On December 1, Nicole Wadsworth, D.O., took the helm as dean of NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM). Wadsworth, who is board-certified in emergency medicine, most recently served as site dean for the NYITCOM-Long Island campus, and senior associate dean at NYITCOM prior to that. In her new role, Wadsworth will be responsible for the overall academic and strategic direction of NYITCOM’s Long Island, N.Y. and Jonesboro, Ar., locations. She will also continue to oversee day-to-day operations on the Long Island campus. Learn more.

 

The class of 104 students who just completed Human Structure and Function, a fundamental course for all medical students, is the top performing class in more than two decades. Human Structure and Function covers anatomy, histology, embryology, and physiology and requires some in-person and hands on learning. This success came despite the challenges of learning and teaching during a global pandemic. Learn more.

 

The American Medical Association Foundation (AMAF) announced a new collaboration with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to underwrite a pilot fellowship program to address health care disparities faced by the LGBTQ community. This pilot program is designed to complement the AMAF’s National Fellowship Program, which will release a Request for Proposal to U.S. MD and DO educational institutions in early 2021. Learn more.

 

Anyone who dreams of becoming a doctor should understand that there are two types of med schools: allopathic and osteopathic schools. While allopathic schools offer a traditional medical curriculum, osteopathic school supplement lessons in standard medical sciences and practices with instruction on how to provide touch-based diagnosis and treatment of various health problems, such as circulatory issues and musculoskeletal conditions. Learn more.

 

Northwell Health’s Office of Academic Affairs announced that it has launched its Just in Time Teaching Tools app to aid in the advancement of medical education knowledge and teaching skills of students, trainees and faculty. The app is now available in the Apple Store. The new app uses the Just-in-time teaching (JiTT) model – a pedagogical approach that involves close interaction between instructors and their classrooms – to better provide timely and relevant teaching tips to trainees and faculty who need to actively engage with their instructors, specifically for those in the patient care setting. Learn more.

 

The New York Medical College School of Medicine (SOM) initiated a new series of Health System Science Intersession mini-courses for first-year medical students. The second intersession in the series focusing on population and social determinants of health took place during the first week in January. Previously, SOM first-year students attended a session during orientation in August on the introduction to the health care system and collaborative practice, which included elements of implicit bias. Learn more.

 

Upstate Medical University College of Medicine is expanding its Masters of Public Health program, adding a concentration that will see students traveling overseas to cap their studies. The Global Health and Translational Science concentration joins Data and Analytics, in which students learn how to use “big data” to address public health concerns, and Population Health for Clinicians, a program for medical students and those who have already earned an MD. Learn more.

 

Continuing to expand opportunities for students to develop their clinical skills, NYMC has formed academic affiliations with Westmed Medical Group (Westmed) as well as with Refuah Health Center in Rockland County, New York, designating both as a teaching site for the training and education of undergraduate medical students. Learn more.

 

A fourth-year medical student in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has been selected to participate in the American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation’s 2020-2021 Leadership Development Institute. Emily Slominski is one of 10 students chosen to engage in a yearlong professional development program designed to prepare students to be future leaders in medicine. Learn more.

 

Two Albert Einstein College of Medicine students—one now interviewing for her residency program and another just a few months into his medical school education—have each won a $5,000 scholarship from the National Hispanic Health Foundation (NHHF) for demonstrating academic excellence, leadership, and a commitment to providing healthcare to Latino patients and communities. The winners are fourth-year student Veronica Ortiz, who also won the NHHF scholarship in 2018 and 2019, and first-year student Daniel Alicea. Learn more.

 

Not long after Jess Calderone, ’21, and Noah Walters, ’21, started dating during their first year of medical school they discovered they had something in common. “We had each been making solo trips north to the Adirondacks and hiking to decompress from studying,” Walters said. Albany Medical College students Jess Calderone, ’21, and Noah Walters, ’21, at Indian Head in Keene.The two soon made a pact: they would summit all 46 of the Adirondack High Peaks by the time they graduated. Learn more.

