Alumni Visits

During our visit, we had the opportunity to meet with several Dartmouth/Geisel alumni who offered great perspectives on their career choices and on practicing in an urban environment. In future visits, we hope to meet even more alumni and to continue to connect members of the Geisel family!

Dr. Jeff Schrager (’90) and Dr. Irvin Sanchez (’08)

On Friday evening, we had the pleasure of having dinner with two Geisel (or DMS to them) alums, Dr. Jeff Schrager (’90) and Dr. Irvin Sanchez (’08). Hungry for some Italian food after landing back in Manhattan after a busy day in Brooklyn and the Bronx, we enjoyed dinner and conservation with Dr. Schrager and Dr. Sanchez about their careers and experiences working in NY. Dr. Schrager, who works as a pathologist at LabCorp, spoke to us about his work in lifestyle medicine, which utilizes lifestyle interventions including behavioral, medical, and motivational principles, as a key component of treatment and management of health. It was interesting to hear how this work in lifestyle medicine initially grew out of his passion for public health and preventative medicine, and eventually inspired him to become the go-to person at his workplace LabCorp, coordinating wellness of his fellow employees. It was also encouraging to see how very possible it is to integrate other interests and pursuits into your career, even as a busy physician in NYC.

Dr. Sanchez, a current fellow in Anesthesia at Columbia University Medical Center, talked to us about the challenges of practicing medicine in an urban city like NYC. At the hospital where he works, in Washington Heights, Dr. Sanchez has found that being able to speak Spanish is key. (Good thing UHS has a Medical Spanish Elective!) He also felt it served him well during his years of residency training in Dallas. As he plans his next career move, with considerations of his wife and family, Dr. Sanchez shed some light on the process of finding a job after (finally) completing all those years of training. The decisions only get harder, it seems!

Dr. Heidi Rowen (’95)

We went in already knowing we’d love Dr. Rowen, an OB-GYN, as coming from the strong praises of Dr. Larry Ham, whom a small group of us were fortunate enough to meet with yesterday at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital. Former colleagues at the Women’s Health Clinic, Drs. Lam and Rowen worked together for years, providing much-needed OB services to the huge underserved and ethnically diverse population of the Bronx. Dr. Rowen, who spoke French, was able to serve as a niche provider to the West African immigrant population in the Bronx as word-of-mouth got out through that particular community, in addition to the many other groups of women she saw during her 10 years of practice there. The story of how Dr. Rowen ended up at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital was a cool one, thanks in part to the National Health Service Corps (which places primary care providers in areas with limited access to care and also provides scholarship) and to Dr. Rowen’s insistence on ending up in the Bronx, after having lived in NYC for her residency years. Dr. Rowen loved her 3-year stint at Bronx-Lebanon so much, she ended up staying on for years after her committment. It was amazing to hear her tell stories of just how different and important cultural beliefs can be when considering health populations as diverse as in the Bronx. She also spoke about the challenges of serving in an underserved area, especially in OB. The legal challenges, the language barriers, patient volume, the work-life balance… Over hot chocolate and spiced apple cider in Le Pain Quotidien, she also shared her love for Dartmouth and after all her many years of work, was able to say that the first two years of medical school were her favorite :-)