HOSA OSG Internship Day 2 - July 12, 2011

On the second day of the internship, Angela Clark, Samiha Azam and Aakash Patel started the day off by going to the Office of the Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and were introduced to Carter Blakely (Acting Director), Holly Mcpeak and LT. Stacey McBryde. They learned about the promoting health literacy to the public, health education and disease prevention. They later went down to visit the Office of the Force Management where they were introduced to CAPT. Dean Coppala and were given a briefing of what the office did and consisted of. Introductions to staff members such as CAPT. Prince and briefings of their positions and duties in the office were given to the HOSA interns. Angela, Samiha and Aakash learned the importance of infrastructure within office. They later headed off to meet George Sifakis, a political activist for HOSA in the HOSA Washington Office, who helps implement HOSA’s efforts. The later half of the day was spent in the Office of Human Health Services, where they were introduced to the Deputy Surgeon General, RADM Boris Lushinak, the Chief of Staff, RADM Halliday and the aid to the Surgeon General, LT Christine Collins. The HOSA interns were given important advice of about leadership, communication and attitude for success. Angel, Samiha and Aakash along with the Office of Forced Readiness and Deployment interns were given the opportunity to visit the Secretary Operations Center (SOC) where they were able to see an actual conference call take place. The SOC is a key component to the United States for keeping everyone updated on emergencies and disasters. They later met with Marko Mijic, a HOSA alumni who is working in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). He briefed the interns on his daily duties and responsibilities as an Assistant. Their day concluded with a dinner with CAPT. Rob Tosatto, CAPT. Narayan Nair and LTJT Katie Hager. Meeting with some of the most influential leaders of the U.S. Public Health and learning about the responsibilities and purpose the leaders hold gave the interns and amazing outlook to what holds and keeps the U.S. Public Health System running.