Visiting Student Reflections

"The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" - the riveting book which won the Pulitzer in 2011, written by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, and the explicit memory of my grandmother dying in front of 4-year-old self with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia played pivotal roles in streamlining my focus to Hematology-Oncology while in medical school. As a medical student, I pursued Clinical Oncology research quite early in my career. My rotation in the leukemia subspecialty at Cornell under Dr. Ellen Ritchie, one of the leading Oncologists in the world, shaped my passion towards the hematological malignancies with regard to both clinics and research. I couldn't have asked for more- from the exceptional lectures at Sloan-Kettering at 7am, rounding with Dr. Lee, discussions of cases and current researches with fellows, lunch conferences that discussed the challenging cases and afternoons spent in the clinics swamped with cases.

The attendings, physician assistants and pharmacists never tired of answering my never-ending list of questions. I connected well with patients both emotionally and clinically. In the same room, one patient would be proclaimed to be in complete remission, and in other cases “one month more”.  An extensive array of emotions in a single room. Dr. Ritchie told me once “ By now, Tara will see that I am an oncologist and a psychiatrist at the same time.”

An inspiring account on a clinical encounter: The vivid eyes of the mandarin-speaking Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia patient who was about my mother’s age, greeted me every morning when I went to follow up on her. While leaving the room - I smiled and waved. She waived back gently - “ Doctor, you come so early in the morning to see me and ……..you are very good”. I felt so blessed. I also am grateful to be selected to represent and speak about my country at the international student reception. The unparalleled and phenomenal clinical hands-on experience I acquired from the Weill Cornell Leukemia Service will undoubtedly give me an edge in realizing my aspiration to be a globally-renowned Heme-Oncologist.

When interviewed by the University of Oxford in 2017: “10 years from now, whose shoes you want to see yourself in?” My answer was constant ever since I read about Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee - the author of the book with which I commenced the article.  I met him in New York a few weeks ago at a talk and found a chance to introduce myself. He said,“ I know, you had written to me, right?” Such a tremendous honor, that was. Thank you so much, Cornell and New York - I hope to return as a staff at Cornell/Sloan Kettering someday.

Oncology is not about making the diagnosis of cancer, putting the patient on a barrage of therapies, or giving him an approximate estimate of the number of months/years he has left. It is about tailoring therapy for each patient’s genetic and molecular profile, bridging medical research and clinical care, building supportive relationships with the patients, and weighing their mental wellbeing equally to their physical one. Currently, given the expanding armament of chemo, immuno and genetic therapies, you get to break the good news of remission, response, or cure to the patients quite frequently, a fact that makes present-time oncology a fascinating specialty. I learned this during my oncology elective at Weill Cornell Medicine/New York Presbyterian Hospital, which was a great opportunity for personal and academic growth, as well as a chance to make long-lasting relationships and connections.

My day used to start by the time I arrive to the hospital around 7:30 am. In the mornings, I used to check up on my assigned patients, review their charts, update their notes, and prepare a presentation for our attending physician during the daily rounds. A presentation that usually led to stimulating discussions about the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of every case. I rounded with two wonderful attendings, Dr. Ocean and Dr. Beltran, from whom I have learned the best of the clinical care and medical research worlds. Additionally, during my time at NYP, I came to experience the buzzing teamwork environment, clocklike punctuality, and delicate organization that govern the workplace here. Along with the clinical teaching environment, I was presented with a myriad of other learning opportunities. I attended case discussions, goals of care sessions, grand rounds, and different conferences. One exceptional opportunity was attending the weekly health policy sessions that satisfied my thirst for knowledge of health policy and health systems. Given the diversity of learning opportunities at NYP, I would say that you would never fall in the trap of daily routine!

This elective was not only a learning experience for me, but also an exciting social and a cultural one. I have learned about the cultures of the international students who shared this elective block with me. We were a cohort of Australians, Irish, Brazilians, Arabs, Pakistanis and Indians. We enjoyed sharing some aspects of our cultures, countries and medical schools. We also got the chance to explore NYC, the big apple, together. We visited many iconic monuments, attended concerts and social events, travelled, and experimented with different cuisines. You will never get bored in NYC!

Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Finkel, Ms. Young, and the NYP/WCM staff for being so kind, caring, and supportive. They made sure that we enjoyed this experience to the maximum.