Pediatric residents pass graduation gifts on to patients

A career in medicine means doctors like Trey Jantzen, M.D., will spend their lives sharing their time, knowledge and skills with their patients.

Kids in mind Learn more about the hospital’s child life services.

For Dr. Jantzen and a dozen other pediatric residents, that sharing began before their residency was over.

“Every year, the department gives gifts to everyone completing their residencies,” Dr. Jantzen said. “We thought that money could be used for something that would directly benefit patients.”

Thoughtful generosity

The UNMC residents agreed to pool the money that would have been used to purchase gifts and donate it to The Nebraska Medical Center’s child life department.

“It is nice to step back and be reminded of how generous people are,” said Lisa Wallace-Spech, child life specialist at The Nebraska Medical Center. “It is so cool that they wanted to give back.”

No video games!

The residents had just one requirement of the donation.

“We just specified that it not be used to buy video games or game consoles,” Dr. Jantzen said.

Learning mats

The group initially considered using the money to make one big purchase but after consulting with the child life department, they all agreed on special mats the young patients can use to play and learn.

“Through their donations we are excited to provide more floor mats for the children to normalize the hospital experience, explore and continue their growth and development,” Wallace-Spech said.