Growing up on Long Island, my early life experiences occurred at the footsteps of one of the foremost urban centers of the world, New York City. My early experiences with a varied urban environment have led me to develop a true love of traveling & experiencing different cultures. While studying the basic medical sciences in Belize, Central America, I was able to experience a different culture & the enrichment gained from knowing another way of life. Between semesters I traveled to Guatemala to immerse myself in conversational Spanish & the Central American culture & to continue my willingness to learn about the history of this fascinating part of this hemisphere. I spent several weeks, living with a Guatemalan family, in an intensive language immersion program. I did this so that I could help my patients in Belize & the patients that I would return to in the United States.
When I continued my studies in the United Kingdom, I found Europe in the midst of dramatic transition. I found myself, once again, with the opportunity to learn about different peoples & cultures while pursuing my medical degree. I had the opportunity to visit & train in some of the finest teaching hospitals throughout the United Kingdom. I studied acupuncture in the English countryside & hope to incorporate this treatment in my practice someday.
Whenever possible I utilized my brief intercessions to travel to various parts of Europe & Northern Africa. The blend of traveling through the European Continent, Israel & Morocco gave me a cultural outlook that has greatly empowered my ability to deal with different cultures & people. This combination of travel experience & academic study has given me insight when dealing with patients in an emergent situation.
As my knowledge for people & their cultures occurred with my travels, my early passion for becoming a physician was enlightened. A comfortable thought now revealed to me that my professional goals could give me a rewarding life of helping people through turmoil & sickness. The accidental combination of learning about different cultures while pursuing my medical degree has led me to the fulfilling idea that I can earn a living while being a humanitarian. I never envisioned that things would turn out quite like this. But, I do feel very fortunate because it has helped me to mature, not only as a person, but also as a young professional in the medical field.
I used the final free days of my time in Europe to travel to St. Petersburg, Russia & revisit the land of my ancestors. The most memorable moment of this journey was visiting the Hermitage & viewing Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son. I felt a spiritual connection to this painting that is charged with emotion. The painting portrays a father's gesture of forgiveness & tenderness for a son who has returned home. Since I was soon to return to the United States, this painting made me think about the next stage of my life. I realized I was to return home to complete the remainder of my education in United States teaching hospitals. My personal definition of being a physician would now include my life long willingness to help others, not only with their sickness, but also in their time of sorrow. Becoming competent in another language, understanding the world & conscientiously studying the art of healing were all beginning to serve a purpose.
The need to reach out to people in crisis & turmoil is something that has always lingered inside of me. It was soon into the early months of my family medicine residency training that I realized the typical life of a family physician would leave me professionally unfulfilled.
When I made my decision to enter family medicine, I had minimal experience into the inner working world of medicine. Economic realities were changing the boundaries surrounding my career possibilities. The changing nature of the medical profession was being redefined as I was ready to embark upon my full time professional existence.
My professional reasons for wanting to become a family physician were leading me in the direction of emergency room care. Additional experience with emergency room care brought about the realization that much of the job performed by the family physician is now occurring in the emergency setting. I quickly learned that in today's medical environment, the emergency room has supplanted many of the responsibilities once performed by the family physician.
Over the course of my graduate training, I had contact with veteran professionals that gave me significant insight into emergency medicine. I have always found myself thriving in a high paced environment with the need to make instant & important decisions that affect the lives of people. The responsibility of caring for patients as they transition through the various stages of life challenged & intrigued me. But it did not offer me the practical reality of total career fulfillment.
Over the past several years, I have worked from the northern most boundary of New York State down to the boroughs of New York City. From Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh, Peninsula Hospital in Far Rockaway, Queens to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in the Bushwick, Brooklyn, I gained a wealth of experience & knowledge. These contrasting environments gave me a lucid insight into the varying working conditions the emergency room physician will often experience.
The rural setting of Elizabethtown Community Hospital located in the Adirondacks & the inner city environment of Peninsula Hospital in Far Rockaway, Queens, provided a fascinating comparison that brought out both similarities & differences. This comparison became an exhilarating magnet that drew me into greater interest in emergency medicine.
My experience in Albany has helped me to become a lifelong learner while handling a balanced & healthy lifestyle. I have maintained my professional & technological edge over the past several years & have also engaged a number of other activities. In October 2011 I achieved my goal of becoming an Auxiliary Police Officer in the New York City Police Department. The opportunities of studying mixed martial arts & working on a humanitarian project in Guatemala has given me other appreciations that I have incorporated into my life. Teaching & mentoring residents, students & emergency medical service professionals, while learning from colleagues, has proved to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of my professional existence.
Today, as you read this statement, the most defining moment of my career now lies before me.