Chief Resident Ethan Bernstein, MD, was born at Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH) while his parents, Paul Bernstein, MD, and Tamara DiNolfo, MD, were completing their residencies. While rounding on internal medicine patients at the hospital, Paul used to set Ethan outside of the patient room in his car seat, while he completed his examinations.
“Sometimes he was there and sometimes he wasn't when I came out because the nurses would often pick him up,” remembered Paul. “Ethan’s very early childhood was visiting either Tamie or me at the hospital.”
The Bernstein’s relocated to Rochester, N.Y. where Paul became faculty at University of Rochester at Rochester General Hospital. Rochester was also where Ethan and his two sisters, Rebecca and Elena, spent their childhoods. When Ethan started thinking about his future career, chance meetings at a local grocery store planted the seeds that he could be happy “doing what his parents did.”
“When I was younger, I remember being at Wegmans with my parents, people would look at me say, ‘Wow, your parents are great doctors. We're really lucky to have them,’” said Ethan. “It happened dozens of times, for both parents. That was the first time that I thought about being happy doing what they do. When people appreciate you that much, when you're there and just picking up your bread and they stop and tell your kid how great his parents are at their jobs, it is impactful.”
“I just wanted him to be happy and contributing,” said Paul.
When looking for places to do his residency, Yale School of Medicine (YSM) felt like home to Ethan.
“I got a vibe when I was on my interview,” said Ethan. “They spoke a lot about the Yale family, and that is so true. They really care about you. They practice world class medicine, without the arrogance. I knew that they needed young, motivated physicians to support the local communities and my Spanish-speaking background would help me contribute. In New Haven, I feel like I am practicing in a kind community where I am valued. Additionally, I also appreciate a city that isn’t too big. There is not a lot of sitting in traffic or paying my entire salary in rent.”
In addition, many of the people that his parents practiced with are still at YSM.
“I got into the elevator with Dr. Chris Howes, who is in cardiovascular medicine. He was my attending in the cardiac intensive care unit during my intern year, and we were waiting for an elevator and chit-chatting. I asked him if he’d been at Yale for a while. And he said that he did his residency here,” recalled Ethan.
“I asked what year he did his residency, and it turns out, he started the same year as my parents, so I asked him if he knew Paul Bernstein and Tamie DiNolfo. To which he replied, Tamie had actually started residency, her intern year, pregnant, and then had a baby during her first year. He was shocked to learn that was me.”
The elder Bernstein recently returned to YSM after a 25-year hiatus after Ethan’s prodding that he apply to an open Associate Program Director position within the Traditional Residency Program.
“Ethan called and said, ‘You know, Dad. There's someone who's leaving and there's a spot open. Do you have any interest in coming back?’ “This was after literally 25 years, so there were something nice and round about the occasion; it seemed like a good time to consider a change,” said Paul. “We could have just stayed where we were for the next 10 years without any upheaval. But, Mark Siegel, Ethan, and the family and just what Yale is all about, brought us back.”
The elder Bernstein’s settled in New Haven. “It has been a real sense of coming home again,” said Paul. “A lot of the leadership is still here, like Drs. Vinny [Quagliarello], Steve [Huot], Gary [Desir], Duffy’s, and [Ashgar] Rastegar. They are still here, happy and contributing.”
Before the new faculty addition was officially announced, Paul made a guest appearance in Ethan’s January 10, 2020 Medical Grand Rounds.
On May 24, the pair started their week together caring for COVID+ patients on the Generalist Firm. In fact on Sunday, they cooked and served brunch for the medical residents medical on the firm.
“There was the social distancing issue, so we couldn’t have too many people, but we didn’t burn anything down,” joked Ethan. “And we didn’t set off the smoke alarm,” echoed Paul. Tamara provided the bacon.
Admittedly, it was a tough week of patient care. One of the patients they treated was critically ill and deteriorating so they had to have difficult conversations about resuscitation, intubation, and compressions. They connected the patient virtually with his family, who pushed him to hold on and fight.
“He is doing great now and just on room air,” said Ethan.
“But at the time, we were trying not to start crying,” recalled Paul.
In addition to caring for patients together, they gave a case presentation on Thursday, May 28 as part of the Section of General Internal Medicine’s Town Hall Meeting.
“It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. I had wanted to be a doctor watching my parents practice medicine growing up, and then in medical school, I did rotation with my dad and had a blast. And then with this opportunity to have just six weeks to actually attend together, to partner up, and take care of patients, especially for the general service of this time which is vulnerable patients with COVID, it was so much fun,” said Ethan.
Paul concurred.
“How do you feel prouder than watching your son in real-time be the doctor that you knew he was?” said Paul. “It was fantastic to watch him teach, and I, of course, was a little bit anxious about the two of us getting down to the nitty-gritty about managing patients. For the record, every time a patient came up, we pretty much had a 100% agreement on the direction to take their specific treatment. Ethan and I both recognized that this is just going be an opportunity we're not going to get back.”
Maybe. Ethan will stay in New Haven to complete his fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care. He hopes to continue teaching and working within the underserved community.
“As someone who's always focused on communication, the most important part is end-of-life, and at that time, the patient is so much as family. That was the first thing that really pushed me in that direction, and then a love for physiology, procedures, ultrasound, and for people who are truly sick, I feel like you can step in and make a difference.”
Editor’s Note: Paul Bernstein also served as chief resident at YNHH, a title that both Paul and Ethan have now held. The pair is the first father-son chief resident duo within the Department of Internal Medicine.