“I got to learn upfront by helping with procedures in a one-on-one learning situation.”
Kaufman was born with a congenital heart abnormality in 1985. His parents drove from their home in Rockford, Ill., to Chicago where Kaufman was treated by Dr. Michael Ilbawi, a pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Hospital. At the age of 2 months, Kaufman had the first surgery that temporarily corrected his heart condition.
“I remember they were always compassionate,” said Kaufman, of the doctors who cared for him throughout his childhood.
“They always wanted to know what was going on in my life outside of my medical condition.”
The family, that included older brothers’ Jeremy and Jaime, moved to Washington Twp. in 1987 after Joseph Kaufman accepted a position in the Dayton area, but their young son continued to be treated by Dr. Ilbawi in Chicago.
“I had surgery when I was 5,” said Kaufman, whose doctor had left Children’s Hospital, but returned to perform the open heart surgery that corrected Kaufman’s heart condition.
After graduating from Centerville High School in 2003, Kaufman went on to graduate magna cum laude with a degree in biology from The Ohio State University (OSU).
While at OSU, Kaufman worked part time at the OSU Medical Center in the ambulatory surgery department in order to get more exposure to the medical field.
He especially enjoyed conversing with the patients and even spent some time working with autistic children.
After graduating from OSU in 2007, he was accepted to Touro University Medical School in Henderson, Nevada in 2007 where he quickly rose to the top ten percent of his class. In 2009, he transferred to the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.
“I had clinical rotations in Sandusky and at Firelands Regional Medical Center,” said Kaufman, of the Firelands Regional Medical Center, which is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University.
“I’ve been lucky to work with such excellent physicians,” said Kaufman, who enjoys wind surfing with his father.
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