The Department of Medicine is thrilled to announce the following: Nirvani Goolsarran, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency, and Associate Vice Chair for Quality, Safety and Compliance, Department of Medicine, was awarded the Stony Brook University Presidential Mini Grant for 2020-2021.
The Presidential Mini-Grants for Departmental Diversity Initiative is designed to foster new projects, to test out ideas and to determine what may be the seeds of growth for the University. This important grant, titled "Using a Virtual World Poverty Simulation to Introduce Social Determinants of Health and Cultural Competency" focuses on virtual learning and poverty simulation with the use of modern technology.
Dr. Goolsarran plans to implement a collaborative interdisciplinary educational program focused on improving the health and well-being of the underserved population. Her work also pinpoints social determinants of health and cultural competency to resident physicians.
She plans to use a novel teaching technique using a virtual world simulation where learners create virtual representations of themselves, called avatars, and interact with other avatars in virtual learning environments.
Dr. Goolsarran strongly believes that medical training should be structured on how to counsel, understand and address barriers to care. As an immigrant physician from South America, diversity, equity and inclusion abide at the center of her core values.
A well-respected faculty member of the Department of Medicine, Dr. Goolsarran was inducted into the distinguished Honor Medical Society, Alpha Omega Alpha, in 2019. She was also featured in ACP Hospitalist as an April 2020 Success Story, “Making Early Discharge a Priority for Residents".
The Department of Medicine extends its heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Goolsarran on this very distinguished honor.
