Opening Doors to Medicine—Earlier and Wider

The program in which Murray enrolled—the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY)-NYMC SOM Linkage Program—would do more than launch her into medical school. It would provide her with critical educational support, mentoring, and a stipend, providing she met and maintained specific academic benchmarks, starting in her first year. “Being both black and female, I [will] represent only about 2.8 percent of physicians in the U.S. due to many systemic and economic barriers,” said Murray. “This program really propels students to make up a more diverse workforce that better reflects our population.”

Promoting a heterogeneous student body by increasing the number of medical students who are underrepresented in medicine, setting them up for success in medical school, improving the learning environment, and enhancing the culture of medical education, are among the goals behind not only the AMSNY-NYMC SOM Linkage Program but also the many “pipeline” programs that NYMC has launched and expanded to facilitate entry in the SOM and dental school under the leadership of Mill Etienne, M.D. '02, M.P.H., FAAN, FANA, FAES, vice chancellor, SOM associate dean for student affairs and professor of neurology and medicine. Pointing to research that correlates improved health outcomes with a mixed physician workforce, Dr. Etienne said that NYMC’s campus-wide commitment to heterogeneity, belonging, and engagement is designed to capture students’ interest long before they even imagine attending medical school. “We view the pipeline as a comprehensive pathway beginning in elementary school and continuing through medical school and beyond,” he said. “Planting the seed at an early age—introducing the idea that they can become physicians in their communities—is essential. I am proud that NYMC supports this mission through a variety of programs.”

The College’s pipeline programs aim to tap young people who are talented, highly capable, and eager for a medical career but don’t have the social capital or financial resources to compete on an equal playing field. Here’s a look at some of them.

AMSNY-NYMC SOM LINKAGE PROGRAM

One of the SOM’s pipeline programs for supporting disadvantaged college graduates entails a collaboration with AMSNY, a consortium representing 17 medical and health professions schools in New York State. The AMSNY-NYMC SOM Linkage Program looks for potential students who are New York State residents with a strong academic performance history who come from various backgrounds, including those of socioeconomic or educational disadvantage; reside in medically underserved areas; or are the first in their families to graduate from college. The program aims to reduce healthcare disparities and improve outcomes by cultivating a physician workforce with a wide array of experiences and from many different backgrounds.

The graduate program has one- and two-year tracks. The one-year track is an advanced master’s program in the GSBMS. If students meet certain academic metrics and successfully undergo a SOM interview, they may then qualify for conditional acceptance into the medical school. The two-year track, which is more popular, requires the same metrics and a successful SOM interview after completion of the first semester, which then qualify students for financial and educational support, as well as mentoring, according to Victor Garcia, Ph.D. ’15, director of the AMSNY-NYMC Linkage Program and associate professor of pharmacology. Since 2009, 83 percent of program participants have matriculated to the SOM, while 100 percent of students who enter the SOM graduate and match with top-tier residency programs, including those at Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Harvard University, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Many have also matched at NYMC affiliated programs.

Dr. Garcia calls the AMSNY-NYMC SOM Linkage Program “a life-changing opportunity” for students. “When we give them the opportunity to take part in something like this, they are so excited because they get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the requirements of the program and fulfill their dream to go to medical school. For them, it feels too good to be true at first. We provide an immense amount of support and are so proud of the students when they go off to medical school.”

Students who complete the AMSNY-NYMC SOM Linkage Program requirements and matriculate to medical school are eligible to apply to the AMSNY Scholarship in Medicine. This $45,000 scholarship helps students cover tuition, fees and cost of attendance associated with medical school. After their training is complete, awardees must work in an underserved area of New York State for a certain number of years, based on the number of years they received the scholarship. “This brings the program full circle to help ensure that these historically disadvantaged students return to those same disadvantaged communities to both provide care and serve as role models for the next generation of physicians.” said Dr. Etienne.

Murray, who followed the two-year track, chose to attend NYMC. “It felt like a good transition to go to the SOM after spending the previous two years at the GSBMS,” she said, noting her good fortune at having received the AMSNY scholarship in medicine two years in a row. “The financial burden of medical school can be daunting for so many people,” she said.

 Murray has traveled to Albany, New York, with a large group of fellow students from NYMC and other AMSNY affiliated medical schools, to advocate for continued funding for the program. “It was nice to be able to show policymakers how many students they are helping, where the state’s money is going and the impact they are making,” she said. “I am so lucky to have this scholarship thanks to them and to be able to show them how much it is helping me personally.”

