Dr. Gabrielle Mayer graduated early from NYU Grossman School of Medicine to join the front lines of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. A new doctor is prepared to deal with others’ sickness, but she hadn’t considered the possibility she could become sick. “Never when I signed up for a career in medicine did I think my life would be part of what was on the table,” she says in this Vital Signs podcast.

As a medical resident at NYU Langone, she cared for patients with COVID-19, helping save lives amid loss and sacrifice. But this native New Yorker never doubted her decision. “This is my city, my city is hurting,” she recalls.