Volunteer service was a ‘given’
for 2020 GIVE awardee
The culture of giving back has been a central tenet of the OMS specialty for generations. It’s not  unusual to find an expectation of service embedded in the culture of an OMS education program alongside its curriculum.
Such is the case at Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC). Earlier this year Dr. Brian Wolf, chief resident at NUMC, spent a week in Honduras serving with Dr. Melissa Amundson’s Operation Nueva Vida humanitarian healthcare team. Following the lead of 2019 NUMC chief resident, Dr. Matthew Green, Dr. Wolf applied for a travel stipend from the OMS Foundation’s Global Initiative for Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) and received $2,500 toward the cost of his journey.
“I chose the OMS specialty because it offered a chance to change lives, and Dr. Green assured me this experience would be a highlight of my residency,” Dr. Wolf said. “Our patients spanned the oral surgery spectrum that week, including trauma, orthognathic and cleft palate surgeries. Local medical technology in Honduras is antiquated or non-existent, so we relied on Dr. Amundson’s supply of medical supplies, instruments and equipment to support our work.”
“It was challenging being the rookie member of an established team in a country I’d never visited populated by people whose language I barely spoke,” Dr. Wolf said. “But the team was welcoming, as were the Hondurans, and I learned a great deal that week.”
Because opportunities for follow-up were so limited, Dr. Amundson held her team to the highest standards of care for their patients.
“It was tough, but it was worth it,” said Dr. Wolf. “I’d do it again, and I’d recommend it to anyone. I couldn’t have afforded it without the GIVE stipend though, and I’m grateful to the Foundation for making this experience possible.”
The Global Initiative for Volunteerism and Education is being funded in 2020 with support from the OMS Foundation Alliance, OMSNIC, The James and Carmen Hupp Foundation and individual donors such as you. Learn more and donate at OMSFoundation.org.
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It is my privilege to chair the OMS Foundation Alliance Committee this year and to work with my fellow committee members and the Foundation to support the specialty. I am so thankful to be a part of this amazing group. I’ve been proud to help welcome our Norma L. Kelly Scholarship recipients into our Alliance family each year, and I have witnessed new friendships blossom and old friends joyfully reunite during our Health Walks. The support, dedication, and commitment of EACH of you is what makes the Alliance so successful.
service has on the volunteers as well as those they serve. GIVE offers participating residents a chance to enhance their education while caring for those who would not receive care otherwise. Giving back to others through service teaches compassion, kindness and humility –characteristics that make for a great healthcare provider. Our residents and humanitarian healthcare teams, along with the communities they serve, are looking forward to when international travel can safely resume. Meanwhile, the Alliance remains committed to supporting this wonderful opportunity.
