An Interview of Jeremy Goldfarb, MD, UCLA Alumnus (Winter 1997)
Current Resident, Internal Medicine, Alameda County Medical Center, Highland Hospital, Oakland CA
Graduate of St. George's University (SGU) Medical School (June 2001)

By Danelle Boone, Career Counselor, UCLA Career Center

DB: Jeremy, What made you decide to apply to SGU? Did you apply to other offshore schools as well?

JG: I applied to SGU after it became more and more apparent that I would probably not be accepted to any US medical schools. My older sister had just finished at SGU and was starting her residency at MLK-Drew in LA. I had similar long-term goals as my sister and saw that these could be attained by attending SGU. I also applied to Sackler University in Tel Aviv, but their curriculum required four years in Israel, whereas the second two years of SGU, the clinical rotations, were nearly all based in the US.

DB: Could you explain why you thought you might not get into any U.S. schools?

JG: I actually did fairly well at UCLA: I had competitive grades and MCAT (actually similar numerical data as my girlfriend, who subsequently went to UC Davis med school). I had applied to US schools and, after being removed from several wait lists, applied to SGU. I did not know a lot about D.O. schools and was not really interested in learning about osteopathy, so I didn't bother to apply. This is not to knock D.O. programs; I just didn't really know about them. I saw my other option as going to get a master's of "trying to get into medical school" -- master of science or MPH, but at the time I wasn't really interested in those either (although, in retrospect, maybe an MPH wouldn't have hurt). I knew SGU was a great means to an end -- again, I had seen my sister as an excellent product of an SGU education -- so I applied.

DB: How would you describe your pre-medical experience at UCLA?

JG: My pre-med experience at UCLA was a little hectic and stressful -- a lot of hours at Lu Valle. I actually did fairly well academically, and I think that I was very well prepared for med school.

DB: Did you always know you wanted to become a doctor? Or was it a decision made during your undergraduate career?

JG: I was always pre-med, but I wasn't really committed to medicine. The truth is that I just never really thought of anything else to do. As it turns out, I am really glad I followed through.

DB: Was there any hesitation or fear about going to a school outside of the U.S.? What considerations did you have to make?

JG: As I said, my sister had gone to SGU before me so that trepidation of what comes after was somewhat quelled. Going to a foreign medical school is definitely a little "outside the box." I didn't really appreciate that there are some extra hoops that you have to jump through to practice, especially in California.

DB: Can you describe these “hoops”?

JG: In order to get a residency in the US, you need to take a few extra exams, not the least of which is the TOEFL: Test Of English as a Foreign Language. Keep in mind that English is my only language. It was a little demoralizing and certainly the people at Sylvan were a little confused, but I did well! Actually, with so many people like me taking this exam, the curve is being skewed so much that real foreign language speakers are having a harder time passing....

Also, the licensing process is a little involved and tricky. None of this is impossible, but you have to be a little proactive to make things happen. Because it can be sticky at times, a lot of residency programs in CA do not want to deal with the hassle and prefer to take US grads.

DB: But, you were able to secure a residency in a California hospital, where you are planning to stay on as chief resident for the upcoming year. I know that many of our students are concerned with the process of securing quality residency placements when applying to non-US schools. Can you describe what this process was like for you?

JG: When considering residencies, there are three factors that students need to take into account: a) specialty; b) location; c) type of program (community hospital, county, or university based). Certainly, when graduating from a foreign medical school, I think that obtaining any two of these is nearly always possible.

Fellow SGU graduates are doing residencies in nearly every field of medicine, including orthopedics, ER, surgery, OB/GYN, psychiatry, pediatrics, medicine. Many are now going on to fellowships in cardiology, nephrology, GI (probably the three most competitive). I am staying on to be one of the Chief Residents and, actually, two of the three of us are SGU grads.

DB: What was the BEST part of your experience at SGU?

JG: There are a few great things about my experience: a) I met some amazing people -- real lifelong friends. I wonder if the bonds I made were a little stronger because I was so far from my family and friends. b) The faculty are dedicated strictly to teaching. In other universities, I think the first priority of the professors is often research and teaching students is ancillary. These guys don't do research and get to devote all their time to teaching. This makes them a lot more accessible. c) Because the clinical component is not tied to a single university/hospital, I got to rotate at numerous clinical facilities throughout the US. I also chose to go to the UK. I think that exposure to different hospital systems (especially by going to the UK where I got to practice in the British National Health System) really broadened my perspective. However, SGU does offer "clinical centers" where students can do their entire 3rd and 4th years at one site if they prefer.

DB: What was the worst?

JG: Grenada is 90 miles north of Venezuela. I didn't realize how far it is from California. Also, phone calls were like 80 cents/minute at that time. I think that with Internet, etc., people don't feel as isolated anymore.

DB: How would you rate or describe your overall medical school experience?

JG: My overall experience was wrought with challenges and angst. But, I think that's just my personality. Med school is hard and stressful and I am certain it would have been the same anywhere I went. Again, I think SGU prepared me well for my medical career both academically and practically. Although, navigating foreign medical schools may be a little more difficult at times, learning how to be creative really helped me be savvy in the hospital setting and, ultimately, be a stronger advocate for my patients.

DB: Can you share with us, what you are doing now, and what your goals are for the future?

JG: I am graduating from an internal medicine residency in Oakland, CA, and staying on to be Chief Resident next year. After that, I will probably continue to work in the community at least for the next couple of years, and then apply for a fellowship, most likely in nephrology. I definitely would like to continue in academic medicine in some framework; I like teaching and being surrounded by other people who like to remain current in the medical field.

DB: Why nephrology?

JG: The kidney is the great regulator of the human body. I really like the precision of the organ and the physiology. It is often very predictable and I like the math/structure of kidney medicine. Also, more people are living longer with diabetes and hypertension (the two leading causes of dialysis-dependent kidney failure) and, consequently, more people are going to end up on dialysis.

DB: Looking back on your experience, is there anything you would have done differently?

JG: Probably not as far as getting in to medical school. Maybe while I was a 4th year student, I would have gotten involved in some research projects. I am also helping with admissions to SGU and I realize that I am lending more weight to letters of recommendation; more than I thought I would. [hint, hint].

For more information on St. George’s University Medical School, please visit www.sgu.edu/som . For counseling with regard to choosing to apply to medical schools and assistance with the application process, as well as alternatives to traditional medical schools, please visit the UCLA Career Center, and speak to one of our career counselors.