Visiting Student Reflections

I was honored to rotate at New York Presbyterian Queens for 4 weeks as sub-intern in the department on EM. The program was supervised by Dr. Alla Bardash; she is an excellent clinician and above all a kind teacher. She made sure that I fully benefit from my time at NYPQ by preparing a schedule that allowed me access to all the concerned departments i.e. The trauma bay, Urgent care and The Adult and Pediatric ER.

All the attending doctors, residents and nurses were swamped due to the excessive patient load, yet they always encouraged me to participate not only in patient management but also to assist in clinical procedures. The staff worked diligently with compassion, care and the utmost professionalism reflecting that welfare of the patient was at the core of their combined efforts.

Dr. Bardash took special interest in our teaching sessions and conducted lectures exclusively for the visiting students on some very curious clinical cases and exciting but at times puzzling techniques like splinting, intubation and the most dreaded ECG interpretation. Moreover, systemized conferences were scheduled every week, to which physicians from various departments and hospitals were invited to speak and later interactive sessions were conducted where problem-based-learning was promoted in small groups. We were allocated complex (practical) clinical cases in the simulation lab under the supervision of Dr. Richard Shin, that helped us practice emergency response protocol for each particular clinical scenario. Emergency management in cases of MVA, aspiration in neonates and pericardiocentesis are to name a few. This not only allowed me to practice my procedural skills in an acute setting and in a timely manner but also gave a boost to my confidence. Working with a new team everyday gave me an idea of how different physicians practiced different approaches in the hospital setting.

One of the most striking feature of the NYPQ was the cultural diversity which I came across, be it the patients or the staff. It was a wonderful experience and I got to learn about different cultures and how they all came together in the clinical settings. The approach of providing clinical care which was patient centric and in tune with their cultural, racial and ethnic needs, helped promote rapport and patient responsiveness. The most crucial part of the entire elective was working at the trauma bay where one could easily become flustered, but the cool headed staff of the ED at NYPQ made it look ridiculously easy.

I feel very privileged to have had this opportunity. I would like to thank the entire staff of Global Health Education; Dr. Madelon Finkel, Ms. Dianne Young and last but not least Anastasia and Sejal. From their laser quick responses to my queries, arranging meeting for the international students to the constant reminders to enjoy our stay in New York, they were a revelation. Especially Ms. Young, who helped, supported and cared for us throughout the duration. I would certainly recommend this rotation to all those who are interested. It has been a joyous journey of learning, friendship and achievement. I would love to come back and be a part of NYP someday!

In April 2016, I spent four weeks as the “Sub-I” for the Department of Neurology at New York Presbyterian - Weill Cornell Medical Centre in New York.

The Neurology Sub-I program is supervised by Dr Joseph Safdieh and Dr Natalie Weathered, both of whom are not only wonderful and experienced attending clinicians and teachers, but are both approachable, and enjoyable to talk to. They took a genuine interest in my learning and future career, and I am immensely grateful for their wisdom and guidance. The program is administered by the ever-delightful Carol Hopkins, who I’m equally thoroughly indebted to.

As a medical student in London, I had previously completed a Neurology clerkship at a specialist centre, and quickly realized this was a specialty that I very much enjoyed. I was delighted to be offered an additional opportunity to experience Neurology before my graduation, and I was particularly excited to have this opportunity at Weill Cornell. Before my elective, I had read a lot about Cornell’s reputation as a leading medical school, but it was only on arriving at Cornell did I truly realize the magnanimity of the learning arena.

Immersive is probably the most apt way of describing the experience of being Neurology Sub-I. Working hours for medical students in the US are generally fairly intense compared to UK and Europe, and as such, your opportunity to learn is plentiful, and your near-continuous presence on the ward makes you feel an established member of the clinical team. I spent most of my time working with the acute neurology team, which predominantly specialised in vascular neurology. I would follow a number of patients from admission to discharge, presenting their progress to the attending each morning at rounds. I was responsible for all day-to-day clinical jobs for my patients, supervised by the Senior and Chief Residents.

The team were eager to get me as involved as possible, and were keen to teach whenever an opportunity arose. Neurology at Cornell benefits from a wide-ranging educational program for its residents and medical students, and I was encouraged to attend morning report, grand rounds, specialist teaching sessions and teaching rounds. The lectures and presentations were of high quality, and were delivered by engaging and thoroughly interesting members of Cornell’s diverse faculty.

As an international student, I was additionally looked after by Dr Madelon Finkel and Dianne Young of the WCMC Global Health Department. This gave me an opportunity to meet other international medical students, and reflect on the differences of our respective native healthcare settings. Furthermore, our shared non-American-ness created a small but active group of explorers of New York when we weren’t at the hospital. There were a number of organized (and plenty of spontaneous) social events that allowed me to learn about what studying medicine is like in different parts of the world.

Overall, my elective with Cornell Neurology was academically fulfilling, intellectually engaging, and socially rewarding, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this experience to all that are interested. I remain incredibly grateful to Dr Safdieh and Dr Weathered of the Department of Neurology, and Dr Finkel and Mrs Young of the Global Health Department, and look forward to crossing paths with them and their teams in the future.