Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatobiliary Diseases
Director, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship Programs
NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan

Treating the Patient as a Whole

At a young age Dr. Jennifer Harley’s life was saved by a gastroenterologist, sparking her desire to “pay it forward and one day be able to make a positive impact on a person’s life.” Later, as an undergraduate at The Ohio State University, she was inspired by a speech by then-U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher on health care reform and advocacy. That turning point launched her “career mission” to provide exceptional medical care to the underserved and eliminate health care disparities.

Dr. Harley, Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatobiliary Diseases at Metropolitan, has more than fulfilled her goals. Her medical portfolio includes saving and improving lives, and leading the hospital’s gastrointestinal endoscopy service and all aspects of the division. She also directs the New York Medical College-Metropolitan Gastroenterology Fellowship program, shaping future generations of gastroenterologists.

“Compassion is the core of everything we do,” Dr. Harley says. “In every patient we should see ourselves: What would we want as a patient? How would we want to be treated?” She is motivated, she says, by hope for those she treats.

“No patient should have to suffer from a life-altering disease, especially preventable ones,” she says. “I have the opportunity to treat the patient as a whole, providing not just diagnostic and therapeutic options but also holistic approaches.”

Dr. Harley graduated from Howard University College of Medicine and completed her Internal Medicine residency and fellowship in Gastroenterology at New York Medical College-Westchester Medical Center. She was recruited to join Metropolitan’s Department of Medicine as a gastroenterologist. Over the years she has participated in numerous gastroenterology-related healthcare initiatives, including a health fair at Metropolitan in March 2019 to promote colon cancer awareness.

Meet all the Doctors’ Day Honorees ➤