Murray and her peers want New York State lawmakers to know how important it is to continue funding the Linkage Program, which she credits for preparing her to apply to and succeed in medical school. “The program kept me engaged and focused on learning while I continued my path in higher education,” she said. “It is very inspiring to know that people who do not know me, see potential in me and my community of people who are historically underrepresented in the medical workforce. That, in and of itself, is motivation enough to make me feel empowered to succeed in medical school.”

WHITE PLAINS YOUTH BUREAU

The White Plains Youth Bureau Medical Leadership Program introduces historically disadvantaged high school students to different healthcare-related careers and gives them an opportunity to collaborate on developing an initiative that benefits their community’s wellness. The program includes site visits to hospitals, medical schools, and other institutions, as well as delivering a final presentation to the Office of the Mayor of White Plains. “Each year, we select a medical student leader who oversees and guides the other medical students supporting the program throughout the summer,” said Dr. Etienne. “This student is tasked with creating the project to introduce to the community, like the nutritious lunch program that was implemented in the White Plains school system,” he said. The program also introduces students to the Touro College of Dental Medicine (TCDM) at NYMC and the field of dentistry, the College’s Division of Physical Therapy, as well as its Clinical Skills and Simulation Center, where they can learn about medicine by working with manikins.

Student surveys give the program high marks. Of those who participated from 2021 to 2023, 100 percent reported that they felt motivated to work harder in school, earn higher grades, and learn a new career path. These students also said that the program improved their confidence in life, school and the community, while 85 percent of participants said they planned to pursue a career in health and medicine. “Surveys show that students are interested in medical careers,” said Dr. Etienne. By the end of the program, “most students say they understand what it takes to get into medical school and feel confident in their ability to get there,” he said. “It’s important for them to feel that way early on, because as they progress through school, they may start to doubt themselves and develop impostor syndrome. That’s why the pipeline matters so much- it provides structured support and reinforcement at every stage, reminding students that they have what it takes and that they’re not alone in the process.”

MEDICAL STUDENT FOR A DAY

The Medical Student for a Day program is primarily for college students and college graduates interested in medical school. “We bring aspiring medical students to campus for a day, and they go to classes with medical students and attend workshops on the medical school application process,” said Dr. Etienne. Participants meet with medical students to learn more about attending medical school. They also have the opportunity to experience mock interviews, including the multiple mini-interviews (MMI) that the SOM Office of Admissions uses.

During the pandemic, the SOM conducted Medical Student for a Day virtually, which expanded the reach of the program to students nationwide. “Exit surveys indicate that participants have enjoyed meeting NYMC students and faculty,” said Dr. Etienne. “They provided high marks for the ‘day in the life’ session, mock MMI interviews, admissions talk, and birth simulation activity,” he said.

PRE-MATRICULATION PROGRAM

Every summer, the Office of Campus Engagement (OCE) hosts an intensive two-week, face-to-face Pre-Matriculation Program (PMP) for incoming first-year medical students. Offered in collaboration with the Offices of Academic Excellence, Student Affairs, and Undergraduate Medical Education, the PMP is designed to ease students’ transition to undergraduate medical education by strengthening their academic, professional, and social skills. The PMP does this by nurturing relationships between incoming students and faculty, as well as academic support and student affairs resources. It aims to enhance incoming students’ study skills by incorporating study skill workshops into first-year course material. Curricula and competencies are delivered in modules, which focus on gross anatomy, cell biology/histology, biochemistry, physiology, and clinical medicine. The two-week program also covers learning styles, test taking skills, mental health and wellness, financial management, time management, accommodations, and a rich array of career advising, and other campus resources.

After graduating from college with a dual major in global public health and chemistry and one minor in genetics, Sumaita Mahmood, SOM Class of 2026, still did not feel ready to apply to medical school. She worked for a year at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s tropical medicine hygiene clinic and then applied to NYMC’s PMP. “Participating in the PMP helped me to acclimate between working and feeling physically and emotionally what it’s like to be at medical school,” Mahmood said. “It helped me make friends so that at orientation I didn’t feel as overwhelmed. Plus, it exposed me to most of my professors for the first two years of medical school early on and helped me figure out my learning style.”

The PMP works to enhance camaraderie among incoming students, build community between first-year students and upper classmen, and help first-generation and nontraditional students find their comfort zone on campus. Audrey Huang, SOM Class of 2026, said that the PMP helped to familiarize her with the school’s resources and academic support systems. “Having that foundation early on made me feel more confident about my study approach and created a lot of opportunities for me to connect with classmates and faculty,” Huang said. “Because I felt connected early, I became more involved in the student community,” she said, referring to joining the Student Senate as well as the Student Interest Group in Neurology. Huang and Mahmood agreed that PMP participation nurtures leadership. “You will often find PMP students in leadership positions,” said Mahmood, who has been a student senator since her second year and also served as student leader for the PMP at the beginning of her fourth year of medical school.

