For now, we, at the Weill Cornell Community Clinic, proudly provide a safety net for those in need of healthcare in New York City. We hope some day a person’s income or current employment status will not determine the quality of their health and that no one will have to wait to go to the doctor because they are afraid of being unable to pay.

 Humanity has practiced and developed medicine for over 4,000 years, and its oath of responsibility, Primum non nocere, is “First, do no harm.” At his recent lecture, Dr. Bernard Shapiro '52, who has served his community for 38 years as a family physician, advocated for the significance of primary care physicians. He said that an essential way of fostering the doctor-patient relationship is by being a rational thinker - one who truly understands the patient.  However, he believes changes to the American Health Care System may interfere with the doctor-partient relationship.

“Actually, she still has a uterus.” It’s the only phrase I remember from that morning, and embarrassment was the only emotion I felt that morning. My head felt like concrete and I just wanted to sleep. In fact, I hadn’t slept in nearly two days. In the haze of sleep deprivation, I had misread my patient’s chart and thought that she had an operation in which her uterus was removed.

How long have you had that cough? Does the pain get worse when you lie down?

Well, we’re here to help. If not by diagnosing your problem, exactly, then by providing you with some interesting — and I hope valuable — facts, stories and information about your health.

If you’re looking for some free medical advice this fall, look no further. “What’s Up, Doc?” — a new column written by a rotating cast of Weill Cornell medical students — will answer all your medically related questions.

Weill Cornell? Yes, Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University’s medical school located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.