True stories from a Brooklyn ER and beyond – doctors share real-life tales with community

Brooklyn, NY – At the Brooklyn Public Library’s annual Night in the Library event on March 8 to 9, Maimonides doctors and surgeons gathered for a late-night storytelling session. Sharing their experiences practicing medicine here in Brooklyn and across the world, their stories spanned themes of humor, grief, empathy, compassion, hope, and joy.  

Airway is an open-mic storytelling event for doctors to share their experiences of being a physician, started in 2015 as a local event among residency programs in New York City by Maimonides emergency physicians Mert Erogul, MD and Joshua Schiller, MD. Ten years on, Airway has been presented citywide and has since become a staple at academic assemblies and hospitals around the country. Holistically, Airway supports and encourages a humanity-based perspective of medical practice, encompassing the practitioner, patient, and society at large. Night in the Library marked the first time Airway was exhibited for a nonmedical audience.  

In addition to Dr. Schiller and Dr. Erogul, Maimonides doctors Poroshat Shekarloo, MD, Obstetrician/Gynecologist and Director of Global Health and Peer Review; Nakesha King, MD, Attending Physician and Trauma Surgeon; and Jessica Poster, MD, Director of Psychiatric Emergency Services, performed at the event.  

“This marks the first time we’ve ever staged Airway for a public audience, instead of an audience of physicians and health care providers, and we are grateful to the Brooklyn Public Library for this invitation to share our passion for our roles as doctors with other Brooklynites,” said Dr. Erogul. “With more than 1,800 Maimonides doctors who come from as close as our backyard and as far as the other side of the world to care for this community, we were proud to share the rich, unique perspectives of just a small slice of those representing our profession.” 

“As doctors we come face to face with the most difficult shortcomings of our society, but we’re also able to appreciate so many triumphs of humanity, large and small, each day,” said Dr. Schiller. “It’s not often that we have the opportunity to share these experiences and connect so directly with our community, letting others know what it really means to each of us to be a human practicing medicine.” 

This year marked the 10th year of Night in the Library at BPL, with the theme “The Sky Above Brooklyn – The Philosophy of the Sublime.” Featuring after-hours discussions, performances, and screenings from authors, academics, artists, and creatives, inviting participants to think beyond the everyday and instead consider life as part of a larger picture.  

For photos of Airway at Night in the Library, click here.  

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