GHHS Gala Presentation

ISMMS Student Speaks at Annual Gala Honoring Medical Role Models

December 1, 2015

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s annual Golden Thread Gala honors people and institutions that exemplify the balance between the science and human sides of healthcare.  Ilana Ramer, ISMMS MD Candidate, Class of 2016, was invited to speak about the origins and success of the Gold society’s model project, “Tell Me More”, which originated at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

The “Tell Me More” program aims to create a way for care teams to see past the impersonal day-to-day business of managing a list of diseases and connect with patients on a more human level. When first created as a project for National Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care in 2014, about 30 ISMMS medical students volunteered on five teaching units at The Mount Sinai Hospital, conducting brief interviews to learn about patients' lives. After obtaining consent from patients, the students then posted signs next to the patients’ beds that told something about that patient—an accomplishment, hobby, belief--that served as a  reminder–that each patient is a unique individual.

Ms. Ramer, who co-led ISMMS’s chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society this past year, shared stories from several students and medical staff who felt the project improved their ability to provide humanistic care to their patients.

“This project underscores my belief that having an understanding of the patient as a person is essential to any treatment plan,” Ms. Ramer shared of her own experience. “As I embark on the next step of my training as an Internal Medicine resident, I will take with me the skills and values learned from this project and intend to be a physician who successfully communicates and listens to patients with kindness and a respectful understanding of their personality, culture and background.”

After the success of the program, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation saw the potential for the program to be implemented by health care facilities throughout the country. For 2015’s National Solidarity Day for Compassionate Patient Care The Arnold P. Gold Foundation offered “Tell Me More” starter kits to any interested chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Learn more about the “Tell Me More” program.