Reflections on the morning from Laura Read (GHF 2020).

On Wednesday, it was yet another bright and early start for the fellows, having to be ready in the hotel lobby by 7:00am! We returned to the bagel café and Starbucks for breakfast and were ready to begin the day, boarding the van at 7:15.

Waiting for the keynote speaker, Dr. Gary Gibbons at Emory’s Think Big Symposium.

Emory University‘s Think Big Symposium: Applying Collaborative Big Data Science for Predictive Health was being held at 8:00am, which we were almost late to thanks to a spot of busy Atlanta traffic. After entering the Rollins School of Public Health, we attended the key note address by Dr. Gary Gibbons, MD. He is the director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institute of Health. The NHLBI provides global leadership for research, training, and education to promote the prevention of heart, lung, and blood disorders. He also graduated magma cum laude from Harvard Medical School.

The principle topic during the address was the collaboration between numerical data and how to use that for predictive health and medicine. We learned how healthy people are being studied to foreshadow who will become sick in the future. The NHBLI is aiming to train the new generation of leaders in science and improve the health of the nation. We ended up staying for the first speaker of the panel, Arshed Quyyumi, who spoke about cardiovascular health. He linked healthy people’s data to predict if they would develop heart disease. Surprisingly, factors like marriage and place of living had significant impact of the outcomes.

“After a long few hours of lectures, we decided you might want some caffeine… we’re going to the World of Coca Cola!” were the words of Mrs. Hall, a welcome surprise! We drove over to the Coke Museum, where we took photos outside near a giant bottle cap. Albeit being mostly for fun, we linked the trip to global health because Coca Cola is a significant contributor to the diabetes and obesity epidemic. We thought about the controversy if whether or not it’s Cola’s responsibility, or not because they’re a business. We were greeted by a can of coke and smile, followed by a room full of nostalgic Coca Cola memorabilia. Then we were led to the main area, where we could walk around and learn about the company’s history, see how classic Coke is made, and explore Coca Cola in pop culture. Perhaps the most exciting attraction of all was the tasting room, where there were over a hundred flavors from around the world to choose from! There were a few good ones, but many of them tasted funny (see: the neon green soft drink from Djibouti). Our personal favorite was a drink from Italy called Beverly. It was reminiscent of mouthwash and liquid cough medicine. There was a lot of laughing and it was so much fun to hang out with everyone! After a quick round through the gift shop at the end, we headed off to the Mellow Mushroom for a delicious lunch.

GHFs in front of the World of Coca Cola Museum!

Reflections on the second half of the day from Connor Tiffany (GHF 2020).

In the afternoon, we ventured away from the city, and traveled to Yerkes National Primate Research center, a facility dedicated to conducting essential basic science and translational research to advance scientific understanding and to improve human health and wellbeing. With its status as a national personnel records centers, Yerkes is home to more than 3,000 non human primates, including squirrel monkeys, chimpanzees, and sooty mangabeys. On our tour, we spoke with Julie Moran, an assistant field station operation manager, who discussed the animals behavioral patterns, the various forms of research in which they are involved, and how that research is used to better the lives of humans. Despite the rain, we were fortunate to encounter multiple animals, learning of their vibrant personalities and different vocalizations, like blowing raspberries, a chimpanzee’s call which symbolizes trust and affection. I was especially grateful to meet Winston, a chimpanzee who was incredibly amicable, even with his status as the alpha male of his community. In correlation with our summer reading book Spillover, our experience at Yerkes helped us to better understand the phenomenon of zoonosis, an animal infection transmissible to humans, and how our involvement with animals can lead to the deaths of thousands.

Later in the evening, we made plans to dine at the vintage Rí Rá Irish Pub to replenish from our long day of focus. As we walked through the door and waited to be seated, we were surprised to see a cluster of Hollywood cameras and spotlights illuminating the interior of the historic restaurant. After eating dinner and learning that the fellows could possibly be featured on an episode of “Date Night Live”, everyone gathered around a hotel television and watched the cringe worthy episode unfold. To end the day, the senior fellows lead a productive discussion about “Spillover” and how it applies to the future of disease control.

Each summer, the GHF program kicks off the year with a retreat in August.  This summer, Fellows traveled to Atlanta, Georgia.  Reflections on the first full day of programming below are offered by Ingrid Benkovitz, GHF Class of 2019.

