Episode 2: Matt Palastro

September 27, 2017

I worked for a few psychiatric hospitals in Boston before coming to NYMC. The first hospital I worked for really stands out to me. I didn’t realize how poor the conditions were until I had worked at other psychiatric hospitals in the area. My time at this hospital is special because it’s where I started to develop my sense of humor in a professional setting. I couldn’t help but notice the lack of laughter and smiles on the unit. I remember being surprised to see how some psychiatrists didn't even make eye contact with their patients as they walked by them. I was always raised to smile, and be friendly to everyone, regardless of who they were. At the time, I was 19, naïve, and just assumed that's how psychiatric hospitals were.

I think for most physicians, finding the appropriate line of humor in a hospital setting is tough. Patients do not come to doctors primarily to laugh. Doctors' main role is to treat patients, but that doesn't mean they can’t make a patient smile or laugh during their visit.

At that psychiatric hospital, I worked on a locked floor of severely depressed patients. Some of the people were at one of their lowest moments in life and would often not leave their room except for meals. I remember one time, I was working the evening shift at this hospital and two patients approached me about playing a game that night. This was unusual, but after asking the head nurse, I offered to organize a game of charades. I warned them to keep their expectations low though since optional group games on the unit tended to have a low turnout.

An hour before the game I went up to every patient on the unit (there were 20 people total) to let them know that this game was happening and that we would love if they participated. This led to a whopping 2 other patients saying that they would play when I asked. I went with it anyways. By the time our game was over, 18 out of the 20 patients were playing the game! The game started small but as the game and laughter got louder, I noticed the other patients joined us. Every single person in that room was laughing, smiling and having a good time, including myself. The patients came up to me after the game and thanked me for organizing it. One patient in particular said that for that hour, she forgot that she was “locked up” and hadn’t laughed that hard in months.

This experience gave me perspective on some of the tiny things healthcare professionals can do to improve someone’s day. I most likely, unless my life takes an unexpected turn, will not organize another charades game for a group of psychiatric patients. But I will remember how happy those patients were. A little laughter can go a long way.

Episode 4: Kyle Mobbs

10/24/2017 

I just really like good people. I appreciate people that look out for others. It’s hard to describe honestly, but you just know when someone’s a good person. They’re kind to others when there’s no benefit to them. They’re always like “let me make someone’s day better, just because.” I think that's the most important quality someone can have.
I studied public health and health policy in undergrad. I was interested in learning about ways to improve the health of entire communities. I remember driving to a football game with one of my buddies. He was a public health guy too. We’re driving through a toll booth on the highway and after I paid, he leaned over and yelled “Have a great day!” to the toll worker. He told me that toll workers have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession. That really got to me. It must get so lonely out there. I had never considered how hard some people have it. It just made me realize, there’s no reason to not be nice to everyone. I think that too often we react to others based off of little information, and that can be so consequential.
I used to live in DC, and had an apartment up on the 12th floor, with a good view of the city. During the summer we'd get hit with severe thunderstorms that would literally shake the building and freak out my roommate. I'd often find myself staring out the window and wondering how all the homeless people were handling the storms. See these people are people that I walk by, every day, living on the streets, without anywhere to go. And, I think a lot of people would say I was being naive or dumb or whatever: but I used to interact with these people all the time. I would buy them food, talk to them. There’s one guy that would stand on the side of the street near my work. I would bring him a cup of coffee every day. I can’t imagine what he was going through, but that doesn’t prevent me from being kind, or doing something about it- even if it’s just getting him a cup of coffee. You can say that's foolish or whatever. But to be honest, there are worse things to get judged for/called an idiot for.
More than everything, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt. Why judge them when you don’t even know them? Rush to conclusions? Put them in a box? Why do that?
At school, I try to say hello to everyone. Like the security guards that work here. They have a tough job. I ask them “how you doing?” “what are you up to?” “what time are you working until?” They matter man, they matter to me. I goof around with them.
And I think, for me, the way I try to be nice to people is that I’ll mess or tease you or act the goofball. I clown around because I want to help people around me to better open up. Get them to laugh, smile. I get that I am a loud extroverted guy, and not everyone is like that. But everyone’s got something to share, something amazing about them. I enjoy goofing around with people, because I feel like I can help them open up. In fact, I find the people that are quiet, the ones who seem shy, or even get teased for being different are actually the nicest, most compassionate, smartest people out there. I love these people. They’re good people.
I think humor is the easiest way to get through to someone, make someone smile, and help them come out of their shells. I’ll draw the attention to myself in uncomfortable situations. If that helps other people open up and helps other people be more comfortable and more themselves, that’s what matters.

