Weill Cornell Physicians Star in ABC News Documentary "NY Med"
It was just a little more than a year ago when cameras began following Weill Cornell Medical College faculty and their patients at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center to view the world of medicine through a raw, real and intimate lens.
On Tuesday, that world became real to 4.7 million Americans who tuned into their TV screens to watch the second episode of "NY Med," an eight-part documentary series from ABC News chronicling the 24/7 drama at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
The series, which is scheduled to air at 10 p.m. Tuesday evenings on ABC through Aug. 28, follows the real-life surgeons, residents, nurses and hospital staff who try to change the trajectory of lives through exemplary medical practice.
Dr. Michael Kluger, assistant professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and a transplant surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, who was featured in "NY Med." Photo credit: ABC News
For a full year, ABC cameras had unprecedented access to the day-to-day drama at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center documenting the medical miracles that occur in these facilities.
"I was particularly impressed with the way ABC News' camera crews and producers seemed to blend in seamlessly, never distracting us from our primary mission of providing excellent surgical care and training our residents," said Dr. Fabrizio Michelassi, chairman of the Department of Surgery and the Lewis Atterbury Stimson Professor of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and surgeon-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian who was filmed during the production. "The 'NY Med' team, led by Terry Wrong, treated our patients and their families with great respect and professionalism, earning the trust of everybody with whom they interacted."
"NY Med" provides a glimpse inside the non-stop action of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, merging dramatic medical stories and intricate procedures with the banter of the very human people who make up this close-knit family of medical professionals.
Dr. Philip Barie, professor of surgery and professor of public health at Weill Cornell Medical College and a surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, who was featured in "NY Med." Photo credit: ABC News
Tuesday's episode followed Joanna Cetta, a healthy athlete in her 20s who had a benign tumor removed by surgeon Dr. Philip Barie, professor of surgery and professor of public health at Weill Cornell.
Viewers also learned about Jon Kuhfeldt, a businessman in his late 50s who needed a liver transplant after developing primary sclerosing colangitis, a rare disease of the bile ducts that caused cirrhosis in his liver. What Kuhfeldt wanted most was to be healthy enough to be able to walk his daughter down the aisle and dance with her during her upcoming wedding.
"I was amazed by the strength of Mr. Kuhfeldt and his family," said Dr. Michael Kluger, a transplant surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and assistant professor of surgery at Weill Cornell who operated on Kuhfeldt. "We don't often get to experience the personal lives and motivations of our patients. Watching his life and hearing his thoughts inspired me."
While the series is intended to be entertaining, it's also a way to raise awareness of prevalent medical issues and initiatives, such as adding people to the organ donation rolls.
"I hope that everybody who watches 'NY Med' understands the importance of transplantation in improving patients' lives and chooses to become an organ donor," Dr. Kluger said, praising NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical College leadership for their support in expanding the liver transplantation program that will improve every patient's quality of life and survival. "The reality is that each of us has a greater chance of needing a transplant than of becoming a donor. It's a hard concept to swallow, but should be an incentive to be willing to give the gift of life."
"NY Med" is also a way to show aspiring doctors, nurses and members of allied health care what life is really like in a hospital.
"Med students, nursing students, they should be watching every single episode," said Katie Duke, a registered nurse in the NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Emergency Department featured in Tuesday's episode. "A lot of times, when you are in school, you have a very dreamy view of real life in the working world. Unfortunately, when you get out there, there's a huge shock factor and you're like, 'Oh my gosh; this is nothing like I thought it would be,' or, 'It's more than I ever imagined.'
"But if you want to know what goes down, you have to watch something like this," she said. "What you see is what you get."