Date published: April 7, 2023
April Resident Spotlight: Benjamin Tanenbaum, MD
Name: Benjy Tanenbaum
Residency track: Internal Medicine (IM)
Year: PGY2
Hometown: Worcester, MA (always repping the Woo)
What are your clinical and research interests?
I’ve been interested in Hematology/Oncology since my pre-med years. In my MS3 year, I discovered how much I loved taking care of Oncology patients- meeting and bonding with them and their families and integrating basic science into clinical decision making. In residency, I’ve been working with Dr. Shyam Patel to research hematologic malignancies. Dr. Patel’s collaborative nature and enthusiasm for teaching have helped me learn how to perform research and connect with Heme/Onc on a deeper intellectual level. I am endlessly fascinated with the field and continue to grow more enthusiasm and optimism for the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment.
I’m also very interested in resident wellness and have been working with Dr. Vandana Nagpal and my co-residents on the wellness committee since my intern year. This year, we received a wellness grant from the CXO office to provide opt-out wellness check-in appointments for every IM intern with Tend Health. We’re also continuing to provide support to our residents with quarterly check-ins, a peer-buddy mentoring program for incoming interns, and anything else we can do to help support our co-residents during the demands of residency. Recently, I had the opportunity to present a poster at the annual ACGME conference in Nashville to highlight the ways in which our wellness committee has promoted wellness in our residency program, and I was really happy to see how our initiatives were received!
I’m also very passionate about medical education and I’ve been very fortunate to be part of the medical education track this year. My interests in the track include learning how learners learn, as well as improving the educational experience on the Oncology wards for our residents by providing them with educational resources on types of cancers/treatments/oncological emergencies.
What makes UMass a great place for your residency?
The people! UMass has such a perfect blend with its community-feel and academic opportunities. I’ve never felt like I’ve been “stepping on toes” by pursuing my interests and I’ve always felt like I’ve had support from program leadership, faculty, the chief residents, and my co-residents from the beginning of my intern year. There’s a very collaborative spirit here, and I know that I could ask any of my co-residents or faculty for help whenever needed. I also love hanging out with my co-residents outside of work, the program leadership (Dr. Kopec and company) always do a great job of matching incredible people to the program.
Favorite Hobby?
I love road cycling, but residency hasn’t allowed for as many rides as I’d like, so I started indoor rock climbing last year. It’s been a really cool way to stay active and trick myself into exercising, and it’s a ton of fun! I also got a keyboard last year and I’ve been informally learning some covers of classic rock artists like Billy Joel, Beatles etc.
Favorite thing to do in Worcester/Worcester area?
Probably the WooSox. I love seeing how Polar Park has become a celebration of the city and I love the atmosphere the park creates. Yet another reason to love summer in the Woo!