New York Medical College - Student Handbook

Student Handbook


Welcome to NYMC

A Few Facts about NYMC

Who's Who at NYMC

Student Services

Academic Policies

Other Policies

The Curriculum

Joint Programs

Financial Aid

Medical Licensure in the United States

Survival Guide

Student-Run Events

Useful Telephone Numbers

Oath of Hippocrates

Emergency Phone Numbers, Housing, and Inclement Weather

School of Medicine

Welcome to NYMC

President and CEO
Provost and Dean
Executive Vice Dean and Vice Provost
Student Editor of Handbook
President of the Student Senate

Dear Students:

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to New York Medical College as you embark on your career in medicine. You and your fellow classmates have chosen us, as we have chosen you, with high hopes for a rich and varied educational experience that will begin reaping benefits lasting through the next four years and beyond. You are among the best of your generation—bright, caring, full of energy and the drive to improve conditions in the world you will inherit from us. We are proud to have you with us, and we will do all that is within our power to support and enhance your time with us—academically, personally and professionally.

You have embarked on a continuous journey toward mastery of these skills and values. We are here to guide you along the way. As an institution dedicated to the health of the population, we have always committed our energy, intelligence and skill to educating gifted, compassionate healers. Our dedicated faculty will help you immerse yourself in acquiring the knowledge and proficiency you will need to achieve your goals. Within our diverse network of affiliated hospitals you will find an incomparable variety and depth of clinical experiences—most often cited by our graduates as proof of our exceptional quality as a medical school.

At New York Medical College, we place a high priority on instilling in our students the values and attributes medicine has traditionally held paramount, but which assume a special status here. You already have, and will continue to deepen your sense of compassion for humanity, respect for others, integrity and honesty - not only in clinical practice and scientific research but in all your endeavors. We hope you will take this training to heart, becoming the kind of lifelong learners who gain as much knowledge from their daily rounds as they acquired during medical school.

While the focus of your time here is primarily academic, we encourage you to participate fully in campus life, to devote yourself to community service and to invest some of your time and energy in building the professional and personal relationships that enrich a lifetime. My best wishes go your way as you begin your exciting journey here at New York Medical College.

Sincerely,

Rev. Harry C. Barrett, D.Min., M.P.H.
President and Chief Executive Officer

Dear Medical Students:

Let me add a warm welcome as you join us at New York Medical College. Your class is the latest in a long tradition dating back to 1860. Four years from now you will join the ranks of thousands of proud College graduates around the country. You are beginning medical school early in a new century. We can expect unprecedented advances in our understanding of the molecular biology of disease and the discovery of new approaches to diagnosis and treatment. However, the focus of your career will remain, as it always has been in medicine, on the patient as a unique person with his or her culture, life experiences, and anxieties. The challenge is to incorporate the scientific basis of medicine with the humanistic and ethical aspects of patient care.

You were selected from thousands of qualified applicants. The Admissions Committee strives to admit those best qualified academically who hold the promise to become outstanding physicians. Your class represents a diversity of age, race, ethnicity, creed and cultural and economic background. The College believes that a diverse student body provides a valuable educational experience: preparing the future physician for medical practice in the real world.

New York Medical College has the facilities, faculty, curriculum, information technology and clinical affiliates to provide you with a first class medical education. Our goal is to educate the best physicians and scientists, ready to practice medicine in the 21st century. Your education is by no means over on graduation. Even after your residency, you have to develop a habit of lifelong learning.

Today the challenge of medical school may seem somewhat daunting. Your previous academic success indicates you are more than ready. Remember the first aphorism of Hippocrates from the 5th century B.C.: "Life is short, the Art is long; the occasion fleeting, experience fallacious, and judgment difficult."

Best wishes.

Sincerely yours,

Ralph A. O’Connell, M.D.
Provost and Dean, School of Medicine

To the Incoming Class:

Welcome to the study of medicine and to New York Medical College!

