Riding with my Uber driver to Washington Heights, I think that's when it was beginning to really strike me just how GIGANTIC New York really is. I had been to NYC before and seen some of the sights -- Empire State, Statue of Liberty, the Met, a Broadway show -- but I think now that I have a bit more context, having lived in Boston for five years and seen more of the world up close, I was able to really appreciate how unmatched NYC is in the US in its sheer density of tall buildings, people, shops, etc. And this was without even leaving Manhattan.
I arrived and strolled into the tower that matched the address my host, NS, gave me. She instructed me to just come up to her floor (it was a tall floor in a tall building -- can't remember the number though) and knocked and was let in by a roommate, and found a life-size cut-out of Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes standing right before me. Amazing. And set the tone for how my stay with NS went. (Really wish I had taken a picture of that cut-out now.)
NS was really great. Went through the whole she-bang of trading life stories, why medicine, etc. She graduated college at some ridiculously young age -- 16, I think? -- and applied to MD/PhD programs, but was told she was, well, 16. (Maybe it was 17.) Anyway, she decided to do a joint PhD program with the NIH and Oxford, and split her time between England and Bethesda. But she knew she wanted to do the MD as well: "I think medicine is just really cool." She applied to Columbia, ended up being sorted into an interview for the three year PhD-to-MD program; the program basically admits those with PhDs into an accelerated three year MD program, intending to support those who wish to do biomedical research but supplement their training with formal clinical training.
We kept talking and I met some of her roommates as well, and ended up hanging out with them as NS went off to get a haircut at 9 or 9:30 pm or so. (Ah, the city that never sleeps.) We walked to the other tower (there are twin buildings) to join some other P&S students to watch the Republican presidential debate. The debate of course was just sad, but it was interesting to get to interact with more current students. I appreciated the diversity of interests of the students -- one spoke to me about opportunities to get involved in theater and the arts -- and they all definitely had a sharply liberal, political bent (at least the ones I met). I remembered that NS told me earlier that what distinguishes P&S students from other med students is that they're "plugged in"; I suppose that by this she meant that they're engaged, they get involved, and they're proactive in the Columbia community.
An interesting story: NS also told me of how NewYork-Presbyterian, Columbia's main teaching hospital (which it shares with Cornell), had tried to abolish the Center for Family Medicine. Apparently the student body and many faculty were shocked and protested, speaking to how "plugged in" P&S students are but also reflecting the attitudes of some of the faculty and administration on primary care in general. I appreciated what NS said about the student response, but did see that P&S really did seem geared towards specialization.
I actually scheduled my interview for Thursday (and my NYU interview was Tuesday), so I relaxed a bit the day before strolling around Washington Heights, getting a feel for the community, hanging out in cafes and lecture halls to do some work and kill time. In the middle of the afternoon, I received an email from the University of Maryland School of Medicine -- finally. Application on "hold." I was amused. I had the security of several other interviews already, so I wasn't too worried.
When night arrived, NS texted me asking if I wanted to come to the Global Health Lecture Series and then come rock climbing at a gym in Queen with her. Obviously, if you know me, the answer to both is YES. I had a fabulous time. The lecture on obesity gave me a handle on what the Columbia community was like... and let me meet some admissions committee faculty members. I focused on not screwing anything up.
The rock climbing adventure with NS was just that -- quite an adventure. Not only do I generally enjoy physical activities, but I actually met a random NYC stranger who happened to be a Columbia alum (undergraduate, not med) and was now doing documentary filmmaking on the American Civil War (if I remember correctly). We got a good conversation going and ended up leaving together with NS on the subway, where NS ran into other people she knew and we all ran into other strangers who struck up conversations. I'm not sure if that's what a typical trip through NYC on the subway is like, but I was certainly impressed with urban life that night.
NS graciously lent me a super tech towel (very small, but dries quickly or just absorbs tons of liquid) and I woke up early along with her to head out. We parted ways, she to do some shadowing and I to the interview.
The interview day was fairly similar to the set ups at UVa and NYU. The other interviewees and I sat in a semi-circle in a small waiting room, chattered for a bit, then heard instructions from admissions staff. Columbia's system is nice and simple: a single interview. That's it. Though the admissions chair, Dr. Stephen Nicholas (who I shook hands with the night before at the global health lecture), does spend some time talking about his journey to Columbia in very aspirational terms, why he feels it's such a "special place," and then asks each of us in turn to talk about something that "gives us joy." I didn't have a great answer for this; I talked about the feast I tried to cook up for my South African colleagues (with strawberry cobbler and other American plates) and my thrill-seeking ways that made me aspire to bungee jump off the bridge at Victoria Falls after I finish my job. I wished I had kept the story shorter and more concise, but I doubt it mattered too much.
I interviewed with Dr. Donald Landry, chair of medicine. After waiting for 15 minutes with his secretaries outside his office, he ushered me in and just went straight to it. It felt like NY -- very direct, straightforward, to the point. We talked about my PhD project, why medicine, why I sought the clinical experience, personal family stories around illness, such as those of my grandfather and my own head accident. We also talked about Paul Farmer -- and I loosened myself to my most liberal self, and somehow ended up proselytizing my belief in health as a human right, how I felt everyone around the world deserves the type of care you would receive at MGH, Johns Hopkins, NewYork-Presbyterian... I wasn't really thinking when I said this. I just said what I felt. And in that, I felt like I had at least portrayed my truest self, though I knew what I was saying might or might not be well received. I couldn't really tell from Dr. Landry's expression. His lips were turned up very slightly and looked mildly impressed, perhaps with my boundless, idealistic naivete.
At the end, he gave me his card to send him some of the work I was doing for Bertha, specifically the short documentary films, and bid me farewell. Oh, and in closing he did congratulate me on a "spectacular" record and that I was very well qualified to begin training in medicine. And after I asked, he also said that the three year PhD-to-MD program (NS's program) was not quite right for me, given my career aspirations.
The only thing left for me was the tour. It was the usual -- a couple of students took us around the various parts of the P&S campus, let us glimpse Bard Hall (the dormitory where most first year students live -- let's just say it felt like college again), and took us around NewYork-Presbyterian. I was most impressed by the view:
There really is something about the vast expanse of the NYC skyline. I suppose I had my urbanite tastes affirmed.
And... that was it! I left feeling good about the interview, and waited around in a coffee shop somewhere by the bus stop for a while. At the time, I was highly impressed by P&S. NS was a great host, Dr. Nicholas did a good job making us really believe that P&S was amazing, and I wasn't really sure what Dr. Landry thought of me, but if I had to guess, I would have been willing to guess that I made a positive impression. I mean, he did say I had a "spectacular" record, and he also happened to be a PhD in Cambridge (Harvard Chemistry) who ended up going to medical school, much like myself. On the bus ride back to DC, I had high hopes!
Next episode: my first foray to the midwest at WashU in St. Louis!
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