As we struggled to wake up after Tuesday’s long day of travel, the 2018-2020 Global Health Fellows met for breakfast promptly at 8:00. The idea of bagels and coffee helped the morning run smoothly. With full and happy stomachs, we ventured via Norfolk Academy bus to our first outing of the day: the CNN headquarters.

This stop included both a “behind the scenes” studio tour and a personal Q&A with Ben Tinker, Supervising Producer for CNN Health’s Emmy-winning Sanjay Gupta. The studio tour, although an hour long, felt more like 5 minutes long, for each pit-stop was more striking than the last. We were able to see control panels, green screens, and even a live broadcast during filming. While we assumed nothing could top what we had already seen, we were proven wrong. Shorty thereafter, we walked to a small conference room, in which we had the question and answer session with Mr. Tinker.

GHFs pose with Ben Tinker!

Mr. Tinker is simply incredible. His selfless, time-consuming work world-wide is inspiring, his stories fascinating. He briefed us on the three types of news (breaking news, pitches, and series) and explained his process in the tough decision-making of what is “newsworthy”. Having had personal experience in Haiti, including producing a segment there this summer, entitled “Champions for Change”, Tinker understood our work completely, saying, “I always try to leave a place better than I found it… It truly is just the right thing to do”. He continued on to tell us his favorite parts of what he considers the most rewarding job at CNN; to go places and to share peoples’ stories. He then left us with one note: “The stories are where you least expect them… It never ceases to amaze me where the stories come from, whether it be an interviewee’s assistant or the person next to you on an airplane”.  Tinker’s words of wisdom are not only relevant to us, but impactful beyond words.

Following the talk, we headed to a quick lunch in the CNN courtyard in preparation for the second half our day at Emory University Hospital Midtown. We were given a tour of some of the hospital’s most distinct facilities, such as the pharmacy, the new ICU, and the Interventional Radiology Center. The Interventional Radiologists (IRs) showed us some of the special stents and catheters that they use, even allowing us to hold and expand them ourselves. Luckily for us, Dr. Newsome, Olivia’s mom, is an IR at the hospital and created an IR innovation lab for us, where we were split into groups and tasked to plan and build a solution to a prompt relating to hospital safety or efficiency. After an hour of fun, yet challenging work, we presented to the IRs in a “Shark Tank” fashion, receiving feedback for our ideas and creations. We had a short Q&A with the IRs at the end, sparking a thought-provoking conversation about the rise of robots within medicine and whether we should expect some sort of robot takeover. Dr. Newsome dissolved our fears confidently and beautifully, as she remarked, “Try as I might, but you can’t teach a machine to do what I do because you can’t teach a machine to care”. She shared with us that our strongest asset is our ability to care. We are thankful to have such a wonderful, successful, and passionate role model in our lives and cannot thank her enough for the opportunities she has provided for us in Atlanta.

With the afternoon’s adventures coming to a close, we headed back to the hotel for some relaxation time and time to get ready for dinner at BurgerFi. After dinner, we spent the evening reviewing data from the ‘18s and ‘20s trip to Belize in June and getting excited for tomorrow!

The Global Health Fellows in the 2018 and 2019 cohorts recently read and discussed an interesting case from the Center for Global Development on treating cataracts in India.  Following the case, the 2019 cohort traveled to Virginia Eye Consultants.  

Below is a reflection from Andrew Thetford, GHF ’19.

This past Tuesday, the 22nd of March, the 2019 Global Health Fellows had the privilege of watching two cataract surgeries and touring the facility that offers these services.  Our day at the Virginia Eye Consultants Center began with a tour of their amazing building, one of the nicest and most comfortable medical centers I had ever been to.  We viewed the many offices that are located in the building, including a newly renovated area that greatly increased the working space.  We were also shown to two different machines for diagnosing cataracts and other issues in the eye.  One was the Fundus Photo Camera, and the other was called an OCT machine.  Each device took detailed pictures of the back of the eye using high resolution photos, and these pictures could then be studied to examine the severity of a cataract or other problems.  

