New York Medical College


New York Medical College FIRST YEAR COURSES

* Gross Anatomy, Histology : The study and practice of medicine rest on a thorough knowledge of anatomy. To assure that students are able to integrate the vast amount of factual material involved, the structural and functional relationships of organs and systems are presented in a multidisciplinary context. Members of other departments work with each department's faculty to impart and interpret this large body of essential information and to emphasize an overall understanding of the relationships of the morphology and functions of the human body.
In gross anatomy, the programs center on dissection and study of the human cadaver. In addition, residents, clinical faculty and guests from a variety of specialties and subspecialities participate in laboratory instruction and small group conferences to familiarize students with the clinical applications of the systems being dissected in the laboratory.
The course in histology allows first year students to explore the micro anatomy of the human body. Lectures correlate morphology and function at the molecular, cellular, tissue and organ levels, and relate cell biology and histology to fundamental disease processes. Members of the department also participate with colleagues from other disciplines in teaching an integrated course in the neurosciences. This collaborative effort is designed to bring together the morphologic, functional and pathologic aspects of the nervous system through interdigitation of material offered by clinicians and basic sciences faculty. For example, during the time period assigned to anatomy, students are also given instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

* Biochemistry : Biochemistry is concerned with the structures and reactions of the cellular and tissue components. The course given at New York Medical College deals with fundamental aspects of the subject and covers the basic concepts required for understanding physiological and pathological conditions. The subject matter, therefore, includes the metabolism of major body constituents, enzymatic and hormonal control mechanisms, nucleic acids and protein synthesis, and nutrition. The laboratory work encompasses a number of experiments that demonstrate the applications of biochemical procedures to clinical medicine.

* Physiology : The objective of this course is to provide fundamental knowledge of physiological processes and their relationships to body function and disease states. Because time constraints intensify the difficulty of mastering a large body of factual information and because students are asked to demonstrate proficiency in applying basic facts to problem solving, the course is a demanding one. As a supplement to lectures, laboratories, conferences and small-group tutorials are used to expose students to the scientific basis of physiological concepts and to foster cooperation between students and faculty.
At the end of each major section of the course, clinical material is used in an attempt to integrate physiological principles with medicine. The major topic areas covered are cell physiology, the cardiovascular system, renal-respiratory biology, endocrinology and the gastrointestinal system.

* Neural Science : This course is taught in an interdisciplinary context by the faculty of several departments. In this way. information about the nervous system, which would otherwise be presented in a piecemeal fashion by various departments, can be coordinated, avoiding unnecessary repetition and enhancing the students' understanding.
In addition to faculty from the Departments of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Physiology and Neurology, members of the Departments of Pharmacology, Pathology, Neurosurgery, Rehabilitation Medicine, and Radiology participate as do faculty from the Westchester Institute for Human Development. Lecturers from the clinical departments introduce topics relevant to basic sciences material such as the etiology, symptoms and treatment of neural disorders, and clinical sessions, held either in the Basic Sciences Building or as part of a visit to an affiliated hospital, often include the presentation of patients. As a result of this collaboration, the neural science course successfully integrates material that is one-third physiology, one-third anatomy and one-third clinical correlates.

* Behavioral Science : This course, unique in its format, is the first of its kind in the country. It is presented as a full-time, five week block, with morning lectures covering a wide range of material in the behavioral sciences and psychiatry and afternoons largely devoted to student-patient contact emphasizing the clinical correlation of basic sciences material.
The lectures cover such topics as introduction to disordered behavior (psychopathology), neurophysiologic basis of human behavior, the life cycle (incorporating prenatal development through senescence), sociocultural determinants of behavior, human sexual behavior, doctor-patient relationship, group and family dynamics, statistics and research techniques, and health care delivery.
The afternoon sessions represent one of the students' first patient exposures. In small groups of seven or eight, the students interview psychiatric patients, medical-surgical-Ob/Gyn patients, child patients and families at the College's affiliated hospitals. In addition, students choose an afternoon session from a wide variety of topic areas. Panel discussions are also conducted on medically relevant issues such as death and dying, medical ethics and forensic medicine.

* Biostatistics and Epidemiology : All medical students are taught basic principles of biostatistics and epidemiology during their first year by members of the faculty within the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine. Emphasis is placed on clinical problem-solving and students learn statistical axioms, how and when to use the most common statistical tests, principles of normal distribution, standard error and confidence limits, correlation, regressions, vital statistics, and screening. Students also have ample opportunity to develop their skills in statistics and epidemiology and to apply their knowledge in this area during other courses given in medical school.

SECOND YEAR COURSES

* Pathology/Pathophysiology I & II : The Pathology/Pathophysiology courses I (fall semester) and 11 (spring semester) for medical students serve as a bridge between the basic sciences and clinical medicine. Conducted by the Departments of Pathology and Experimental Pathology, these courses incorporate educational programs of various clinical departments, predominantly those of the Department of Medicine but also of others, such as the Departments of Neurology, Surgery and Dermatology, and are coordinated with the Microbiology, Pharmacology and Clinical Skills courses. The Pathology/Pathophysiology teaching program consists of several integrated components, such as lectures, programmed selfinstruction, including utilization of computer-based learning materials, clinic'opathological correlation exercises in modules (one instructor with approximately 20 students), problem-solving exercises (one instructor with approximately 10 students), and exposure to hospital-based autopsy, surgical and clinical pathology practice with demonstrations of abnormal human biology. The recently redesigned course structure, in which the role of conventional lectures is significantly diminished and exercises involving student-faculty interactions assume a prominent role, reflects an orientation toward enhancement of active student participation and student responsibility in the learning process.