The program is free of charge and includes housing support, classroom space, faculty lectures, workshops, outings, and lunches. All accepted and committed SOM students may apply.

PRE-HEALTH ENRICHMENT PROGRAM

The Pre-Health Enrichment Program (PHEP) gives prospective medical school applicants the opportunity to learn what it’s like to go to medical school and how to apply. It teaches them how to conduct research and includes workshops that are designed to teach mastery of every type of medical school interview, including MMIs. Medical student mentors teach applicants how to excel in the MMI by breaking down case scenarios in full detail, and teaching them strategies for grappling with pressing ethical issues. Then, the PHEP gives applicants the opportunity to undergo a realistic mock-MMI, to give them a feel for the interview process and allow them to receive feedback on their performance.

According to Rahim Hirani, M.S., an M.D.-Ph.D. candidate, a project coordinator in the Office of Campus Engagement, the PHEP is geared toward aspiring students from underserviced backgrounds, whose lack of resources like research experience and expensive MCAT preparation leaves them ill equipped to apply to medical school. “We are trying to target and prepare students who are having a hard time navigating their own potential,” Hirani said. The PHEP includes lectures, application workshops, direct mentorship from physicians, as well as personalized tutoring based on strengths and weaknesses. Finally, it features a two-week “boot camp” where students are integrated into NYMC’s PMP and attend lectures with first-year medical students. It also includes an essay and secondary writing workshop led by a writing specialist at NYMC, who teaches every aspect of writing necessary to convey competency as a potential medical school student.

Rafay Khan, SOM Class of 2027, was a participant in the pilot PHEP. “Coming from a non-STEM background, the medical school application process initially felt unfamiliar,” says Khan. He applied to the PMP out of curiosity and Dr. Etienne offered him the opportunity to become the first PHEP student. “Through the PHEP, I gained mentorship and practical guidance that helped me approach the process with clarity and ultimately gain acceptance the following cycle,” he says.

After matriculating at NYMC, he worked to expand the program by building longitudinal MCAT support, developing essay workshops, and advocating for stipends for students balancing work and family responsibilities. He also helped create opportunities for students to present at the HELA conference and contributed to efforts to secure AMSNY funding to further develop the program. “It has been incredibly meaningful to be part of a program that continues to open doors for others,” says Khan. 

The PHEP and PMP are initiatives that have also recently received support from the AMSNY, as NYMC was awarded a second $100,000 Scholars in Medicine and Science grant to further support and strengthen this series of programs. This award will continue to fortify the pipeline of historically disadvantaged students and looks to enhance medical school recruitment and retention. “Dr. Etienne and I are deeply passionate about supporting the expansion of these programs,” Dr. Garcia said. “This AMSNY grant will allow us to provide even more comprehensive support to students who face immense adversity, ensuring that they have the tools and mentorship needed to thrive in their medical education and beyond,” he said.

BLACK MEN IN WHITE COATS

Since 2022, NYMC has participated in Black Men in White Coats (BMWC), a national program that partners with various medical schools and hospitals across the country to expose historically disadvantaged elementary, high and middle school students to various fields in health care. Established in 2013, BMWC was founded in response to an Association of American Medical Colleges report highlighting the decreasing number of Black male applicants to medical school. And through the annual BMWC Youth Summit, it is thriving.

At the Summit hosted by White Plains Hospital, NYMC SOM students and faculty came together to encourage and equip boys and girls from different backgrounds to pursue medical careers through mentorship, networking, and interactive hands-on activities.

Open to all students, races and genders, the day-long summit drew more than 500 elementary, middle school and high school students, as well as parents, teachers, mentors, and community leaders, according to Dr. Etienne. “We’re there every year with a cadre of medical students who mentor these students,” he said. “The program starts with a keynote speaker, then we break into small groups so students can learn about different aspects of health care,” he said. Students meet physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, who explain their reasons for going into health care and what they do. “Last year we introduced practical stations where students learned about different fields of medicine, including a neurology station, where SOM students from the Student Interest Group in Neurology and the Student National Medical Association demonstrated how to check reflexes using reflex hammers and conduct a sensory exam,” Dr. Etienne said.

TCDM also participated in the program to teach students about the importance of oral health. “It is especially important for underserved kids who may not know much about dentistry as a career option because many may not have access to the dentist,” he said. Finally, and maybe most importantly, Dr. Etienne said, “we let all the students try on white coats so they can experience what it feels like. It helps demystify the role of the physician, empowers them to see themselves in that position, and makes the possibility of a medical career feel real.”