You are about to embark upon perhaps the most memorable period in your life. Medical school is an intense and exciting experience, punctuated by many highs and a few lows. During the present academic year you will probably work harder than

during any other period in your life, and at the end of the year you will simply be amazed at what you have accomplished. A lifetime of learning in medicine will have begun and you will have experienced satisfaction in the joy of discovery and in learning about truly fascinating topics.

The functions and personnel of the Office of Student Affairs are described on the next few pages. Its members are here to assist you through medical school and on to post-graduate education. They hope to help make this experience as smooth and pleasant as possible.

Dr. Gladys Ayala is the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and will function as your "Dean of Students." She will be available full time to assist you in many ways. When possible you should see her by appointment, but when necessary, she will meet with you on a "drop-in basis." She, like many other members of the faculty and administration, can also be reached by e-mail.

Have a good year!

Susan A. Kline, M.D.
Executive Vice Dean for Academic Affairs
Vice Provost for University Student Services

Welcome to New York Medical College! In editing this handbook on trains and planes as I traveled between residency interviews, I though back over my four years at this school, the things I learned, what I wish I knew, the things I did and the things I wish I hadn’t. I tried to put them all in here.

I got some advice on my first day of orientation that I kept with me for the next four years of med school. It came from a fourth-year student. Right now I couldn’t tell you what her name was or even what she looked like, but I can tell you what she said. She told me, "Get away from here as often as you can." At first glance, this may seem like terrible advice, especially in a guide book. But I learned what she meant. This school is a great place with great people, but you have friends, family and interests outside of Valhalla, and you can’t neglect them. I hope you find this book to be of some help.

Study as hard as you can because you’ll carry the knowledge with you for the rest of your life, but don’t forget that life goes on. Start a club, play a sport, find a local park, eat dinner with some new friends or some old ones. Pay attention to to your life because it will go on either way, and school will be much harder if you don’t.

My four years at New York Med were the toughest of any four years of my life. They were overwhelming, sometimes terrifying, always challenging. I don’t know if I could do them over, but I would certainly do it all again. Always try to remember that you’re lucky to be in the best field in the world. I wish you the best.

Ethan Hansen
Class of 2004
Student Editor

On behalf of the Student Senate, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to New York Medical College. This journey you are about to embark upon will be a most memorable time in your life.

Your medical school education will begin with orientation, and those first days will be filled with excitement and an underlying nervousness. There are many significant moments in the first year: the much-anticipated experience in gross anatomy lab, or that October day when friends and family gather to watch you don your white coat for the first time. At last, you are on your way to becoming a doctor! As you get ready to celebrate the end of your first year, be sure to explore the research and clinical opportunities NYMC has to offer for career exploration during the summer between first and second year.

Your journey continues into second year, as you build on your foundation and learn the pathophysiological basis of disease. A textbook by Robbins will become your best friend and constant companion. Not only will you learn about pathology and disease, you will also study the medications to treat them. In preparation for entering the clinical years, you will break out your stethoscope, reflex hammer and ophthalmoscope as you learn the intricacies of physical diagnosis, and history-taking and physical exam skills that will remain with you for the rest of your career.

When you make the monumental transition to the third year of medical school, you can take care of patients and learn clinical medicine from physicians who will inspire you and motivate you every step of the way. New York Medical College offers the most diverse clinical experience around. With affiliations in community settings, tertiary care centers and city hospitals in Manhattan, the clinical learning opportunities are exceptional.

In your final year of medical school, you can take elective courses in specialties that are of interest: the possibilities are endless. Before you know it, you will be gathered with your classmates for Match Day to open the letter that tells you where your journey will continue as you embark on your residency.

Again, congratulations on choosing New York M edical College. I challenge you to get involved in your education, to be an active participant. New York Med has everything that medical school has to offer, but it’s up to you to make it happen. The journey has just begun, be sure to make it a memorable and worthwhile voyage.

Laura Y. Fasulo
Class of 2005
President of the NYMC
Student Senate 2004-2005