Sarah Rosenheck, DO
My name is Sarah Rosenheck and I am a current third year pediatric endocrinology fellow at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore. I received my medical degree at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed my pediatric residency at Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown New Jersey. I was originally drawn to science and medicine because of my fascination with learning how things fit together, like pieces of a puzzle. I was also intrigued with the fact that a bubblegum flavored liquid could fix my sore throat. Learning how all the disparate pieces of the puzzle fit together never stopped piquing my curiosity.
My interest in endocrinology did not really start until my fourth year of medical school. My passion for the field was sparked during my pediatric endocrinology rotation. As I worked with a middle school aged boy who became hypoglycemic during basketball practice, I started analyzing blood glucose levels and adjusting insulin rates. I was reminded of sitting at my grandmother’s house identifying where each puzzle piece went. By changing the rate of his insulin before practice and his prior meal, I changed his sugar pattern. At that point, all the hormone cascades that I had memorized years ago finally clicked and the pieces finally fell so that I could see the full picture. The joy of finishing the puzzle is what led me to become a pediatric endocrinology fellow.
One of my main passions within medicine is preventive medicine. Pediatrics, especially endocrinology, is one of the few specialties in which the practitioner can prevent diseases from ever developing. By treating precocious puberty, you can prevent a child from being shorter than their mid-parental height and the ensuing ridicule from peers. Helping a transgender child can potentially prevent depression and other mental health problems. The ability to not only fix existing issues but prevent them from happening keeps me inspired every day.
In addition to practicing preventative medicine, another aspect of endocrinology that drew me in is the relationships we build with our patients. Preparing patients for success when they enter the realm of adult care is important to the continuum of medicine and supports strong patient relationships. Transition of care has become a passion of mine; my own piece of the greater puzzle. During my residency at Goryeb Children’s Hospital, with my mentor Dr. Donald Hoelzel, I organized a pediatric transition of care program designed to smoothly handoff adolescent patients to adult physicians, ensuring their continued care as adults. I translated the lessons I learned during that project to fellowship where under the guidance and support of Drs. Molly Regelmann, Charlotte Chen, Laurie Cohen, and Shivani Argarwal, I was given the opportunity to continue that project here at CHAM. The program starts the education process at a younger age to instill confidence and build a clear path through the process. The Montefiore Supporting Emerging Adults with Diabetes program serves adults ages 18-35 years of age with type 1 diabetes. These providers helped us identify gaps in basic knowledge that could be addressed during adolescence. Based on these gaps, we created 8 questions based on the Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire and Readiness of Emerging Adults with Diabetes Diagnosed in Youth assessment to assess transition readiness.
At every visit to every other visit, providers will pick age-appropriate questions to discuss with the adolescent patient and their parents. The provider will then gauge whether that topic was mastered by the adolescent. Our team documents what questions were answered in our Division summary at the end of the note so that it can be built on with the next provider. This project aims to help adolescent patients with type 1 diabetes have a better understanding of their medical management so that when they transition to an adult model of care, they are prepared. This experience taught me not only about the importance of embracing change in the clinical environment, but also the importance of dedicating the time to enact change. Endocrine maladies are commonly life long and this type of program is especially important in the field. The lessons I learned on this project will help my endocrinology patients thrive in the future.
As I continue my career in endocrinology and work towards becoming an attending, I am extremely excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. I look forward to continuing to add more pieces to the puzzle along with working with great colleagues to deliver the highest quality of patient care.