 

When she was a medical school student, Laena Frechette, M.D., thought she had a pretty good idea of what urologists looked like (male) and what sorts of ailments their patients had (prostate problems and urination difficulties). Then, during her third year at Einstein, she started her surgery rotations at Montefiore. She discovered that urology is not at all limited to treating older men—instead, about 30% of all adult patients nationwide are women. She also found that female mentorship matters. Learn more.

 

Asad Sheikh (B.S.’17) had such a positive experience as an undergraduate at New York Institute of Technology that when it came to applying to medical school, there was little question about his first choice. He volunteers with New York Tech’s Rock Steady Boxing program, which helps alleviate symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and is trained to help with the Asylum Clinic at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM). In addition to pursuing his D.O., he is also enrolled in the Medical/Health Care Simulation, M.S. program. Learn more.

 

During her second and third years of medical school at Upstate, Evelisse Viamonte got bags of food once a month from a church-based food pantry near the university. Reducing her grocery bill helps this future pediatrician stay in school. “Education, food and transportation are all expensive,” explains Viamonte. “My educational costs take precedence.” Learn more.

 

How should models of pandemic illnesses be constructed? What are the racial disparities in clinical outcomes for patients with COVID-19? How are emergency room physicians coping with the stress of an overwhelmed hospital system? These are just some of the questions explored by panelists who took part in a session on social sciences and modeling during the Cornell COVID-19 Summit, held virtually November 4–5. The session took place on the second day of the summit and featured researchers from Cornell’s Ithaca campus and from Weill Cornell Medicine. Learn more.

 

Everyone knows that kids ask lots of questions. That innate curiosity can make explaining more complex topics, such as the coronavirus and its impact, a bit difficult for parents, caregivers and educators. Inspired by current events, Lauren Block, MD, MPH, a primary care physician at Northwell Health and associate professor at Zucker School of Medicine, along with her husband, Adam E. Block, PhD, assistant professor of public health at New York Medical College, recently wrote and self-published another free children’s book, Kelly Gets a Vaccine: How We Beat Coronavirus. Learn more.

 

After caring for thousands of patients battling COVID-19, Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) has received the coronavirus vaccine and has begun vaccinating hospital workers at the highest risk of exposure. Kisa King, Resident in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Stony Brook University Hospital received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, administered by Ian Pak, Pharmacist at Stony Brook University Hospital. Learn more.

 

A severe winter storm didn’t stop the first round of COVID-19 vaccinations for Albany Med staff, thanks in part to a group of dedicated Albany Medical College students. “Despite the weather, we all trekked here on foot and were so happy for the opportunity to serve the Albany Med community,” said Sarah Martinez, ’22, who joined a handful of classmates to help administer the vaccine to staff. Learn more.

 

Simon John, PhD, the Robert L. Burch III Professor of Ophthalmic Sciences in the Department of Ophthalmology in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, has been awarded the Sanford and Susan Greenberg End Blindness Visionary Prize(link is external and opens in a new window). The award recognizes members of the scientific and medical communities who have contributed significantly to ending blindness. John shares the Visionary Prize with Zhigang He, PhD, from Boston Children’s Hospital’s F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center. John’s team will use the prize to continue its research on combatting diseases like glaucoma. Learn more.

 

The Macy Faculty Scholars Program is designed to identify and nurture the careers of promising educational innovators in medicine and nursing. We are proud to announce that Sophie Davis alum, Dr. Dimitri Papanagnou ’02, was recently named a 2020 Macy Faculty Scholar. As a Scholar, Dr. Papanagnou will receive support over two years to implement an educational change in their institution and to participate in a program of career development activities. Learn more.

 

Michael F. Myers, M.D., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, has just published a deeply moving, beautifully written book. Becoming a Doctors’ Doctor: A Memoir, details how Dr. Myers came to be a psychiatrist to other physicians, specializing in treating those at high risk for suicide. It is a story of his patients’ demons, but also of coming to terms with the demons that he himself holds, and with the principles that have guided his life. Learn more.