In the Words of Our Students

Mount Sinai School of Medicine encourages every student to leave the confines of the school and see people in the community so they can understand the lives of the patients they will be caring for. Through community service Mount Sinai students learn to understand their patients, which makes possible a whole different level of care beyond the usual patient/doctor relationship.

Mount Sinai faculty and students recognize the uniqueness of each individual's talents and interests. Therefore, every effort is made to ensure that students have the opportunity to pursue the knowledge he or she needs in the manner best suited to his or her individual talents and interests.

Jeremy Abramson

"I consider community service a major part of my education. The physicians we eventually become are synonymous with the people we become. Reaching out beyond the privileged walls of the School really enhances this."

Hector Vazquez

(Speaking of his own experience in high school with the Mount Sinai mentoring program) "It was the first time in my life I was in regular contact with people who thought of college as a natural step in life. They were nice to me and I began to consider the medical profession more seriously. The program helped me every step of the way...they did everything for me...provided a kind of guidance my mother could not...told me what to do and where to go to achieve my goals."

"I like the dedication to the community. I like that 30 people in my class are involved in the mentoring program. I like the people that are drawn here. I love the School!"

Susan Korn

"When I started at Mount Sinai the tone was set that students are important, that faculty listen to students, and that if you see something you want to change you can."

Deborah Dunn

"It seemed to me that Mount Sinai was very open. And that is the case...it's great!"

"I want to do something that needs to be done to meet the needs of people, rather than building a business for myself."

Joelle Pierre

"I think of medicine as a holistic effort, dealing with medical, educational, and societal issues. A lot of diseases are a product of a person's environment. The fact that Mount Sinai was interested in looking outside the walls of the hospital definitely attracted me to the School."

Sean Chappin

"As an immigrant myself (from Trinidad) I wanted to have the opportunity to reach out to a community such as East Harlem, with a large immigrant population. The location of the School combined with the impressive list of community service opportunities I saw when I came to interview persuaded me this was the right place."

James Chang

"Interacting with the children provides perspective on why I'm studying all these dense and esoteric books."

Victoria Dixon

"From my first day here at Mount Sinai, I was really excited to see the scope and variety of opportunities to reach out and get involved."

Jacqueline Kates

"Coming from a humanities background, I was unsure about the possibility of being involved with the community during the hectic years of medical school. Within the first few days here it was evident that the faculty and structure of the School support student endeavors both inside and outside the classroom."

Elizabeth Gerard

"Students want to be involved and are usually surprised at how abundant the chances to do so are during medical school."

Nina Desai

"It was clear to me in the application process that Mount Sinai's Department of Community and Preventive Medicine is incredible! I loved that the program gives students freedom to do what they want to do. The Department of Community and Preventive Medicine really pushes each student to be out in the community. I've felt from the beginning I could make a difference."

Dr. Adam Aponte

"The deans were very responsive to my efforts and the minority population at the School doubled during my years there."

"I've stayed at Mount Sinai because people are receptive to change. If I had to do it all over again would I come here? Absolutely!"

Dr. Matthew Weeks

"There is more emphasis on community service at Mount Sinai than other schools. My friends throughout the country had no community medicine requirement."

"Working closely with faculty, who focused much of their time and energy on reaching out to the community beyond the hospital, was a significant force in my decision to become Medical Director at Settlement Health."