A Semester Abroad, GOLM Updates, and plans in NJ!
Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing well! I recently returned from my semester abroad at Oxford, and it was an amazing experience. I'll share a little about how it went before moving on to our usual run-down, so let's get started!
Abroad at Oxford!
Since September, I've been studying abroad at Oxford University in England! I recently returned upon the completion of the semester, and it was a lot of fun. I met some amazing people, travelled to amazing destinations, and truly immersed myself in the culture. I also joined the Organ and Blood Donation awareness club over there, and learned quite a lot about how their transplantation system (headed by the NHS) is different compared to ours.
Fairness and Equity in the Transplantation System
Earlier this year, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released a report on how to improve fairness and equity in the transplant system.
“The committee focused on the system as a whole and called out opportunities for system-wide improvement, recognizing that the tens of thousands of individual professionals working in the organ transplantation system strive to provide excellent care for patients, donors, and donor families but work within an imperfect system.”
See the full report here: https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/26364/Organ_Study_Highlights.pdf?fbclid=IwAR3BrZN1yJNCTUi7BtPaWHRadNYPwCRMbj0zcNo_hAOfQ4NpOMTJ8EtQYDk
NJ Volunteering Plans
I'm coming up on my last semester at TCNJ before med school at NJMS next fall! As such, I'm very excited to finally begin participating in some in-person volunteering events with the NJ Sharing Network. After last year's Omicron and Delta surge, things seem to finally be calming down–which is important, especially since many members of the organ donation community are immunocompromised. Volunteer events and opportunities are slowly starting to open up, which is truly exciting. I can't wait to see what's in store for the next few months.
That's it for this month! Thank you all for reading, and see you next time.
