Real World Experience

Jonathan Goldfinger

In the summer between first and second year, I was fortunate to find a project that combined my interests in global health, learning Spanish through immersion, traveling abroad, and working on a Masters thesis. I spent the summer in Honduras, a Central American country with a very high burden of injury, designing and implementing a trauma surveillance system for the Honduran Ministry of Health.

Working in Honduras' second largest public trauma center alongside students, faculty, and public health officials was the thrill of a lifetime and inspired my love for global health. Through collaborative resource assessment and remodeling of hospital charting we designed a substantial surveillance system that I was proud to help implement in the summer of 2006. Practically applying CDC and WHO guidelines to a public health need became my ideal educational experience. A love for the project drives me to continue working on it even during the clinical years, and I've gained wonderful mentors, colleagues, and friends in the process.

Mount Sinai imbues in its students values that prove priceless in both patient care and global health work: mutual respect, cultural exchange, thoughtful compassion, and scholarly collaboration. Thanks to Sinai, I feel prepared and am very excited for a future in the increasingly interconnected global health community.