* Medical Microbiology : The medical microbiology course is designed to give the second-year student insight into the fundamentals of microbiology and immunology, with emphasis on their relationship to human biology and disease. The orientation of the course is to understand the biology of pathogenic microorganisms. The principles of microbial pathogenicity are, therefore, presented from the perspective of the agents and the several strategies they utilize to colonize successfully and to establish infection. The subjects covered are the basic properties of microorganisms, their physiology and genetics, the mode of action of antibiotic and chemotherapeutic agents at the cellular level, and the response of the host to infections. The microorganisms studied in this course include bacteria, fungi, mycoplasmas, rickettsiae, chlamydia, viruses and parasites. Integration of lectures, laboratory work, visual aids, group discussions and clinical correlations help students learn the concepts and techniques essential to diagnose, treat and prevent infectious disease.
Individual research projects and electives in the fields of microbiology are available to medical students.
Graduate-level and technique courses in the several specialties represented by the department's faculty are also open to qualified medical students. Those interested are urged to consult the current Graduate School listings and speak to individual faculty members about their research interests and projects.

* Pharmacology : The science of pharmacology focuses on the study of the therapeutic effects and toxic potentialities of drugs administered to patients. The pharmacologist must, therefore, be concerned not only with the practical aspects of drug use, but also with how drugs interact and affect the individual patient.
Pharmacological education is offered to medical students to aid them in practicing rational pharmacotherapy when treating patients. The program at New York Medical College is designed to endow future physicians with the knowledge they will need to prescribe the most effective medications. As students absorb a core of essential knowledge, they are trained to develop a critical approach so that they may evaluate reliably the merits of the large number of proprietary drugs flooding the marketplace today. At the same time, the department seeks to develop creative researchers and good teachers.

* Clinical Skills : This practical course consists of a series of demonstrations and direct bedside experiences for the clinical evaluation of patients. In progressing through it, students discover that bedside diagnostic skills and knowledge of pathophysiology are intimately intertwined. In recognition of this fact, this course is closely coordinated with pathology/pathophysiology.
Certain basic objectives underlie the overall experience. These include the acquisition of new knowledge regarding disease processes and the ways in which they are manifested in patients, as well as acquisition of new skills required to recognize the manifestations of diseases in individual patients. Ultimately, students take the first steps in joining these experiences into an understanding of clinical problem solving.
Each student is expected to learn how to take a complete relevant medical history, to perform a complete physical examination, to begin to recognize both normal and abnormal findings and to present the clinical findings in a concise and informative fashion. Standardized patients are used to assess these skills.

THIRD YEAR

The third year consists of clinical clerkships in: Medicine (12 weeks), Surgery (eight weeks), Pediatrics (eight weeks), Obstetrics and Gynecology (six weeks), Psychiatry (six weeks), Neurology (four weeks), Family Medicine (four weeks) and Community and Preventive Medicine (two weeks).

The aim of these clerkships is to provide students with the opportunity and instruction to develop the foundation for, and begin the development of, their skills in the evaluation, care and treatment of patients. Students are assigned by computer lottery to a major teaching hospital for each clerkship. Here, they function as a member of a team with attending physicians, residents and interns on the services. Through a combination of tutorials, conferences, seminars, lectures and teaching rounds, students learn to apply to clinical situations the knowledge they have acquired in their pre-clinical and behavioral sciences courses. They broaden their knowledge of the pathophysiology and of the clinical manifestations of disease processes, develop their interviewing and physical examination techniques, and begin to assume responsibility under supervision for the workup and treatment of patients.

Rotations through these teaching hospitals, which include every socioeconomic setting, provide students with exposure to a wide variety of healthcare problems ranging from those encountered in the inner-city ghettos to suburbia.

FOURTH YEAR

The fourth year provides three and one half months of required clinical experiences and four and one half months of electives. Students plan their elective programs with the aid and advice of a faculty advisor and a member of the Dean's office. These electives may be taken at any of the hospitals affiliated with the College, or at other medical schools, teaching hospitals and medically related institutions after consultation with their advisors. selective offerings include:

* Medicine or Pediatric subinternship
� Ambulatory Surgical Subspecialties
� Geriatrics or Chronic Care Pediatrics
� Anesthesiology/Rehabilitation Medicine

At the beginning of the senior year, all students are required to take a comprehensive clinical examination utilizing standardized patients. The purpose of this examination is to assess students' skills, not only in the cognitive areas of medicine but also in the area of patient-physician interaction. Through the use of standardized patients and videotapes, students are able to review their performances interacting with patients in order to identify strengths as well as deficiencies. Problem solving and diagnostic skills are assessed.

This examination is given to allow those students with any deficiencies sufficient time to strengthen any weaknesses they might identify prior to graduation. Although it is required for all students to record a score in this examination, a passing score is not at this time required for graduation. Once the clinical examination process has been standardized, however, it is expected that all students will have to pass this examination. If any difficulty is encountered, a student may rectify this prior to graduation.

MEDICAL SCHOOL PHOTOS

New York Medical College   New York Medical College

MEDICAL SCHOOL INFORMATION


School name: New York Medical College
Address: Chartered 1860
Zip & city: NY 10595 Valhalla
Phone: 914-594-4507
Web: http://www.nymc.edu/medical/medical.asp


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