After our tour, we watched our first surgery. The first patient was a woman around 75 years old, and she was having surgery done on a cataract in her left eye.  This being my first time observing a surgery, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but I was very amazed at what I saw.  The patient is awake the whole time, and is just given a pill to make them feel “as if they have had a couple of drinks,” as our guide explained.  They have to focus on a light directly above them during the entire surgery, which lasts 7-10 minutes, and they feel absolutely nothing during the procedure.  The surgeon began by lubricating the eyeball with fluid, then making two small incisions around and above the iris, the colored part of the eye.  After making these cuts, he sliced off the thin membrane that sits right above the lens of the eye, which itself sits right below the iris and can be seen through the pupil, the dark opening in the center of the iris.  He then removed this membrane with a very small pair of tweezer-like tools.  Now, the cataract was visible.  And like I said, I’m no cataract expert at all, but even I could tell that this was one old cataract.  It was very thick and dark, and really reminded me of the inside of a jelly bean in appearance and texture.  The doctor poked around for a little bit, then inserted a vacuum-like tool into the slits and began to extract the cataract.  Because of the thickness of the cataract, it took a while.  The cataract fell apart in chunks and was quickly sucked up by the tube.  After finishing, the doctor inserted the new lens into the opening.  The lens was rolled up like a contact, and sprung apart once inserted into the eye.  The new lens immediately improves vision, allowing the patient to perceive colors and details that they had not been able to in a long time.  

Our second patient was a little different.  A few years younger than the previous patient, this woman had had a laser procedure done on the cataract before actually having it removed.  This means that a precision laser device softened and cut up the cataract to make it easier to extract.  This combined with a younger and softer cataract made for a swifter and easier procedure.  

After finishing up with both patients, we finished our visit with a tour of the Pre- and Post-Op area.  This room was filled with curtained-off sections for wheelchairs and hospital beds.  One of the patients we had watched, who had just finished up with surgery no more than 15 minutes before, was already up and ready to leave.  We were also shown the laser machine that performed the preliminary procedure on the second patient.  It filled an entire room, and had several dials and buttons that made no sense to my cohort.  The operator of the machine, however, obviously possessed a wealth of knowledge and experience for how to operate the device, and gave us a very detailed overview of how it worked.

Our trip to the Virginia Eye Consultants was a great experience.  The 18’s and 19’s just recently finished a case study discussing cataracts in India, so this was an awesome way to experience it firsthand.  Additionally, several of us are interesting in further researching optical health in developing countries, so having learned about and witnessing cataract surgeries is not a bad thing to have under our belts.

The Global Health Fellows traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia on February 10th and 11th for a wonderful opportunity visiting UVA’s Center for Global Health, a panel at Darden School’s “Pay for Success” conference, and spent some time reflecting on the year and goal setting for the spring semester.  

Below are reflections from our Fellows from the weekend:

Friday Morning – By Kara Kaufman (GHF ’19)

We began our trip with a departure at 7:30 from Norfolk Academy. ​I, of course, grabbed two Hardees biscuits for the trip, and many of us slept through the entire bus ride. About half way there, Mrs. Goodson handed out the case study on Migrants in South Africa, and we congregated in our groups to devise a rough outline of our plan to solve one of the many issues mentioned within the case. We soon arrived at UVA’s Center for Global Health, which is a really nice work space and a new sight for the 20’s. April Ballard, one of the main directors of the center, gave us a warm welcome, and we received some advice from Colleen Laurence (UVA Case Competition Founder) via Skype about how we should go about tackling the case. Groups assembled once again and progressed their plans until lunchtime.

During lunch, we listened to Ashwinraj Karthikeyan talk about his project, Pheonix Aid, which designs and provids wound dressings for diabetic foot ulcers all over the world. Next, Ashwanth Samuel and Eliza Campbell touched on their research and work through public health. Samuel gave us his story and insight into the system of mobile banking in third world countries, and Campbell shared her experience in developing a more effective diagnosis for child depression in Malawi.

Then, a group of students and professors came to guide us through our cases, and really provided useful opinions and views that, for my group, completely changed and shaped our ideas. I felt much more confident in our program of a mobile clinic reaching outside of the insufficient government community clinics to reach all migrants within a neighborhood, tackling inequality within the heath care of South Africa. Finally, each group then presented their ideas informally, and it was time to leave.

