By Dave DeFusco

For Gabrielle Martinez, the journey to becoming a physician assistant has been filled with long days, emotional moments and unforgettable lessons about medicine, teamwork and the human spirit. In May, Martinez graduated from the Katz School’s M.S. in Physician Assistant Studies, carrying with her an experience few medical trainees ever forget: holding the heart of an 80-year-old man during open-heart surgery.

“It was very cold and it wasn’t beating,” said Martinez. “Once I saw it beat again for the very first time, that was super emotional for me. I was like, ‘Oh my God, they just saved this person’s life.’”

Martinez completed two clinical rotations in cardiothoracic surgery and one with the stroke team at Maimonides Medical Center. The experiences not only strengthened her medical knowledge, they confirmed that she had chosen the right career. “I loved everything about it,” she said. “I could go on for days talking about it.”

Her connection to cardiothoracic surgery began long before she stepped into the operating room. Martinez’s twin sister, Gisselle, works as a cardiac telemetry nurse at Maimonides. When Martinez learned she could complete her surgery rotation there, it immediately felt like the perfect fit.

“I live in Brooklyn, about 10 minutes away, and my sister worked there already,” said Martinez. “At first it felt like everything was just lining up perfectly.”

Then, during her didactic year in the PA program, before clinical rotations even began, Martinez’s mother underwent cardiac surgery herself.

“That changed everything for me,” said Martinez. “As a family member, you only see the recovery afterward. But being part of the care team, you get to see the behind-the-scenes process—what led patients there and everything involved in helping them heal.”

Watching her mother recover made the specialty deeply personal. By the time Martinez entered her cardiothoracic surgery rotation, she carried with her not only classroom knowledge, but the emotional perspective of someone who had watched a loved one undergo the same frightening procedures.

“I remember thinking, ‘Do I really want to see this?’ because of what my mom went through,” she said. “But on my very first day, I was enamored of everything. The way the teams worked together seemed so seamless and beautiful. Everybody knew exactly what to do, where to stand and how to move. I remember thinking, ‘I cannot wait to be there one day.’”

The defining moment came during a complex surgery on the elderly patient undergoing a valve replacement and coronary artery bypass procedure. The operation was expected to last about five hours, but complications arose when the patient’s aorta ruptured, extending the surgery to nearly 11 hours. Martinez wasn't there to simply observe. She scrubbed in and became part of the surgical team, assisting where needed.

“I held the heart so that the surgeon could suture vessels on the back of it,” she said. “I felt like I was truly contributing to saving someone’s life.”

The patient’s heart had been intentionally stopped while a bypass machine circulated blood throughout his body, allowing surgeons to operate in a bloodless field. For Martinez, watching the heart come back to life was overwhelming. “That moment stayed with me,” she said. “It reminded me how incredible medicine really is.”

What affected her even more was seeing the patient the next morning. “He looked so alive,” said Martinez. “I expected him to complain about pain or ask when he could leave the hospital. Instead, the first thing he asked me was, ‘Do you think I’ll be able to work out again after this?’”

Her rotation with the stroke team was a different kind of lesson. There, Martinez witnessed how every second can shape a patient’s future. “It showed me how important rapid decision-making is,” she said. “The entire team would rush to evaluate scans and make sure they weren’t missing anything. Communication was everything.”

Martinez credits the Katz School for preparing her academically and for helping her grow personally and professionally. “I really loved the program,” she said. “I formed amazing friendships and professional connections. The professors were incredible mentors, and every rotation made me more confident.”

As she prepares to take her boards later this summer, Martinez hopes to return to the same hospital where her transformation began.

“My goal is cardiology or neurology,” she said. “Hopefully I can end up back at Maimonides with my sister. That would feel full circle.”