Nothing beats waiting in the morning at the ID office where
everyone thinks that there won’t be a long line in the early morning hours, but it was. Standing in line with some of my friends in
the program as well as listening to lively employees at 9:00 in the morning
discussing the Game of Thrones episode from the night before was a great
start to my first morning in New York City because I was able to get a sense of the community like it was an introductory scene to a television show.
Travelling along the street where food carts parked to provide
nourishment for passerbys, I could feel the energy that the city
was exuding: fast pace and people trying to get to their destination. Liz, Lauren, and I visited one of the carts for our morning donuts and coffee until Lauren and I retreated to the waiting room of the 70th Street Starr Pavilion to exchange stories of our expectations of the summer and our Immersion Term experience. Truth be told, I was a little nervous about meeting my mentor, radiologist Dr. George Shih. Once our meeting began, we immediately connected over the fact that this was our first year being involved with the program, exploring NYC, and our backgrounds. My anxiety was at ease and we proceeded to talk about radiology. He broke radiology into two divisions: diagnostic and interventional where he practices diagnostic radiology with a sub-specialty in gastrointestinal and genitourinary. On a research level, he is very interested in meta-data involving clinical workflows, such as dashboards that range from tracking residents' radiology readings and training completions to a weekly look of the department through various filters including age of patients, time, and day. Afterwards, he led me to the reading room where he introduced me to one
of the residents, Travis, and I was able to witness fluoroscopy readings from various patients that included kidney stones and feeding studies. In those moments, I noticed how important radiology really is in the diagnoses of patients. Normally, we think that a physician who speaks with us figured out the diagnoses on their own, but this gave me a eye-opening realization that radiologists play a key role in the actual confirmation of the diagnoses for the most part.
Due to Dr. Shih knowing about my own research interests in breast cancer, he was more than helpful in introducing me to to breast radiologist, Kemi Babagbemi. I was able to spend some time with her where she read mammography films and called patients with their results, which she explained to make sure that I was aware of what was going on with each patient. She also informed me about the Dense Breast Tissue Regulation, which requires physicians to notify patients who have dense breast tissue which may contribute as a risk factor for the development of breast cancer. Being such a great mentor, Dr. Shih also wanted me to get a good breadth of the other aspects of the hospital, so he also introduced me to Dr. Rahul Sharma, Medical Director of Strategic Initiatives and Making Care Better. When I visited him in the emergency department, he was so helpful in explaining to me about the emergency department and allowed me to shadow him on a couple of patient visits, making sure to preface what was going on with the patient as I followed along. Suddenly, the ED was hit with 3 trauma cases back-to-back with the attending physicians going from each room while nurses, social workers, the trauma team, the respiratory team, and radiology specialists were in place at the moment that they were needed. It was a systematic process and everything was done urgently in the best possible way to stabilize each situation. Later in the week, I also got to meet Courtney Sullivan, who is a Breast Imaging Consultant whose specialty is in patient customer service. Her job includes phone consults with patients to explain their results to them, reactions to certain dyes that are given to patients for their exams, and researching breast cancer risk assessment models. Lastly, I was able to one of the computer science students working with Dr. Shih, Willie, who is a rising Cornell senior working on a patient-care application involving improving patient care in terms of electronic health records, scheduling, preparations for health exams, and extending knowledge to patients about their exams. Overall, it has been great to see all of the different aspects of the hospital and in just the first week!
Due to Dr. Shih knowing about my own research interests in breast cancer, he was more than helpful in introducing me to to breast radiologist, Kemi Babagbemi. I was able to spend some time with her where she read mammography films and called patients with their results, which she explained to make sure that I was aware of what was going on with each patient. She also informed me about the Dense Breast Tissue Regulation, which requires physicians to notify patients who have dense breast tissue which may contribute as a risk factor for the development of breast cancer. Being such a great mentor, Dr. Shih also wanted me to get a good breadth of the other aspects of the hospital, so he also introduced me to Dr. Rahul Sharma, Medical Director of Strategic Initiatives and Making Care Better. When I visited him in the emergency department, he was so helpful in explaining to me about the emergency department and allowed me to shadow him on a couple of patient visits, making sure to preface what was going on with the patient as I followed along. Suddenly, the ED was hit with 3 trauma cases back-to-back with the attending physicians going from each room while nurses, social workers, the trauma team, the respiratory team, and radiology specialists were in place at the moment that they were needed. It was a systematic process and everything was done urgently in the best possible way to stabilize each situation. Later in the week, I also got to meet Courtney Sullivan, who is a Breast Imaging Consultant whose specialty is in patient customer service. Her job includes phone consults with patients to explain their results to them, reactions to certain dyes that are given to patients for their exams, and researching breast cancer risk assessment models. Lastly, I was able to one of the computer science students working with Dr. Shih, Willie, who is a rising Cornell senior working on a patient-care application involving improving patient care in terms of electronic health records, scheduling, preparations for health exams, and extending knowledge to patients about their exams. Overall, it has been great to see all of the different aspects of the hospital and in just the first week!
A few of my adventures have included exploring the Upper West Side with Lauren & Korie as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we saw exhibits for China: Through the Looking Glass
as well as Egyptian Art. We also saw the
Roof Garden, but Lauren, Jacob, Terrence, Liz, Yudi, and I almost got trapped in
the museum. I am sure Ben Stiller wouldn't mind us proposing a Night at the Museum 3 in the works. The great food and interesting places here in New York City that I have seen thus far are only a glimpse of the entirety that I want to explore by the end of the summer. Who knows? Maybe the City will help me be able to walk as fast like a New Yorker or become a true jaywalker. The title and reference from Thrillist's 21 THINGS YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO OUT-OF-TOWNERS ABOUT NEW YORK CITY).
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