What are your 5 Most Recently Played Artists on Spotify?
The Cure, Frank Ocean, Gucci Mane, The XX, Chiodos
If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose?
Never being tired or needing sleep would be pretty cool - coffee and red bull only take me so far
Pick something or someone from NYMC go give out a shout of to!
Scarlett Tohme - I think I mess with her more than anyone else on campus and she's always got really good comebacks for me
Also Danielle Quinn for starting the trend of sharing study guides before exams
If someone wanted to talk to you, they should lead with…:
Something witty or sarcastic - I’m an incredibly sarcastic person if you haven't figured that out by now

Episode 3: Marisella Garcia

10/13/2017 

I love reading, and I’ve always been a bookworm. I insist that my alter ego is an English professor. I was always intrigued by these fantastical other worlds, and as cliché as it sounds, there are some stories that have really gotten me through hard times. Even when I’m not going through a tough time, reading makes me feel better. In terms of genres, I really like children’s and young adult literature. You can embarrassingly find me chilling in the Barnes & Noble children’s section looking at books that I read as a kid. I mean, even right now I’m reading A Wrinkle in Time, which is right next to The Jungle Book, which is right next to The Outsiders. In college I took a class on children’s literature, and my instructor for that class had a phrase: “Simple doesn't have to mean simplistic.” I thought that was brilliant.
I feel like sometimes children’s or young adult’s literature isn’t taken seriously. Maybe you can even say that about pediatricians and, by extension, kids’ problems. I don't understand that. I disagree with that. Maybe people don’t see children’s or teenager’s problems or stories as “as intense” or “as serious” as adult stories/problems. Maybe society struggles to see children as full members of society. That's funny to me because children are some of the most vulnerable patients physicians work with. I don’t want children and their struggles to be dismissed simply because some think they are trivial or “not fully developed.” Children don’t always remain children, and if we don't help them fully and care for them and listen to them, their problems will evolve into adult issues. I really think we should treat children and their problems with solemnity.
Children’s stories can be zany and fanciful, but at the heart of them are such universal human concerns. As outlandish as these stories can be, they speak about important human themes. These stories aren’t afraid to talk truthfully and honestly about what really matters without overcomplicating it all.
When I see a small child, it makes me so happy. When I see them smile at me, I feel this brightness come over me. To have the chance to connect to someone so young and innocent who trusts you, oh that's so fun! I feel like you won’t get that anywhere else in medicine.
So yeah, it’s something that I have been thinking about, pediatrics!, But I just don’t know. It’s so early, and there’s so much more to learn and experience.
Honestly, the greatest thing, and the thing that makes me happier than all else is making someone laugh. Making someone smile. Even for a second. Even during simple small talk conversations, you can include some corny pun in there and get a lovely reaction, and nothing brings me more joy than that. I just feel so connected to that person in that moment and so present. Even if I make a bad pun, and I do still get embarrassed, I just think it’s so worth it.
Being here at this school has been such an amazing experience. I have these pangs of anxiety sometimes about whether I really belong. I mean, I’m still figuring out my place in medicine: “What am I really passionate about? “Am I 1000% sure??” I’m always thinking of why I’m passionate about all of this. I’m trying to figure out why I’m here and what really draws me to medicine. I guess it just gets to me to see someone unhappy or unwell. It’s simple, right? But not simplistic.
I feel like I came to school to learn what it is I want to do, but I’m pleasantly surprised to find myself also learning about and growing into the person that I want to be. Now more than ever before, I feel so emboldened to connect with everyone! That's so wonderful and scary because I consider myself an introvert. This journey that I’m on is so challenging and fraught with moments of insecurity and doubt. I think I am indeed growing into the person I want to be, but change is always so scary. I’m just glad to be surrounded by the incredible people here while I go through all of this.
And no, the Facebook puns will never stop.

