Jeremy Abramson, MD, ISMMS ’00
To hear the passion and conviction with which he speaks of medicine and the connection between physician and patient, it might seem clear that Jeremy Abramson, MD, ISMMS ’00, was born to be a doctor. Yet Dr. Abramson, Clinical Director of the Lymphoma Program at the Cancer Center of Massachusetts General Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, very nearly choose another career.
“As an undergraduate theater major, my focus was on designing and directing theater productions,” says Dr. Abramson. “I was so happy in theater that I was torn up whether even to try medical school.” But when he was offered a spot at Mount Sinai as one of the first medical students to be part of the pioneering Humanities and Medicine Early Assurance Program, which enrolls undergraduates from the humanities and social sciences who have not taken traditional pre-med courses, Dr. Abramson decided to accept. “I’m incredibly grateful I did,” he said. “I loved every day of medical school. I found it thoroughly inspiring and every bit as creative and intellectually engaging as my prior work.”
Theater, says Dr. Abramson, is all about teamwork and storytelling—and that sort of communication is at the very heart of medicine. “Our biggest role as physicians is as teachers for our patients, helping them understand and become active partners and leaders in their quest for wellness.”
Humanistic Medicine
“From day one at Mount Sinai, there was an incredible focus on the core quality of doctor-patient communication.” Dr. Abramson remembers with particular warmth Arthur Rubenstein, MD, the dean of the School at that time, whom many saw as the model of a great medical researcher as well as an idealistic, humanistic physician. Dr. Rubenstein took time each week to sit with senior students, reading and discussing works on the philosophy of medicine. “It was ingrained in my Mount Sinai training that our connections with our patients at a human level make us better physicians and also help us take maximal gratification in our own work,” says Dr. Abramson.
Understanding patients’ hopes and fears aids in research as well, helping to identify shortcomings in the standard of care. When asking patients to join clinical trials, researchers need to explain clearly both the goals and the risks of the trial and how patients can help further scientific knowledge. With this understanding, patients are usually excited to contribute to the broader effort.
Easing the Fear
His early experiences caring for cancer patients as an internal medicine resident at Mount Sinai convinced Dr. Abramson to become an oncologist. “I witnessed the panic that accompanies a cancer diagnosis,” he recalls. But he also saw the comfort that accompanied discussions with expert oncologists, a treatment plan, and effective therapy.
“Life doesn’t go on pause while you fight cancer,” says Dr. Abramson. “We help people find the strength and mechanisms to deal with this in the context of their lives, not instead of their lives.”
Dr. Abramson’s first teaching experience was at Mount Sinai as a teaching assistant in gross anatomy, and he delighted in the small group Socratic teaching method. That early experience molded his current clinical practice and his role teaching Harvard medical students, internal medicine residents, and hematology oncology fellows.
He also participated in the community service programs, such as outreach to the homeless, that are part of Mount Sinai’s commitment to all of its neighbors—whether they come from an elegant building on Madison Avenue or a local shelter. “I see Mount Sinai students when they graduate and arrive at Mass General as newly minted interns in medicine,” he says.
“From my perspective, interacting as I do with students from all the finest medical schools in the country, Mount Sinai students are always the cream of the crop. They are well-rounded, passionate, thoughtful, intelligent, compassionate physicians the day they arrive and become, I think, wonderful physicians and leaders during their time here. Oftentimes they go on into great academic careers, become chief residents in medicine, and then become leaders in their respective fields.”
Dr. Abramson is now seeking to improve lymphoma outcomes in Botswana, where he has a medical license and sees patients in the public cancer hospital. He is seeking grants to expand the basic treatment infra- structure and bring care to the underserved. This is the very essence of Mount Sinai, says Dr. Abramson. “It has a heart. It’s a school that speaks to physicians who truly endeavor to make the world a better place.”
— Alison Dalton
Reprinted from the Fall 2015 issue of “Mount Sinai Science & Medicine” magazine.