HOSA OSG Internship Day Three-August 10, 2011

LT Collins, the Surgeon General's Special Assistant, with the interns

Today was a fun and exciting day for the HOSA Interns in the Office of the Surgeon General. They had the opportunity to step outside of the OCVMRC office and head to downtown Washington D.C. Allowing them the opportunity to become familiar with Capitol Hill, the Human Health Services (HHS) Humphrey building, and the Secretary Operation Center (SOC). On the first day of the internship, the students learned that the Surgeon General has three offices and today the interns had the opportunity to visit Dr. Benjamin’s main office in downtown Washington D.C. The Surgeon General is very busy with the role of “America’s Doctor” and while the interns did not have the opportunity to meet with Dr. Benjamin in D.C., they were greeted by her Special Assistant LT Collins. LT Collins attended the 2011 National Leadership Conference this past June along with Dr. Benjamin. She told the interns that she was highly impressed by the enthusiasm of all 7,000 HOSA members at the annual National Conference in Anaheim, California.

Inside the Secretary Operations Center (SOC)

The interns’ next stop in the Humphrey building was the Secretary Operations Center (SOC) where they had the opportunity to explore the many screens and computers that monitor the nation’s health. LCDR Dell informed the interns on the work that is done in the Secretary Operations Center and about the staff that is responsible for everything that happens in the SOC. In this center, all events happening during various national emergencies are monitored, such as hurricanes or forest fires. LCDR Jurkowski, a USPHS staff member of the SOC, was very interested in the three HOSA Interns. He took a break from his daily routine, so he could have the opportunity to inform the students about his experience in the Public Health Service. He asked the interns about their future plans in healthcare and provided each of them with positive insights that will help them on their journey to become future health professionals.

Next, the HOSA interns had the pleasure of meeting with the Acting Director of Science and Communications, Dr. Mary Beth Bigley. This provided an amazing opportunity to see various publications from the Surgeon General regarding the use of tobacco, breastfeeding, and underage drinking and drug abuse. They also learned about the National Prevention Strategy that the Office of the Surgeon General and 17 other governmental agencies came together to create one cohesive strategy.

Oregon McDiarmid, Brittany Woods, and Brittany Ebbing with Congresswoman Giffords' staff member, Ashley

The interns’ day concluded with a walk to Capitol Hill along with HOSA’s Washington D.C representative, Mr. George Sifakis. They had the opportunity to meet with the office of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who suffered from gunshot wounds during the tragic Tucson shooting and was saved by HOSA Hero, Daniel Hernandez. Although, Congresswoman Giffords was not present, the interns had a chance to meet with one of her assistants, Ashley, who expressed a strong interest in HOSA.

The interns then headed back on the Metro to the MRC office. The interns concluded the day by having dinner with the staff of the OCVMRC and had time to reflect on the first half of the week with the staff.