The NYC Cultural Consults events, typically an hour and a half long, involve a short interview followed by a more informal discussion led by one student and one faculty moderator. The speakers generally talk about their careers as well as how medicine intersects their careers. All speakers participate on a volunteer basis, which according to Pulvers, has not deterred anyone. On the contrary, they have been very enthusiastic to share their stories with an engaged and bright group of medical students. The list of past speakers (see Table 1) is an impressive one, composed of leaders in a wide range of fields, including the performing arts, business, and transportation. Lauren Feld, a third year medical student, was among the students who attended the event featuring Dan Rather, former CBS news anchor. "Learning about the world of journalism from Dan Rather was an incredible opportunity, and he connected medicine and journalism with advice that authenticity is the key to success in both fields," she says. She shared a bit of advice gleaned from Mr. Rather: "As you move up, you're not likely to be the smartest person in the room. So get to work early, leave late, and work the hardest you can while you're there."
Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather (right), with moderators Dr. David Reich (left), Chair of Anesthesiology, and Jamie Zimmerman (center), currently a fourth year medical student.
limitation for only 25 students. But space is not the only reason to limit attendance. As Peters explains, "the magic of [the events] is in the small group setting ... there's something about being in that round
“The magic of [the events] is in the small group setting ... there's something about being in that round table" . Speaking of that particular event, Pulvers tells that they had requests to attend from 60 to 70 students more than they could accommodate, citing the space
table". Because of this, expanding the attendance limit for these events is not on the agenda for the program's future.
In fact, there is very little that Peters and Pulvers are looking to change, and with good reason. The pair of current leaders conducted a survey of attendees from their first ten events, and found that of the five faculty and twenty-six students who responded, 96.8% felt the overall quality of the events was either “above average” or "superior.” Interestingly, however, 80% of faculty but only 30.8% of students felt that these events should be integrated into the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Although formalization of these events into an elective curriculum is not their goal, the leaders will keep this idea in mind as the program continues to develop.
Table 1 - Past events of the NYC Cultural Consults March 2011 Robert Friedman, President of Media and Entertainment April 2011 John McArthur, CEO of Millennium Promise November 2011 Cesar Bocanegra, COO Donorschoose.org January 2012 Damien Woetzel, Former Principle Dancer, NYC Ballet March 2012 Steve Daniels, IBM Watson Team Researcher April 2012 Projjal Dutta, NYC MTA Director of Sustainability May 2012 David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery Communications Sept. 2012 Dan Rather, Former Anchor, CBS Evening News Sept. 2012 Emily Senay, MD, MPH, Preventive Medicine Physician, Health News Journalist October 2012 Jacques D’Amboise, Former Principal Dancer for the New York City Ballet 7