Paul Goldfinger, MD. Mt. Sinai intern c. 1967. (photo originally posted on BF a few years ago.)
I was a “straight medical” intern at Mt. Sinai Hospital, one of 12. Of course there were other flavors such as surgery and pediatrics. The hospital is located at the border between the sophisticated upper east side and “Spanish Harlem” to the north. I lived with Eileen in hospital housing and walked to work down some poor streets, sometimes at night, but everyone was friendly—it was actually comforting to feel the respect coming my way just because of those “whites.” Actually, New York City turned out to be a collection of neighborhoods.
On the way I would turn north onto Madison Avenue, passing a newsstand where, one day, I saw the headline announcing the first heart transplant. One night, at around 2 am, I delivered a baby in the back of a taxi cab .
This hospital was an international referral center. I was so proud to be there. One of my first patients was a man from Peru with a rare and serious disorder. He gave me a tiny sterling silver spoon which we still treasure. Many of the patients on the teaching service had diseases which I had never seen before. They gave us those “whites” and they even did our laundry. The other house officers came from med schools from all over America. The attending physicians were brilliant, and four major medical journals were published there. The leading cardiology textbook in the world was by my boss Charles Friedberg, MD.
There are stories to share. Here is a link to the one previously posted about the baby on Madison Avenue
https://blogfinger.net/2011/10/02/medical-a-special-delivery-on-madison-avenue/
DEAR THEODOSIA. A baby is born. From the Broadway hit: Hamilton