New York City is home to thousands of refugees who arrive here seeking asylum from persecution, violence, torture, and war. They are among over 79 million people displaced worldwide and have unique social, psychological, and medical needs and risk factors. Although their care is complex and challenging for providers, it is also incredibly rewarding. The growing global refugee crisis has grave public health implications requiring immediate attention and actionable response from healthcare practitioners across the country. Learn more.

 

In the wake of nationwide protests against police violence and systemic racism, we reached out to two Einstein leaders to get their take on these major events. Here, Nerys Benfield, M.D., M.P.H., senior associate dean for diversity and inclusion, and Irene Blanco, M.D. ’04, M.S., associate dean for diversity enhancement, share their thoughts on how we at Einstein and Montefiore can help stop institutional racism.Learn more.

 

This fall, the School of Medicine (SOM), in partnership with the Health Meets Food program, is developing new programs related to nutrition and culinary medicine, which have already generated great interest among students from across the New York Medical College (NYMC) community. Culinary medicine is a new evidence-based field that unifies the science of nutrition and metabolism with practical, patient-based, decision-making and physician counseling. Learn more.

 

Nearly two dozen students, residents and faculty from the Departments of Family and Emergency Medicine gathered recently to test their wilderness medicine skills in a little friendly outdoor competition. Modeled after the sanctioned Medical Wilderness Adventure Race (MedWAR), the event combined medical challenges with wilderness racing. Participants used their academic and practical knowledge of wilderness medicine to find, access and treat their “patients” who were involved in various emergency scenarios ranging from a lightning strike to an avalanche. Learn more.

 

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Class of 2024 donned their white coats for the first time in October, in a symbolic and inspirational ceremony that has become an annual tradition marking the start of medical school and a life-long journey in the field of medicine. This year’s event was held virtually. Learn more.

 

The impact of the global health pandemic on the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is far-reaching in terms of its medical education program, residency and fellowship training programs and its research endeavors. With a new semester underway, students, faculty and staff have returned to the medical school’s educational and research laboratories, offices and classrooms and are observing UB’s university-wide health and safety guidelines for COVID-19, in addition to specific guidelines for medical students when they are involved in patient care. Learn more.

 

The seventh symposium in the COVID-19 series, “What Have We Learned? How Can We Use What We Have Learned?,” presented by New York Medical College (NYMC) and the Touro College and University System (TCUS) on October 28, provided an update on a variety of topics related to the pandemic. Alan Kadish, M.D., president of NYMC and TCUS, welcomed the audience before faculty experts delved into therapies for COVID-19, obstetrical care during the pandemic, testing options, virus attenuation and a historical look at celebrity and presidential illness. Learn more.

 

A powerful partnership that brought University at Buffalo faculty and community leaders together to fight against health disparities has allowed the community to respond more effectively to the pandemic than many cities across the nation, university and community leaders said today. Learn more.

 

A visit to the hospital is most often unexpected, placing any routine or scheduled plans on hold. But as the 2020 election draws near, Albany Medical College students are making sure patients do not sacrifice their right to vote. A nonpartisan effort to offer emergency ballots to patients is led by the College’s Student Council and the Underrepresented Student Alliance (USA)—a coalition comprised of student organizations that represent identities and individuals historically underrepresented in the field of medicine. Learn more.

 

As Veterans Day approaches, we caught up with Army veteran, and medical student on the TouroCOM Harlem campus, Pritish Sahoo, on why he enlisted, where he served, and more. Learn more.

 

The White Coat ceremony represents a rite of passage, launching first-year medical students on their formal careers in a gathering of faculty, colleagues, and family. In this era of social distancing, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s White Coat ceremony takes place via Zoom on Tuesday, October 13. But why become a doctor now, in a pandemic, when providing care can be potentially life-threatening to the clinician? Learn more.

 

Donning masks and gloves, 76 student doctor volunteers and faculty from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine – Harlem engaged in a socially distanced “Community Service Day.” Working in teams, they successfully handed out 122 paper bag lunches to the homeless and cleaned up several blocks within the vicinity of the medical school, located on 125th Street between Frederick Douglass Blvd. and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. Learn more.

 

When Kelly Borges was searching for a medical school, she needed an institution that embraced and encouraged her active lifestyle. NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) was just what the doctor ordered. Although her medical school journey has only just begun, Borges has already managed to hit her stride—literally. Learn more.

 

The Kenneth A. Forde Diversity Alliance has honored members of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons community dedicated to supporting diversity and minority health in medical education and patient care. This year’s virtual reception on Oct. 22 was co-hosted by Anil K. Rustgi, MD, Interim Executive Vice President and Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine, and the Offices of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, Alumni Affairs, and Faculty Professional Development, Diversity and Inclusion at VP&S. Learn more.

 

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Camille A. Clare, M.D., MPH, as the new Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Professor at the College of Medicine and the School of Public Health. Dr. Clare is currently the Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion at the New York Medical College School of Medicine. Learn more.

 

A new initiative known as Black In Neuro is taking hold around the world as scientists unite to support and encourage Blacks in the field of neuroscience, an effort swiftly supported and energized by the Mount Sinai Health System through The Friedman Brain Institute. What launched as #BlackInNeuroWeek, a seven-day global get-together via Zoom, Skype, YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram from July 27 to August 2, 2020, to celebrate Black excellence in neuroscience-related fields, continued with an inaugural Black In Neuro virtual conference October 31 – November 4.Learn more.

 

Dr. Stanley Plotkin, the inventor of the rubella vaccine now in standard use worldwide, and pediatric physician-scientists Dr. Stephen Patrick and Dr. Sallie Permar, who research health conditions that affect newborns, were the featured speakers at a symposium held online on Oct. 20 by Weill Cornell Medicine’s Gale and Ira Drukier Institute for Children’s Health. Dr. Plotkin, who delivered the annual Gale and Ira Drukier Lecture in Children’s Health, addressed the history of vaccine development and its influence on the current quest for an effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. Learn more.

 

In honor of the late Harry Weinrauch, M.D., Class of 1954 COM Alum, I am proud to announce the Harry Weinrauch Scholarship—a partial, four-year scholarship that has been awarded to four gifted and passionate students pursuing the M.D. here at Downstate. The students selected were those whose character most closely aligned with Dr. Weinrauch’s humanity and who intend to use their medical education to care for and help heal patients as a calling, rather than simply pursuing a career in medicine. Learn more.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has advised Americans to get their flu vaccine by the end of October. Given this year’s influenza strains will be in circulation during the COVID-19 pandemic, experts are cautioning the public to expect a flu season unlike any other—making the yearly flu shot more critical than ever. Learn more.

 

As an elective during his fourth and final year of medical school at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Kevin Lu chose to engage in a self-designed preceptorship focusing on the impact of artwork and nature on patients in healthcare settings. The culmination of his project would put more than his just interest in design to work. Dr. Lu tapped into his artistic talents and love of nature to create a series of images that will be printed onto wall coverings as part of an installation spanning approximately 200 square feet of wall space in a corridor of the newly designed Sharon J. Cohen Pediatric Neurosciences Unit at Northwell Health’s Cohen Children’s Medical Center, located in Queens, New York. Learn more.