then, know you have to know everything about what you do know.”

After receiving an overview of the OSG and USPHS, CAPT Robert Tosatto introduced us to the Medical Reserve Corps.  Hearing about the different efforts that MRC volunteers have played a role in throughout the years was very interesting.  After a Thai lunch, we began developing our group project for the week.

To finish our day, we heard from LT Katie Hager.  She shared some of her career experiences as a member of the USPHS Commissioned Corps.  Today was a great start to our internship, and we cannot wait to see what else the week holds for us.