Friday Evening – by Laura Read (GHF ’20)

Saturday Morning – by Ells Boone (GHF ’20)

The Global Health Fellows woke up on Saturday morning at Rodes Farm ready to go for our last day of the retreat. We awoke around 8 AM and enjoyed a breakfast consisting of bagels and bananas. After breakfast, we turned our attention towards improving our needs assessment that we will take to Belize this June. The needs assessment focuses on various questions from 7 main categories: Smoke inhalation problem due to inside cooking, Water/Sanitation, Hunger/Nutrition, Illness, Maternal and Child Health, Education, and Energy Poverty. Once we finished our work on the needs assessment, the fellows loaded up the bus and took off back to NA. On the ride back, we stopped at the Market at Bellair for sandwiches and continued on our way. We got home in time for Snowball (Upper School dance) and called the retreat a success.  

Dr. Janice Newsome, mother of Olivia Newsome (GHF ‘18) and doctor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, came to talk to the Global Health Fellows in mid November about her journey into the medical field. Now an Interventional Radiologist at Emory, the path Dr. Newsome took towards her current career is unlike many we have previously heard. She was born in a poor community in Jamaica and was raised by a group of nuns from her community. At age 14, she moved to New York City and entered into a public school system extremely different from the one she had left. In Jamaica she was deemed “smart”, therefore she had focused on math and science classes and it was assumed that she would go into a similar career. Once in New York, she applied to the gifted program at school, not knowing if she was considered gifted or not, and was accepted into the more advanced public school system. After high school, she went through the 6 year undergraduate and medical school program at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She then continues with residency at VCU and a fellowship at Jackson Memorial Hospital. She worked at a few different hospitals before landing at Emory University as a doctor and a teacher.

Interventional Radiology is a recently added specialty, as is usually had fallen as a subspecialty of Radiology. These radiologists perform diagnostic procedures, treat obstructions and bleeding, perform procedures to avoid surgery and treat cancers, just to name a few. Dr. Newsome not only performs procedures, but also is constantly thinking of innovative ways to advance her field. She has five ongoing project designs for devices that will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of procedures. One of those projects is a bio convertible filter for patients whose blood will not clot properly. Typically the patient would have the filter inserted and then removed at a later date through another procedure. Dr. Newsome’s design would eliminate this second procedure, as the device would dissolve on its own. She works with a team of engineers to put her ideas into action and is preparing to present some of her new innovations at the Georgia Tech Capstone Design Expo this December. As well as working at the hospital, Dr. Newsome leads and mentors a group of Interventional Radiology fellows. Ever since she was a little girl in Jamaica, she gravitated toward teaching people anything and everything, and that passion still has not gone away. She believes that being able to share your knowledge and experience with others is a valuable skill and finds this part of her job to be extremely fulfilling.
Throughout her talk, Dr. Newsome reminded us to follow through with our passions, even if obstacles may stand in the way and to take advantage of all opportunities. She dedicated herself to what she loves and it has lead her to be a innovative and progressive leader in her field. Dr. Newsome remains grateful for the opportunities she was given on her own path to Emory and ended her presentation to us with the reminder: “To whom much is given, much is required.”

Submitted by Ingrid Benkovitz (Class of 2019)

Jon Todd (NA ’99) moderates a panel of UNC graduate students

After an early rise on Friday, we embarked to the University of North Carolina, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Jonathan Todd, from the Gillings School of Public Health (and an NA alumus!), put together an incredible morning of intellectual, thought-provoking speakers in the field of Epidemiology.  

We first heard from Anna Bauer about her research on Preeclampsia, a fairly common pregnancy complication. The presentation was filled with data that was very helpful in understanding her talk. Next, Christine Gray spoke to us about her research on trauma and abuse among orphans and how the statistics may differ depending on if the children are raised in an institution or a family setting. This conclusive study was able to give us a greater knowledge of the procedure of collecting data in an ethical way and comprehending what it means. Alex Breskin then showed us his research on the Hepatitis C Virus, a virus that was considered non-curable until recently. He was able to emphasize and open our eyes up to the extremity of a somewhat overlooked disease. Jonathan Todd, our last speaker, explained his research about how different doses of statins affect incidence of cardiovascular disease. His presentation was beyond impressive; Norfolk Academy should be proud!!

NA GHF pose with our UNC panel at the Gillings School of Public Health

While all the speakers specialized in different topics, they all had one thing in common: a truly inspiring passion for what they do. Following these presentations, we were lucky enough to have a panel of more students and workers in the field of Epidemiology. With such an intriguing field, the number of questions we had seemed unending, but sadly, the morning did have to come to an end.

In the afternoon, Fellows traveled to the UNC Challenge Course to grow as a team and to push their physical limits!  The following reflection of the challenge course is from Andrew Thetford (Class of 2017).

