AMNSY scholarship recipient and SUNY Upstate Medical University med student Samantha Williams writes at syracuse.com why it is so important to support diversity in medicine programs like AMSNY’s pipeline and scholarship programs now. Learn more.

 

Successful recruitment of underrepresented minorities (URMs) to medical school is enhanced when prospective applicants are able to interact with minority medical students who have already overcome the barriers. These findings are published this month in the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, “Diversity in Osteopathic Medical School Admissions and the COMPASS Program.” Learn more.

 

Rosemary Bassey, PhD, assistant professor of science education at the Zucker School of Medicine and structure lab facilitator, discusses her experience growing up in Nigeria and compares the differences in American and Nigerian cultures regarding anatomical donation. Learn more.

 

According to numerous studies, medical students are much more likely to experience burn out—emotional exhaustion associated with work-related stress, feelings of detachment toward patients and a low sense of personal accomplishment. In addition, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reports that medical students are three times more likely to commit suicide than their peers outside medical school are. At New York Medical College, a student-led initiative in 2018 to respond to this national mental health crisis resulted in the introduction of the Resiliency Curriculum. Learn more.

 

Meals inspired by the Culinary Institute of America, brought to you by… the doctor’s office? The Bariatric and Nutrition Clinic has launched a revolutionary “medicine-to-table” teaching model that provides patients with step-by-step cooking demonstrations that they are now offering to their patients online. The program is designed to keep the clinic’s bariatric patients safe, well-nourished and on pace with their weight-loss goals during the pandemic. Learn more.

 

In an expansion of its top-ranked biomedical education curricula, Weill Cornell Medicine is launching an additional site for graduate programs at Houston Methodist for the 2021-22 academic year. This new site, offered by the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences at Houston Methodist, exemplifies the culmination of a decade-long endeavor to establish a biomedical pedagogical presence in Houston and builds on the 16-year academic affiliation between the two academic medical institutions. Learn more.

 

Mass vaccination is the nation’s most powerful weapon against COVID-19. Yet, as states receive vaccine supply, concerns about shortages may shift from vials to manpower. To win the war on COVID-19, the United States will need an army of skilled vaccinators. NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) is training a corps and helping surrounding areas to meet the demand. Learn more.

 

Upstate Medical University recently received four accreditations from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education for pediatric-related residency and fellowship programs. The accreditations are for three existing programs and one new program, which is set to welcome its first fellow next year. The three reaccredited programs are Pediatric Residency, Pediatric Infectious Disease Fellowship and the Child Abuse Pediatrics Fellowship. The new accreditation is for the Pediatric Hospitalist Fellowship Program, which will train residents at Upstate in one of the fastest growing fields in medicine. Learn more.

 

Since its inception in 2014, the University at Buffalo Human Rights Initiative, a medical student group, has played an important role in helping to document and assess evidence of torture in people seeking refuge and asylum in Western New York. The group, based in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB, is one of the most active in the Physicians for Human Rights’ national network of medical school organizations that train medical students to do forensic exams on asylum-seekers. Learn more.

 

Two of them had been studying Ebola infection. Another was working on mosquito- and tick-borne diseases. But last March, all three Einstein graduate students quickly switched gears to tackle a different bug. Within weeks they were playing key roles in creating an antibody test for the novel coronavirus.The antibody test was crucial for determining whether people had been previously infected and for evaluating whether serum from recovered patients could effectively treat patients ill with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Learn more.

 

In the face of an unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the Stony Brook Council has honored and bestowed University Medals for Exemplary Leadership and Service to three members of its Stony Brook University leadership. The Stony Brook Council serves as an oversight and advisory body to the campus and to Stony Brook’s president and senior officers. Learn more.

 

Lynne E. Maquat, Ph.D., the founding director of the Center for RNA Biology at the University of Rochester, was honored with the 2021 Wolf Prize in Medicine. The acclaimed international award is given to outstanding scientists from around the world for achievements that benefit mankind. Maquat was selected for “fundamental discoveries in RNA biology that have the potential to better human lives.” Learn more.