​What are your 5 Most Recently Played Artists on Spotify?
Banks, Oh Wonder, Petit Biscuit, Drake (I know, I’m so hip I’m thigh), J Balvin
If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose?
Making money grow on trees. Because 1.) Money and 2.) When someone condescendingly says, “You know money doesn’t grow on trees,” I’d suddenly will a wad of Ben Franklins to sprout on the nearest tree and the person would be like, “Oh,” and I’d be like, “Yeah.”
Pick something or someone from NYMC go give out a shout out to!
I’m cheating on this one and not picking just one (didn’t you know I’m a rebel?), but I have to give a shout out to my 3 roommates. Julie Cox, Cydney Nichols, and Sandy Zhang (listed in alphabetical order because ya girl doesn’t play favorites like that) were the first people I properly met and got to know here, and they’re all so intelligent and funny and unique and way cooler than me, and I admire them so much that I write about them in run-on sentences, and I don’t even care because feels.
If someone wanted to talk to you, they should lead with…:
Anything about corgis, books, breakfast foods, references to The Office or Parks and Rec, or corgis. Because corgis.

Episode 2: Matt Palastro

9/27/2017 

​I worked for a few psychiatric hospitals in Boston before coming to NYMC. The first hospital I worked for really stands out to me. I didn’t realize how poor the conditions were until I had worked at other psychiatric hospitals in the area. My time at this hospital is special because it’s where I started to develop my sense of humor in a professional setting. I couldn’t help but notice the lack of laughter and smiles on the unit. I remember being surprised to see how some psychiatrists didn't even make eye contact with their patients as they walked by them. I was always raised to smile, and be friendly to everyone, regardless of who they were. At the time, I was 19, naïve, and just assumed that's how psychiatric hospitals were.
I think for most physicians, finding the appropriate line of humor in a hospital setting is tough. Patients do not come to doctors primarily to laugh. Doctors' main role is to treat patients, but that doesn't mean they can’t make a patient smile or laugh during their visit.
At that psychiatric hospital, I worked on a locked floor of severely depressed patients. Some of the people were at one of their lowest moments in life and would often not leave their room except for meals. I remember one time, I was working the evening shift at this hospital and two patients approached me about playing a game that night. This was unusual, but after asking the head nurse, I offered to organize a game of charades. I warned them to keep their expectations low though since optional group games on the unit tended to have a low turnout.
An hour before the game I went up to every patient on the unit (there were 20 people total) to let them know that this game was happening and that we would love if they participated. This led to a whopping 2 other patients saying that they would play when I asked. I went with it anyways. By the time our game was over, 18 out of the 20 patients were playing the game! The game started small but as the game and laughter got louder, I noticed the other patients joined us. Every single person in that room was laughing, smiling and having a good time, including myself. The patients came up to me after the game and thanked me for organizing it. One patient in particular said that for that hour, she forgot that she was “locked up” and hadn’t laughed that hard in months.
This experience gave me perspective on some of the tiny things healthcare professionals can do to improve someone’s day. I most likely, unless my life takes an unexpected turn, will not organize another charades game for a group of psychiatric patients. But I will remember how happy those patients were. A little laughter can go a long way.

What are your 5 Most Recently Played Artists on Spotify?
Queen – No one was better than Freddie Mercury in his prime
Drake – I would’ve put him first if I wasn’t slightly embarrassed by this
SZA – Great study music, she has an awesome voice
Francis and the Lights – I saw him perform this summer at the Boston Calling Music Festival and liked him instantly
Alabama Shakes

If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose?
Photographic memory – The past two months would’ve been a lot easier and I would not need Camtasia anymore.

Pick something or someone from NYMC go give out a shout of to!
Tony Sozzo – When I was at second look day the current M1s told me how great Tony was. But it turns out he is even greater than they told me. Tony has a way of immediately making you feel like part of the community here and his enthusiasm (especially during orientation week) was and still is appreciated.

If someone wanted to talk to you, they should lead with…:
Something unexpected (I can handle it/like to be kept on my toes)