MEDICAL STUDENTS FLOURISH AS
OMBUDSMEN IN THE STUDENT SENATE
Medical school is notoriously demanding—from the huge amounts of data to be memorized to the clinical pressures that effectively drive home the dictum that your life will never again be your own. Yet every year, five men and women from each class recognize their need to do more than study or sleep when they're not in class. They are elected to the Student Senate, the organization responsible for ensuring that the interests of the members of the student body are represented. According to its constitution, "the primary purpose of the Student Association, to which all medical students belong, is to make the students of New York Medical College direct participants in the affairs of the College."
The senate comprises more than 20 subcommittees to deal with any and all problems the students face, which may range from the mundane (securing toilet seat covers) to the ultraworthwhile (initiating a dental plan entirely on their own), with most calls for action falling somewhere in between. The senators—who formally meet monthly but deal with their constituents constantly—know very well what purpose they serve. Says one senator, "Other students like this group. They are very glad to let us register a complaint instead of doing it themselves."
Here is a sampling of Student Senate members who were able to meet with the writer and photographer at the end of a very long day in November.
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STUDENT SENATORS: Standing, from left are Chris Hunter, Teviah Sachs, Erin Stevens, Brian Moss, and Hormozd Bozorgchami. Seated, from left are Lissie Fishman, Laura Fasulo, John Braca, Tom Hawes and Yasmine Henze. |
FELICITY (LISSIE) FISHMAN, 25, vice president, has been a senate member all three years. A graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, she comes from Belmont, Mass. Fishman delights in being a senator because "it has helped me to get to know my classmates in a different way. I've brought to light issues such as class scheduling and made things work better. The senate also helps in your relationship to faculty as they use you to communicate with the rest of the class. It's really nice to accomplish something that makes student life easier."
CHRISTOPHER HUNTER, 27 and married, is running SPAD this year. He arrived fortified with a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the Medical University of South Carolina and says he is "floating" toward emergency medicine. Home is Bucks County, Pa., across the state from the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned his undergraduate degree. "I got involved because I wanted to know upper classmates as well as I know my year. I'd really like to bring a tutoring service here…Other students find it easier to ask a student for help rather than going to faculty," he admits.
TEVIAH SACHS, 27, from Boston is another three-year member of the senate. The Colgate graduate is headed for surgery, but he's not yet sure where in the Northeast he will apply. "Being a senator has given me a feel for how to interact with people who function in an administrative capacity as well as with other students," he says. "There are lots of aspects to this school that could run more smoothly and I try to be someone who can work out some of the kinks. It's especially enjoyable when you see things come to fruition."
ERIN E. STEVENS, 26, graduated from Ithaca College in upstate New York. A senate member for three years, she says, "Being a member helps me manage my time better. I need to always be busy, plus, I like helping my classmates. The year I wasn't a member, the third year, I worked on one of the committees. My niche is that I know more random stuff than the others—on the inside since I was secretary my second year—who to talk to, go to, and what's been done before." From Meriden, Conn., she's pursuing ob/gyn residencies in the Northeast.
BRIAN W. MOSS, 28, is primed for an orthopaedic surgery residency on the East Coast or the Southwest because his home state of Idaho has none. "There is one at the University of Utah," he advises, but the graduate of Brigham Young University says he's not interested in going there. Being a senator all four years "has given me a behind-the-scenes look at what makes medical school work," he says. "This opportunity to meet the majority of students in my class and help them with their complaints has made for some good times."
HORMOZD BOZORGCHAMI, 24, from Davis, Calif., was born in the U.S. of Persian descent. The University of California at Davis graduate is a second-year spending his initial term on the senate. "A lot of students told me to run, " he says, "because I get along with everyone and there are issues I'd like to do something about—getting power outages moved to the afternoon, when there is daylight, and more channels on the cable TV. I love it! I know everybody and it's very gratifying to have people come to me for help." Emergency medicine is his choice.
THOMAS C. HAWES, 28, of New Canaan, Conn., is married and the father of two sons. Another graduate of Brigham Young, Hawes has served the senate all four years. He's applied only to East Coast schools for anesthesiology and looks forward to Match Day to learn his destination. "I have a better appreciation of what goes into the curriculum and how much effort the course director puts in," says Hawes.
JOHN BRACA, 27, formerly of Easton, Conn., has his heart set on neurology or neurosurgery somewhere in the Northeast, as he and his wife have family there. "But I'd go anywhere if I got into a great program," he states. The Fordham University graduate was elected both times he ran. "I've been able to see what goes on behind the scenes and how important it is to do something the correct way in order to get things done. The senate gives students a voice but allows them to stay anonymous. Then it's so easy to complain," says Braca.
YASMINE HENZE, 24, has made no decision yet on a residency. The University of Connecticut grad from New Fairfield, Conn., is a second-year spending her first year on the circuit. "The platform I ran on was that the first year was really difficult, and there were many things to change that would relieve the stress, such as upgrading the gym and airing complaints. I'd also like to start a subcommittee on technology. We've downloaded anti-virus software, too. I ran because I'm self-motivated, but I know I can communicate effectively."