 

Individuals and teams from the Mount Sinai Health System were honored for advances in biomedical research, technology, and medicine at the sixth annual Mount Sinai Innovation Awards ceremony, a virtual event held Tuesday, December 8, 2020. Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP) presented the award for Inventor of the Year to an eight-member team led by renowned virologists and pathologists, whose efforts led to the development of multiple diagnostic tests for the detection of antibodies against the COVID-19 spike protein—the principal target of neutralizing antibodies. Learn more.

 

While rounding during the pandemic, medical students observed an increase in mental health issues at pediatric clinic visits. They also witnessed first-hand how health disparities impacted the underserved seeking preventative resources or care for COVID-19.They were lessons that could not be learned in books or the classroom, and they laid the groundwork for Albany Medical College’s annual Lobby Day efforts. Learn more.

 

There are many reasons why the Mount Sinai community should be thankful for the residents and fellows who help provide care every day. But their contributions during the height of the pandemic a year ago may be one of the most dramatic, and that was on the minds of many recently as they marked “Thank a Resident Day.” Learn more.

 

Celebrating the achievements and contributions of African Americans and New York Medical College’s (NYMC) proud history of diversity and inclusion, the annual Black History Month lecture on February 17, highlighted the remarkable story of the role of NYMC in the education of black physicians as well as Myra Adele Logan, M.D., Class of 1933, who was the first woman to perform open heart surgery and first African American woman elected a fellow to the American College of Surgeons. Learn more.

 

This February, a range of Einstein students, faculty, and staff honored the contributions of Black Americans and celebrated Black History Month with virtual events, community initiatives, and profiles of Black Americans. Einstein’s office of diversity and inclusion recognized the contributions of Black women at Einstein, the borough, and the country with “Lab Fab,” a story featuring five Einstein students and graduates and their journeys, challenges, and triumphs as Black women in science.Learn more.

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black, Indigenous, and Hispanic individuals are dying from COVID-19 at significantly higher rates than white Americans, with Black and African Americans nearly three times as likely to be hospitalized. Sadly, the pandemic is not exposing a new issue—it’s shining a glaring light on the healthcare disparities that these communities have long faced. As the medical profession tries to reach these groups in an effort to promote COVID-19 vaccination, addressing these disparities is absolutely critical. Learn more.

 

Two appointments have been announced that will strengthen the education mission at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Monica L. Lypson, MD, MHPE, a national leader in medical education now at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., has been named vice dean for education. Jonathan (Yoni) Amiel, MD, who served as interim co-vice dean for education since January 2020, has been appointed to a new role as senior associate dean for innovation in health professions education at VP&S. Learn more.

 

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University announced that Rikki “Robin” Ovitsh, M.D., Associate Dean of Clinical Competencies and Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the College of Medicine, has been elected as the President of the Directors of Clinical Skills Courses (DOCS), an affiliate of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Established as a national organization in 2011, DOCS’s mission is to improve the clinical skills of medical students across the country through the promotion of scholarship, development of best practices, and via the strategic sharing of ideas across the spectrum of clinical skills education. Learn more.

 

During March, Women’s History Month, Columbia University Irving Medical Center is sharing the stories of some of the many women who are spearheading innovation through research, patient care, and education. Learn more.

 

Like so many others across America and beyond, second-year medical student Chimsom Orakwue was outraged by the harrowing footage that captured the last moments of George Floyd’s life, as a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest late last spring. Something about the protests in the wake of Floyd’s death felt different from the demonstrations against police brutality that Orakwue had marched in before. Learn more.

 

Dr. Lawrence G. Smith, MD, MACP, Dean of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, calls for a revolution in Women’s Health Care. “In order to level the playing field, we can’t just take baby steps—we need a revolution,” said Lawrence G. Smith, MD, MACP, founding dean of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and Northwell Health’s physician-in-chief. In a recent article published in Expert Insights for the Katz Institute for Women’s Health, Dr. Smith writes about gender disparities in health care that still exist today and calls for specific actions to spark a revolution to move women’s health forward. Learn more.