Week 10 GOl (August 7-August 11)-Last Week!

 Hello friends! I am back with the last post regarding my internship at The Gift of Life Donor Program and Institute. This week I primarily spent time working on my project and handling insurance companies from the accident last week. This internship has provided me with so many skills, knowledge, and ideas that I have never thought could've existed. Being exposed to so many different components of medicine has been incredible and I am excited to continue my career in medicine. Its really incredible how every single person has an equal role in ensuring that lives are saved; including the administrative components, nurses, residents, fellows, attendings, surgeons, call center employees, educational institutes, family members,  counselors, chaplains, and so many more. I feel like I am leaving this internship with a piece of knowledge from every department and am so thankful to everyone that put their time and effort into creating this incredible experience. Here is the summation of my final week! 


Here is a photo of Howard Nathan, Executive Director and prior CEO of the Gift of Life Donor Program rewarding me with my certificate of completion from the Gift of Life Donor Program and Institute internship program. 



Monday (August 7): Today, I went into the office and worked on my final project capstone for the internship. Some of the institute, including myself and the other intern walked to the Franklin Fountain Ice Cream Parlor and got ice cream. After, we headed back to the office where I handled some details regarding insurance. 

Tuesday (August 8): Today, we attended the monthly staff meeting. This meeting was run by the DATA and Quality Assurance department and the theme was "Below Deck". I thought it was fitting because the DATA and QA departments really are a huge component of Gift of Life and why it runs, despite not being huge departments. A transplant recipient spoke at the staff meeting and read the letter that her donor family wrote to her. The letter was beautiful. Family services also read a letter that they received from a donor family thanking them for giving them something to hold on to. The staff meeting was really touching. After the meeting, I met with Howard Nathan, the executive director of the Gift of Life Donor Program and prior CEO about my project and the data I am presenting. Overall, I had to make some adjustments, but I'm confident my presentation will go well. After the meeting, Francesca (The other intern) and I took a Lyft to Urgent Care for a follow-up appointment. I still have multiple sprains throughout my back and was prescribed physical therapy. After urgent care, we went home. 


Here is a photo of myself and Laura Robinson, the manager of the internship program. 


Wednesday (August 9): Today was mainly spent completing the prep of our presentations for tomorrow. We conducted a technical run through to make sure that everything worked. After, we went to a Hearts of Gold event. Hearts of Gold is a committee of donor families that meet once a month. They rotate between zoom and in-person. Every month Hearts of Gold does something different whether its movie reviews, support groups, or just getting together to create a family of people who have all lost a loved one. This night, however, was a Memory Box Workshop, where donor families could make picture frames or memory boxes using stickers, markers, and a collection of other art supplies to create a memorial for their loved one. I helped set up the tables and walked around the room interacting with the families and asking about their loved one. Soon after they started creating the boxes and frames, Francesca and I set up the ice cream station with sprinkles, syrup, M&M's, chocolate chips, and cherries. We pre scooped chocolate and vanilla ice cream into bowls so that the families could put whatever toppings they desired and eat ice cream while continuing their creations and conversations. Everyone shared a little piece of why they were there and the importance of being there if they desired to speak. Hearing the stories was extremely touching and had me realize how fortunate I am to have family and friends that support me every day. I feel like I can take this experience and apply it to be a compassionate and understanding doctor. 
From Left to Right: (Laura Robinson, Francesca McClure, Howard Nathan, Me, Theresa Daly) 

Thursday (August 10): PRESENTATION DAY! Today we presented to all of the leaders of the departments we took part in, in addition to all sorts of staff and the institute that wanted to see our presentations. I started off by talking about all of my experiences and then went into my presentation about Heart and Liver allocation and transportation costs pre and post policy changes. I received many compliments on my work and time here at Gift of Life and am so so grateful to everyone that played a part in my experience here. THANK YOU! 


Friday (August 11): I plan on packing up and getting ready for the school year! 

Thank you for following along with me this summer and I hope you all have an incredible day!! 

Thank you! 

-Rachael Triglia 

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