Juliet Jacobson, MD

Before medical school I was a 6th grade math and science teacher to 120 students in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. I had felt so lucky for my own education that I knew I wanted to give back and focus on someone else’s education during my gap year. I learned quickly that teachers and learners tend to have a wall between them. As a teacher, my students often made assumptions that I knew things that I actually wasn’t privy to - how they were feeling, what they were thinking, or what they needed. However, most students never spoke up to tell me their concerns. I had to remind them to share the things they were thinking, so I could best support them. I worked everyday to gain a better understanding of where my students were as learners and as people. Just one month after I finished teaching, I started medical school. I went from being the teacher, back to the learner. I often heard my friends complain about something that a professor or administrator was doing. When I asked them if they told anyone about their concern they nearly always said “no, but I’m sure they know”. It made it even more clear to me how there is often a disconnect between teachers and learners, which leads to frustration and dissatisfaction all around.

Within two months at New York Medical College, I was elected to the school's curriculum committee where I became a liaison between students and faculty. I brought student concerns to faculty and brought faculty expertise back to students. It was no surprise to me that professors were thrilled to help the moment they got the feedback they had requested from students. During my time on the committee I learned so much about medical education. Together, we designed and implemented an entirely new systems-based and shortened preclinical curriculum. We created open feedback surveys and monthly town halls to help students and faculty share concerns and problem solve.

Now in residency, I help lead our residency recruitment board, I volunteer at college outreach programs, I speak and mentor at my own medical school, and I continue to have a passion for medical education. I want to be part of the SAEM RAMS board to support learners not just in medical school and residency but throughout their medical careers. I want to create tools and references that grow with us through all of the stages of our careers. I want to build virtual drives with easily accessible and shareable information between residency programs and for all EM physicians. I aim to find ways to make tools that can grow with our ever changing field and support people wherever they are, in whatever capacity they need.