NYMC > School of Health Sciences and Practice (SHSP) > Student Life

Student Life

Student life at NYMC is a rich mix of experiences based on our location, our culture and our offerings. We offer a wide range of opportunities to get involved with the local community, join student organizations and participate in campus and local events, as well as live comfortably, dine well, stay fit and have fun. We encourage students to be involved in as many activities as possible – be they social, recreational, religious/spiritual or athletic – as they complement your academic experience and help to assuage stress.

Student Organizations

The following is a list of student organizations in SHSP.

Student Healthcare Executives (StuHE)
The Student Healthcare Executives (StuHE) organization was established in the spring of 1999. Students from any school or department of NYMC are invited to join the chapter. StuHE was formed for the purpose of providing a network for students in the healthcare field to meet, exchange ideas, and set goals. The chapter holds several meetings throughout the academic year. As a member, you will attend guest speaker events, participate in National Public Health Week, network with the alumni career panel, and help raise awareness of public health issues.

Genocide Awareness and Prevention Club (GAAP)
The Genocide Awareness and Prevention Club (GAAP) is composed of both public health and medical students, and is part of a nationwide student anti-genocide movement. It organizes events such as documentary screenings, talks by prominent activists and fundraisers to raise awareness and take action to stop genocide wherever and whenever it may occur. The GAAP club is always welcoming new members and encourages anyone who is interested in this club and its mission, to contact our faculty advisor, Dr. Padmini Murthy for more information.

International Society
The International Society of New York Medical College offers students, faculty, and staff an opportunity to experience and appreciate the cultural diversity of the College community through a series of academic, social, and cultural programs. The society organizes and sponsors seminars on a variety of international health topics such as traditional medicine, acupuncture, and healthcare practices in developing and developed countries. Social and cultural events include field trips to local areas of interest. The society also serves as a resource for international students by providing information and assistance on immigration requirements.

Committees
Students are represented on the School’s Curriculum, Research, and Student Affairs Committees. The latter, which also includes members of the faculty and administration, is concerned with the conditions of student life, academic advisement and career placement, academic integrity, and other issues of importance to students. In addition, students are represented on the College-wide Library Committee and the Commencement Committee. One student from each of the College’s three schools (School of Health Sciences and Practice, Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences and the School of Medicine) attends the meetings of the Board of Trustees.

Learn about other NYMC student organizations outside of SHSP »

SHSP Community Involvement and Service Learning

We believe in active learning, not only training the health care professionals of tomorrow in their specialties but training them in the communities where they will someday practice. That's why the College is deeply involved in its surrounding communities, holding clinics for the impoverished and underserved, mentoring middle- and high-school students, as well as their teachers, and working with the disabled. 


 

Service Learning in the SHSP

LEND Program

LEND Community student life 5.8.22 cmA well-regarded program known as LEND, which stands for Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities, is a nationwide, interdisciplinary training program for health professionals who work with children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. It also serves parents and siblings of individuals with disabilities and other special health care needs.

LEND’s nine-month curriculum provides an overview of neurodevelopmental disabilities, as well as seminars in leadership skills and evidence-based research methods. Faculty and trainees come from a dozen core academic disciplines like pediatrics, audiology, nursing, psychology, social work, physical therapy and speech-language pathology.


 

D.P.T. Community Service Learning

The Doctoral Project: An Opportunity for Professional Specialization

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree at New York Medical College is a clinical doctorate. As such, students are expected to carry out a culminating doctoral project. Students may choose to work on a clinical research project, may choose to complete a public health project, or may take part in a mentored teaching practicum. The model for the doctoral project process is one of apprenticeship and mentorship. In the spring of the first year, students are provided a list of doctoral project offerings by the School of Health Sciences and Practice faculty. In some cases, external clinical faculty may co-advise. Students work in small teams of students, submit a group-generated Doctoral manuscript, and present their work in a poster or platform format at our Doctor of Physical Therapy Doctoral Project Presentation Day in the last semester of study.

The type of Doctoral Project the student carries out will fall into one of three areas: Clinical Research, Education, or Public Health Service. For some projects, the primary information and activity will be a clinical research question that involves the collection and analysis of primary data. For others, the activity and outcomes analyzed will focus on the educational experience of a mentored teaching practicum. A third potential area is the identification of a public health issue and the generation of a program or mechanism for addressing that issue. Activities in this domain may include the gathering of data associated with a public health issue; the development of an educational program to address a public health issue, activities carried out in collaboration with a public health organization or public institution, or the analysis of national data sets or previously collected data. The expectation is for the eventual publication and/or presentation of many of these projects in a professional forum.


D.P.T. Community Service Learning Project

Beginning in the Spring semester of the first year and running through the Fall semester of year two, students work in small groups to plan and carry out a community service project. Each project is one in which students provide a physical therapy-related service that attempts to meet a need within the community. Students make contact with a community agency or organization, and, in collaboration with that agency, identify a need, develop a formal proposal for a program, provide necessary instruction and follow-up, and evaluate their results. They write up a summary of their project, and at the end of the Fall semester, they present the project to the college community in a poster format.

This project is included in the physical therapy curriculum to help students to develop the skills required to initiate, plan, and participate in community service activities. This task is also consistent with the charter of New York Medical College, which includes the goal of 'serving the underserved'. The purpose of this project is for students to develop skills and demonstrate their commitment to the professional goal of community service through a meaningful experience.


 

Community Service

A variety of opportunities to be involved in the local community by volunteering at hospitals, shelters and clinics; delivering tobacco-awareness programs in local middle and high schools; and staffing the annual Community Health Fair.

Race for Rehab

Race4Rehab Community Student Life 6.8.22 cmThe Race for Rehab is an annual 5K run held on the NYMC campus each October. The festive event—which also features student-led warm-ups and a post-race awards ceremony—debuted in 1999 and is hosted by Doctor of Physical Therapy students from the School of Health Sciences and Practice. Proceeds from the race benefit Achilles International, a not-for-profit organization that provides a community of support to athletes with disabilities, using sports as a tool to offer hope, inspiration, and the joy of achievement. 


 

Public Health Week

NPHW LOGO community student life 6.8.22 cmEvery year during the first full week of April, the Student Healthcare Executives Club (StuHE) and the Department of Public Health in the School of Health Sciences and Practice (SHSP) organize the celebration of National Public Health Week to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to keeping communities safe and healthy. Public health guest speakers and special events mark the occasion.