Jesper Moelgaard, 31, is a 5th year medical student at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. He was originally interested in Anesthesiology and is now focusing on Societal Medicine
Since this is his first time ever in America, I sat down with Jesper to chat about his impressions of the conference and New York City.
What’s been a sight-seeing highlight so far?
“Visiting the New York Department of Health in Long Island City where there were amazing speakers and very passionate people. In Denmark we have an expression that epidemiology is as fun as sticking your tongue out the window, but they actually made it very interesting.”
Who’s been your favorite speaker at the conference?
The Opening Ceremony Keynote Speaker Dr. Richard Hurt from Mayo Clinic. I hadn’t realized he was a long-time smoker–takes a lot of persistence to quit and then go on to take such an active role in the fight against the tobacco industry.
What made you want to attend this IFMSA pre-General Assembly?
I was a security coordinator at a different IFMSA conference in 2011in Copenhagen. It was amazing to see international teamwork and people meeting to discuss issues that seemed to defy borders. That experience encouraged me to get involved and develop skills to bring back.
A highlight on Wednesday for international and Icahn students alike was the Icahn/IFMSA Mixer in the Annenberg Student Lounge, organized by Alex Gomez (MS1) and David Shore (MS1).
Ronnie Tisdale (MS2) had the following thoughts: “It was an excellent opportunity to meet ambitious, hard-working, caring, aspiring physicians and share an evening of music, language, and culture. From the Libyans that were working hard and using their medical skills during the revolution to the physician scientists from Germany, I look forward to maintaining some of the relationships begun last night throughout my life.”