GOL Week 1 (June 5-June 9)

 Wow this week was amazing! 

I was definitely overwhelmed during the first couple of days as everything was a new experience. I've never had a job where business casual attire was the norm, so this week I learned about professionalism and the proper attire to convey that professionalism. This week I participated in Tissue services and observed the Transplant Information Call Center (TIC) on a rotational basis which will be outlined below. I also received Didactic overviews of tissue services and the TIC in addition to being enrolled in courses that inform me on what tissue donation is, how to talk to families, the proper procedures Gift of Life partakes in, and so much more. 

Monday (06/05/2023): I arrived through the gates of the Gift of Life Institute and began my orientation. I was taken to the IT/HR department to take a photo so that I could have badge access to specific portions of the GOL facility. In addition, the other intern and I learned all about Gift of Life, its mission, the numbers that show GOL's progress through the years, and an overview of how to understand information that will be relayed in monthly staff meetings. We then received our work laptops, partook in IT/Scam prevention training, and started our courses on blood-borne illnesses, precautions to take in certain facilities, and the courses that speak to GOl and everything involved within the organization. I was also shown to my desk for the summer (photo to right)!! I've never had a desk that was officially my own for any internship or job, so that was very exciting for me. Finally, we received a tour of the institute and all the different floors/what is on each floor. That night, the other intern and I went home and talked about how excited we are for this amazing experience we get to partake in.             

Tuesday (06/06/2023): This morning, we arrived to work around 8am to begin our assigned courses before the day was to start. We then had meetings for the first half of the day including Didactic overviews of Tissue Services, perfusion, utilization of Tissue presentation, and a TIC overview. After, I ate lunch before spending the remainder of the day in tissue services. I entered the woman's locker room, changed into scrubs, and was able to begin my rotation. This was one of the most exciting days I've had in my life so far as I actually was able to observe a cornea recovery. Now, I won't go into the details for those with weak stomachs, however, I found myself relating what I had learned in Physiology to what I was observing when it came to eyesight, eye structure, and structural integrity of the eye. Soon after the cornea recovery, I was able to observe the prepping of a donor before recovery of the gifts they will provide to many recipients. The tissue services staff made sure that any places where possible recovery would take place were clean of dirt, body hair, and dried fluids from causes of death. I then was able to see the prepping of the OR room where recovery would take place and was shocked by the sterility. I hadn't realized that the same sterilizing procedures for alive patients going through surgery were the exact same for donor recoveries. Everything was draped in blue and the recovery specialists changed their gloves very frequently. I was told that they would change their gloves for each zone of the body, respectively, but seeing it was a different story. I then observed the specialists recovering the square of back skin, the humerus bones in the upper limbs, lower limb bone recovery (femur/Achilles/tibia/fibula), and lower limb tendon recovery. I was even able to peer into the kneecap as the recovery specialist pointed out the ACL and meniscus. Overall, today was amazing. 

Wednesday (06/07/2023): I started the day by arriving at work early to get some of my course content completed before our experiences for the day began. We were given a welcome presentation and tour by Howard Nathan, a Juniata alum who is the Executive Director of the GOl Foundation and former president and CEO. In the second part of the day, I was able to observe the transplant information call center an given a headset so I might be able to listen to family calls, hospital referrals, and coroner communication (photo below). The Transplant information call center is where every hospital in this region calls Gift of Life and informs them of a death. The TIC then goes through a series of pre-screening questions before determining proper donor suitability. If determined suitable for tissue donation, the TIC staff will make efforts to contact the next of kin for authorization via phone (For organ donation these conversations are conducted in person by transplant coordinators). During my time in the TIC for this day, I could listen to a hospital referral, observe the TIC member track a kidney transplant they had coordinated, and listen in to a coroner call to determine pick-up of the donor after recovery. 

Thursday (06/08/2023): I again started my day by arriving to work early and beginning on course content. I then went down to tissue services, changed into scrubs, and entered the tissue services doors. There were no cases for most of the day I was in tissue services, so instead, I was taught how to scrub in, and gown/glove myself sterilely. (See photo to right). After going through the scrub, gown, and glove process a couple times, I ate lunch and went back to my desk to continue some coursework. Laura Robinson, the clinical education project manager, and main person in charge of us interns informed me that there would be a recovery starting around 2:45. I was ecstatic that I would be able to see a tissue recovery that day. I went down to tissue services around 2:45 and was given a tour of the supply shelves and kits for each tissue manufacturer. I was then able to observe the decon process of cleaning the donor before recovery. I observed the square of full-thickness back skin recovery, thigh and abdominal skin recovery (top layer), and lower limb bone recovery. Due to circumstances, this donor was not eligible for upper limb tissue recovery. The recovery specialists used an interesting tool that essentially shaved off the top layer of skin which can be used to turn into skin grafts for burn victims and mastectomy reconstruction surgery. I was also able to actually scrub in and help table which includes double bagging the bones recovered from the donor to be sent to manufacturers who create bone grafts and other products that can help over 100 people. I was also able to see the specialists put the donor back together using biodegradable corn-fibered stilts which can be adjusted depending on the height of the donor. This is done with respect for the donor, the donor family, and however, the family may want to remember their loved one (cremation, burial, open casket funerals, etc). The entire recovery process for today was an amazing observational and educational experience I was able to partake in with hands-on experience by scrubbing in and helping with the recovery process.

Friday (06/09/2023): Today, I arrived to work early and began coursework. At around 9 am, I was given a tour of the mail room, copying machines, and processing for mailing letters or packages via UPS or USPS from the GOl facility. After, I went to the Transplant Information Call center to observe for the day. I was able to listen in on two hospital referrals, one research facility referral, one family call with approved authorization, and assisted with donor transportation from the donor floor, to the location where NORA picks up donors and brings them to their respective funeral homes, or facilities for further steps three separate times. NORA is the service that GOl uses to transport donors to and from the GOL facility and donor teams to and from hospitals. In addition, I was able to ask many questions about tissue recovery, the process, next of kin information, and tips on how to speak with families who have just lost a loved one. 

Overall, this week was an amazing experience and I feel like I have learned so so much. My knowledge of tissue and organ recovery has grown beyond what I thought was even possible and I am extremely excited for the next nine weeks I have to learn everything I possibly can and partake in many amazing experiences.