One Day At a Time

So much to report on, what an exciting day!

Today was the second day that students were participating in their service sites, following Kavannah and breakfast. As the healthcare educator I knew how much students were anticipating actually being able to spend one-on-one face time with patients from the Lombardi Cancer Institute at the Georgetown University Hospital. After touring the facilities and meeting with some administrators for orientation yesterday, they all expressed a lot of enthusiasm to begin rotations in the art therapy department, adult clinical infusions, and the research trials.

Following the service site we returned to Hillel for lunch and class. We reflected on everyone’s individual experiences within the hospital and then launched into a debate regarding Maimonides’ beliefs on the provision of health care, and the social duties and responsibilities of health care professionals. It was an intense discussion with lots of passionate ideas exchanged. We also engaged in a discussion over the controversial issue of Euthanasia, as well as how Canada’s healthcare structure differs from that of the United States. I was amazed at how articulate all of the students were and very impressed with the background knowledge they all were able to contribute.

I look forward to future debates with the class on the positions that various Jewish scholars and rabbi’s express regarding the future of the healthcare system in the United States and reform initiatives.

During the DC Exploration time after class many students went to visit Georgetown University, and others returned to the Hillel building with great stories about the Smithsonian Folklife festival.

If it wasn’t a JAM-packed day enough, representatives from the National Coalition for the Homeless came to share "Faces of Homelessness", a panel of currently or fomerly homeless individuals who share their personal stories of courage and perserverance through their struggles with poverty.

Tonight there will be a terrific Panel on Jewish Pluralism that the Mentors are planning for this evening. On the panel, we will have representatives from the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Reconstructionist movements of Judaism discuss their movements’ view on Torah, Halachah, and Shabbat Observance.

As a political junkie myself, I can’t wait for our tour of and briefing in the White House tomorrow morning, and biking the sites of DC tomorrow afternoon. So much to do, so little time! I guess I’ll sleep in August.

-Tiffany
JAM Teacher, Healthcare