After our morning session at UNC and a working lunch on Franklin Street to finish discussion of our case study, the GHFs headed to the University of North Carolina’s challenge course.  This was much different than a lot of us expected.  I assumed we would be on something like the Adventure Park at our local aquarium, but it was much different.  Most of our time was spent on the “Low Ropes Course”, which consisted mainly of team building exercises.  We started off with an icebreaker game, then transitioned quickly to a version of the game “Concentration”.  Each set of cards in the game had an important characteristic necessary to working well as a team.  Appreciating diversity, equality, hard work, and others were all flipped over after several tries by each fellow.

Gabi Diskin (Class of ’18) explains key components of working as a team

 After completing the first game, we were challenged to pick three of the many traits to become our focus for the day.  Following much deliberating, we decided on focus, positive attitude, and teamwork because they seemed to cover most of the other traits as well.  

Justine Kaskel (Class of ’17) slows the “water” as it flows downhill

Then, we moved on to a more physical and mentally grueling obstacle.  We had to use cut PVC pipes to move a golf ball down a hill and into a tiny bucket.  This required us to wait for the golf ball to move past our PVC pipe, then quickly transition to the back of the line.  It went on like that for a few rotations, with the first person in line continually moving down the hill and towards the back of the line.  However, it wasn’t as easy as it sounds.  If the ball dropped, we had to walk back up the hill to the starting line and repeat, and we dropped the ball A LOT!  It took 45 minutes of a lot of leadership from the ‘17s and others and a bit of yelling from everyone to finally get the ball into the bucket that was no more than 20 yards away.  

After each activity, we would sit down and talk about what we did and how we could have done better with each other.  We also tried to relate everything back to the three traits we chose at the beginning: focus, positive attitude, and teamwork.  Next, we were instructed to pick our favorite quadrilateral (the group consensus was a trapezoid) and we moved into the shade.  We formed a big circle, donned blindfolds, and were told to take the pile of rope in the center of the circle and form a trapezoid with it, all while wearing blindfolds.  This also took a lot of leadership and talking over one another to succeed, but we made it happen rather quickly.  

Ryan Fulmer  (’17) helps Ray Fitzgerald (’19) cross the spider web

After another discussion, we walked into the woods a bit towards “The Spider Web”.  This was a bunch of strings strung randomly across a big wooden frame built to resemble a huge spider web with large, different sized holes in it.  Our challenge was to get everyone from one side of the spider web to the other, without touching the web.  This required us to carefully carry people through each hole.  However, there was a catch.  We could only use each hole twice, so we had to strategize who to put in each hole based on weight and size.  This challenge required a lot of brawn as well as brains, so it took a lot of teamwork to lift one fellow up, pass him or her slowly through a hole several feet across, and transport them into the waiting arms of GHFs on the other side, all without touching the strings.  Oh, and there was a time limit!  The time limit really compressed the amount of time strategizing.  We ended up having to put some of the biggest fellows, like Graham Barbour ‘17, into one of the smallest and most awkward holes.  After this challenge, we talked about what we did well and what we could’ve done better for a little bit, then we walked down to the zipline.

Climbing to the top!

The zipline is the largest in the Southeast, and sat atop a wooden platform 100+ feet off the ground, connected only by a huge net.  In order to go on the zipline, one had to climb all the way up the net before strapping in and jumping.  After everyone had ridden the zipline, we finished our day with one last reflective activity where everyone picked card with a picture on it, then described how the picture represented some aspect of our day.  While there were the deep, classic people like James Hood ‘19 who said his picture of a road and a far off house represented the challenges we had to face to succeed, there were around seven blunter people who picked pictures of the sun because it was very hot and very muggy outside.

Although it was hot, sweaty, and difficult, I think we as a program finished with a lot of takeaways.  We had picked three core values that are necessary to accomplishing our goals, we had completed every challenge, and we had admitted to our faults and come up with alternative, better ideas after doing so.  We had grown together as a team, and everyone gained valuable experience as both leaders and followers, not to mention the workout everyone got from carrying each other around in the heat.  The Challenge Course was a lot of fun and a great addition to our time at Duke and UNC.

