“ We want all students to have a peer mentor; and we want to encourage students, when they graduate, to stay as an alumni presence and serve as an advisor in their own house.” — Susan Rachlin, M.D., Associate Dean for Student Affairs “We have such a long, rich history, dating from 1860,” Dean Ayala says. “I wanted the achievements of our alumni to inspire students—as they too become part of the history of the College and the medical community. And it’s a benefit to our students to see alumni on the faculty participate as advisory deans. This engages both the students and faculty to share stories about their education and explore future possibilities together. In this way, I wanted to bridge our history, our present and our future. “The faculty who are participating in this program all deserve honorary degrees from NYMC,” she adds, “because they have lived most of their careers as clinicians, educators and advisors to students here; and are equally passionate about working with our medical students.”
MENTORS AND MORE Elliott N. Perla, M.D. ’74, professor of clinical medicine and recently retired dean of student affairs, serves as advisory dean for the Kogel House, named for Marcus Kogel, M.D. ’27, a distinguished World War II colonel. Mentoring a community of 80 allows Dr. Perla to offer a level of support and involvement that isn’t possible to spread among 800 students. Students are required to meet with their advisory deans once a semester at least, for a check-in; but there is no cap on the number of visits or the level of engagement. “We care about all our students; we want to know and learn about them,” Dr. Perla says. “There are so many areas in which our students’ experience could be enhanced if they had a mentor from day one, and now they do. We talk about academic performance and career goals, but it’s not limited to that. One area we cover better with the house system is talking to them about life in general, their families, what’s going on with them, good or bad; if they need additional help, or resources. Life happens, and medical students aren’t exempt.”
Dr. Perla recalls helping a student whose mother had become very ill and passed away during the first year of medical school. “She still had to focus and take step one of her board exams, but she was struggling,” he says. “I had been speaking to her about shadowing and career goals, of course; but when the focus shifted, I could still be there to listen.” He also counseled a student reeling after a break-up, and helped another student negotiate his interest in a field of medicine that his parents, for personal beliefs, refused to fund. “Dr. Perla is extremely well-connected and if I asked him a question, I felt confident he would know how to guide me toward an answer,” says Christopher Monson, SOM Class of 2017, in Kogel House. “When classes got hard or I faced a challenge, he wasn’t a scary ‘Administrator with a capital A’—he’s someone who knows me on a first name basis. I’m comfortable discussing anything with him.” Musaub Khan, SOM Class of 2019, says he’s spoken with Dr. Perla about everything from academic performance, clinical specialties and his summer research to concerns about the curriculum and handling mental stress. “His guidance throughout my first year has allowed me to manage school far better than when I first started,” Khan says. Cyril Rosenfeld, SOM Class of 2017, is a member of the Burgess-Holley House, named for Alonzo Potter Burgess Holley M.D. 1888, a Haitian émigré and the first black male to graduate from the College. Rosenfeld consults her advisory dean, Mill Etienne, M.D. ’02, M.P.H., clinical assistant professor of neurology, for matters ranging from clinical rotations to curriculum vitae reviews. “It’s comforting to have a professional who I can go to right away—for matters big and small—to guide me from experience and to validate my decisions,” Rosenfeld says.
The house advisory deans also meet with each other, and the Office of Student Affairs, to discuss student issues, resources and referrals. “We all work together like a medical team,” says Dr. Rachlin. “We talk about preventative care and wellness. These deans are an extension of the ‘core deans’ of student affairs.” Dr. Perla and Dr. Etienne joined together to discuss career advice and track down resources for Tafadzwa Mtisi, SOM Class of 2019, a student in Kogel House from Zimbabwe, with an interest in neurology. “They are helpful in giving suggestions, drawing examples from personal experience, and offering strategies when they faced a similar stumbling block to mine,” he says. “And Dr. Perla reminds us to go apple picking when we’re feeling stressed.”
BUILDING A NETWORK To develop student engagement and foster closer relationships, the house system relies on peer-to-peer mentorship, with fourth-years and third-years on hand to counsel the first- and second-year students in their house. Designated peer advisors offer support and guidance to an assigned group of students in the year immediately below them; and the entire house has a chance to meet at social and community events. Monson—a current fourth-year student—says the Kogel House pizza parties organized by Dr. Perla have brought students of all years together, a rare opportunity that he appreciates. “When you’re starting to think about hospital rotations, specialties, all the ‘big decisions,’ it’s rare to actually see on campus the students who are busy living these decisions,” Monson explains. “At every Kogel House pizza party, you get to see the thirdand fourth-years, and pick their brains. As a first-year, you’re in the corner looking New York Medical College
17