Visiting Student Reflections

November/December 2015

Tom Wolfe once remarked that “One belongs to New York instantly; one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years”. I was reminded of his eloquent assertion on my first day at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH). I felt an undeniable sense of belonging. As I reflect on this opportunity, it remains a remarkable honor to have been the first medical elective student from South Africa at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC).

My medical elective was served in the Clinical Nephrology department, from 11/23/2015 – 12/18/2015. I worked closely with the Renal Fellow, Dr. Zain Mithani, as well as my Attending physician, Dr. Muthukumar Thangamani. Our daily rounds were a particularly transformational learning platform, and Dr. Thangamani encouraged my intellectual curiosity.

My elective time was divided between the renal consultation and follow up of referred inpatients, the attendance of our departmental Grand Rounds, Journal Clubs and Case Discussions. The academic activities which I participated in, including clinical patient cases, were an integrative experience. On closer appraisal, I appreciate how considerably my medical knowledge and skills have grown. Furthermore, I realize the professional depth I have gained from the opportunity to work closely with the Clinical Nephrology team at NYPH.

Having an interest in Global Health, I was in the prime position to learn more regarding the structures and policies of the United States Healthcare System. Having joined the Weill Cornell Global Health Grand Rounds, I was captivated by the diverse learning environment present at Weill Cornell, the access to ground-breaking science – and the comprehensive patient care that the facility offered.

I deeply appreciate the opportunity to have shared my elective with fellow elective students of numerous countries; we have created lasting connections and gained profound global perspective. I wish to thank Dianne Young and Dr. Madelon Finkel for their efforts in making this opportunity possible for medical students such as myself, from across the globe. This medical elective has certainly been one of the most interesting experiences of my medical career so far.

The 4 weeks I spent in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at New York Presbyterian were absolutely wonderful. The experience provided me with a unique glimpse into a very interesting sub-specialty while allowing me to observe the way that the American health care system worked.

During my elective, I worked with the residents and fellows to see patients every day in the outpatient clinics. The structure of the elective allowed me to work with 5 attendings in the department and, as a result, I was able to learn about a wide range of disease presentations. The resident or fellow and I would conduct the patient consultation and then discuss the case with the attending for that respective clinic. This afforded me the opportunity to be a part of in-depth discussions about the patient’s condition, covering everything from etiology and pathophysiology of the disease to the appropriate evidence-based management for the patient.

Teaching was very important to the attendings and they would often spend time going over interesting diseases, starting from the basics and moving on to current studies and research papers, ensuring that we had a thorough understanding of the condition, often using their own slides and videos to illustrate key concepts. Evidence-based medicine was an area of focus since we had patients with rare conditions whose management protocols are still being elucidated. It was very interesting to be able to conduct a literature search and then discuss the findings with the fellows and attendings (whose papers were often one that was found and discussed!).

Every morning and at noon, there were conferences which were attended by the medical students and residents. These included presentations on pediatric conditions and allowed me to learn about different diseases outside of the Hematology-Oncology spectrum. The Wednesday afternoon department rounds consisted of reviewing all of the inpatients and discussing their progress and management. These meetings involved all of the attendings, fellows and residents as well as the nurse practitioner, social worker and other patient support staff. This was a novel concept for me, as we do not have this level of collaboration in Trinidad.

I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to spend my elective at Weill Cornell New York Presbyterian and I highly recommend it to other international students. Thanks must be expressed to the staff at the Global Health Office, Dr. Finkel and Mrs. Young, who was especially helpful during the entire process. Mrs. Dianne Young, in particular, was tremendously supportive and her assistance was integral to making this experience enjoyable. I must also thank the attendings, fellows and residents for being so welcoming and for taking the time to teach me and provide such an enriching and memorable elective experience.