Submitted by Lawson Montgomery ’18

After a great lunch with Dr. Robert Malkin of Duke’s Global Health Institute, we ventured to the Duke Clinical Research Institute and began on a discussion about research ethics from Dr. Ross McKinney. This was very interesting as it gave us the history of ethical issues in clinical research and a deeper understanding on how to conduct a true clinical study. Next, we listened to Dr. Danny Benjamin and his clinical research on different dosages and how they correspond to developmental ages of infants and children. After these two speakers, we had a panel that was composed of Erin Wolfe, Caitlin Grennan, Julia Giner, and Tiffany Bell. All were involved with Duke and all shared their personal paths to Clinical Research and Duke. We then asked questions about a variety of topics which included sickle cell disease and microbiology to mention a few. This panel helped show us that there are a multitude of paths that can be taken in the medical and clinical fields. We want to thank our speakers and panelists for the time they took out of their days. We would also like to thank Dr. Vivian Chu, moderator of panel and specialist in infectious disease, and Amanda McMillan. They were the women responsible for this awesome afternoon of speakers and panelists.

Submitted by Julia Duarte, GHF ’20

Seniors Ryan and Justin (’17) lead a discussion on “Diligence”

On a Tuesday afternoon, after the Class of 2020 Fellows were introduced to basic Global Health terms and to their new senior mentors at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center, we split up into different groups to discuss our summer reading book, Better, a surgeon’s notes on performance. Author Atul Gawande focused on three main themes: Diligence, Doing Right, and Ingenuity. By telling short stories that enlighten readers about health in a community and on a global scale, Gawande’s writing style intrigued and captivated all of the fellows. Some of the topics discussed included the importance of washing hands, the steps to eradicating polio, the complications of human birth, and many more. The seniors led the new fellows through a discussion about each of book’s themes, asking frequent thought-provoking discussion questions. Some of the questions being discussed included “Do you support or oppose the involvement of physicians in death penalty executions?” and “Do you feel that doctors should always follow the rule book or step away from it when coming across a problem they have never dealt with before?”. These two questions and many more helped steer discussions between the ‘17s and the ‘20s fellows. After reviewing and discussing each theme with different seniors, I came to the conclusion that Gawande had a deeper message behind his book. Not only do these series of stories teach us about medicine; but they also explain how to deal with failure and grow from it. That will determine your character, even if you are not a doctor. Every fellow should keep this lesson in mind as they begin a new year with new challenges.

Submitted by Laura Read, GHF ’20

The first day of the 2016 Global Health Fellows retreat began on a sultry Tuesday afternoon in the Brock Environmental Center, a building with towering silver wind turbines and metallic solar panels that produces 83% more energy than it uses. Inside the one of the world’s greenest buildings, the senior (GHF ’17s) and freshmen (GHF ’20s) fellows interviewed each other on the fastest rolling chairs known to mankind. After we got to know everyone, we began our discussions about what this is all about – how we’re going to make the world a better place through community health and prosperity.

Infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases, and population-based challenges are just a few of the topics we covered. We learned about the difference between morbidity and mortality and the problems each class of country face with them, and why some issues may be more prevalent than others depending on living conditions. Quality of life and life expectancy were also discussed, and the effect illness takes on it (Disability-Adjusted Life Years). The seniors also showed us informational videos on the topics, including one that covered the span of two hundred years on life expectancy versus income.

Global Health 101, led by the seniors to teach the incoming freshmen class of fellows

After a couple hours of taking notes and learning, we took a stretch break (Mrs. Hall provided earth-shaped cake pops, which were excellent) and headed outside on the deck to play a game. We ordered ourselves numbers one through ten, but we couldn’t talk, and we were blindfolded. The ice was broken, to say the least.

Teambuilding exercise on the porch of the Brock Environmental Center

Following the game we broke off into small groups to talk about our summer reading book, Better by Atul Gawande, a surgeon’s notes on performance. It was split into three sections, called Diligence, Doing Right, and Ingenuity. We discussed with the seniors the many subjects covered in the book, which included washing hands in hospitals,

Discussing Atul Gawande’s book “Better”

malpractice suits, doctors’ wages, the death penalty, human birth, eradicating polio, and many more. Ethics and responsibility were brought into the conversation.

Then we began talking about needs assessments while working in the field. A needs assessment involves community members in a project, are used to earn respect and support, and help determine the most pressing needs of the community. We also discussed how monitoring and evaluation are essential while working on field projects.

At 4:30, we concluded our first retreat day. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of the week!

The GHF ’17s and ’19s kick off the 2016 all-GHF Retreat!