Alumna Spotlight: From Film to Physician – Sophie Green
Story by Communications major Lila Goldin

Midway through film school at NYU Tisch, Dr. Sophie Green (Communications, ‘10) began a documentary about end of life and palliative care. Before she could finish it, her professor and mentor passed away. She said, though she “felt strange” releasing the documentary in his absence, the experience forced her to reflect on what aspect of making the film had fulfilled her the most: being with him and his family through the process.

What Green realized in that moment was bigger than one documentary - it set her down a path that would define the entire course of her life.

“Instead of putting all this effort into making a film and not knowing what’s going to become of all that effort, I found it more appealing to put effort into taking care of people,” Dr. Green said. “I decided that I would complete my prerequisites to take the MCAT.”

Green graduated from Tisch with a minor in chemistry, weaving together two seemingly disparate interests in her coursework.

“ I was snugly in my little film world, just carrying around 30-pound textbooks in biology and biochemistry. Everyone was like, ‘Are you insane?’”

Her interest in science was first sparked at Dreyfoos in Mr. Stephen Anand’s AP Biology course, which she took alongside classes like AP 2D Design and film. This laid the groundwork for her college experience. Green recalls balancing Anatomy with Life Drawing, applying lessons on muscle and bones layering to treating and drawing the human body.

“ I never would've even known that blending science and art was something people did if I hadn't gone to Dreyfoos,” she said. “ My brain really liked being able to live in both realms and have a creative side and also an analytical side.”

Green went on to work in a neuroscience lab at NYU before medical school. She would also train for seven years post-medical school, including an OBGYN residency at the Indiana University School of Medicine and a fellowship in Maternal-fetal medicine at Thomas Jefferson University. Now working as a Maternal-fetal medicine physician in Philadelphia, Green cares for patients with complex pregnancies, often becoming the person that people see when “things aren’t going well.”

“ It's so hard because sometimes when people see me, it's truly the worst day of their lives,” Dr. Green said. “We do a lot of training in medical school on how to break bad news, which is a skill based in communication. I try not to bury the lead. I try to be very direct with them. I feel very fortunate that people trust me with one of the most vulnerable and sensitive times in their life.”

In her role, Green performs procedures such as ultrasound guided needle procedures, hysterectomies, or c-sections. She also counsels patients and guides them through the entire process, including coordinating with other professionals to provide them the best care.

“My training in communication arts has only made me a better doctor because it's made me a better communicator, and I think that served me pretty well in medicine,” Dr. Green said. “Learning how to collaborate with your set designer, writer, or director of production to make something come together is very much like taking care of a patient that requires multiple specialties and subspecialties in order to create the best outcome.”

Green said she feels her arts-based education also taught her “how to have empathy for people” and to “think outside of the box,” much like devising the right path for each patient. Though she did not know at the time, her lessons at Dreyfoos would have far different applications than film.

”Follow what makes you happy, what intrigues you, what brings you joy,” she said. “Don't be afraid if at some point you notice that that's changing. Don’t be afraid of lost time.”