SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

The SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (formally, The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn)^[3] is a public medical school in New York City and one of the three components of SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University: University Hospital at Long Island College Hospital, SUNY Downstate at Bay Ridge (formerly Victory Memorial Hospital), and University Hospital of Brooklyn in East Flatbush, whose staffing is provided by SUNY Downstate College of Medicine.^[4]

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Former names	Long Island College of Medicine
Motto	To Learn, To Search, To Serve
Type	Public medical school
Established	1860
Dean	Carlos N. Pato, MD^[1]
Students	807 ^[2]
Location	Brooklyn , New York 40°39′19″N 73°56′45″W / 40.6554°N 73.9457°W / 40.6554; -73.9457
Affiliations	State University of New York SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Website	http://www.downstate.edu

The university includes the College of Medicine, Colleges of Nursing and Health Related Professions, Schools of Graduate Studies and Public Health, and University Hospital of Brooklyn.^[3] It is one of seven medical schools located in New York City and the sole medical school in the borough of Brooklyn, serving its 2.6 million residents.

Medical education

SUNY Downstate College of Medicine's Integrated Pathways curriculum addresses several core competencies - Medical Knowledge, Systems Based Practice, Professionalism, Interpersonal & Communications, Practice Based Learning and Improvement and Patient Care. Each of these must be completed to be awarded an M.D.

The college of medicine offers several pathways to graduation including joint degree programs and special tracks including:^[5]

• MD/Ph.D.
• MD/MPH
• MD Medical Educators Pathway
• MD Clinical Neuroscience Pathway
• MD Global Health Pathway

In clinical years students rotate at several different hospitals including:^[6]

• University Hospital of Brooklyn (in-house)
• Kings County Hospital (in-house) (named the first level 1 trauma center in the US and the only level 1 paediatric trauma center in Brooklyn)
• Downstate at Bay Ridge (in-house)
• Brooklyn Veterans Administration Hospital
• Lenox Hill Hospital
• North Shore University Hospital
• Staten Island University Hospital
• New York Methodist Hospital

In 2015, SUNY Downstate students matched to almost 18% of all offered EM/IM combined residency positions. 26 additional students matched to emergency medicine programs at institution including UCLA and the University of Pittsburgh.^[7][8][9]

College of Medicine admissions

The 2018 entering class averaged an undergraduate GPA of 3.74 and MCAT of 514. In the same cycle 5390 prospective students applied for 203 spots in the first year class.^[10]

Student activities

The Anne Kastor Brooklyn Free Clinic

The Anne Kastor Brooklyn Free Clinic (BFC)^[11] is a student-run free clinic operated primarily by the students of the College of Medicine. The BFC offers care and health maintenance screening to the uninsured populations of Brooklyn. The clinic was renamed The Anne Kastor Brooklyn Free Clinic in memory of Anne Kastor who helped founding faculty member of the clinic and passed from ovarian cancer in 2013.^[12][13] So dedicated to the spirit of student run clinics, Dr. Kastor went on to become the Director of the Weil Cornell Community Clinic at Weil Cornell Medical College.^[14]

The clinic hosts an annual conference on health seen through the eyes of medicine, art, technology and community called BFC What's Next.^[15] The clinic has won multiple awards for its advertisement campaigns including a gold medal in conjunction with CDMiConnect at the 2014 MMM Awards for their "We Need U" campaign^[16] and a bronze medal at the CLIO Healthcare Awards.^[17]

The BFC operates several clinical, educational and outreach services including:

• Women's Health Night - One night per month dedicated to issues of women's health
• Work Physical Night - One night per month dedicated providing work clearance and helping increase community productivity
• BFC Community Outreach - Engagement in surrounding neighborhood
• BFC RISE (Routine Intervention through Screening and Education) - HIV/HCV counseling, syringe exchange counseling and harm reduction.
• Emergency Response - Responsible for clinic mobilization in case of emergency (e.g. mobile clinic establishment in Red Hook during Hurricane Sandy)
• Pharmacy Assistance
• Patient Education and Health Promotion

Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health

In 1992, Arthur Ashe established the Institute in partnership with SUNY Downstate intentionally.^[18]

Downstate Ethics Society

In partnership with the John Conley Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities at the medical center, the society aims to expose students to ethical issues surrounding all aspects of health care.^[19]

Other clubs and organizations

Clubs and societies at SUNY Downstate are not limited to the college of medicine but also involve the other schools at SUNY Downstate including the College of Health Related Professions (CHRP), College of Nursing, School of Graduate Studies and School of Public Health. Clubs are tailored to a diverse range of interests including human rights, music, ethnic dialogues, ethics, specialty interest groups and global health among many other things.^[20] Keriann Shalvoy of the class of 2017 currently sits on the Board of Directors for Physicians for a National Health Program - NY Metro.^[21]

Facilities

The College of Medicine is located at 450 Clarkson Avenue in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. Most of the preclinical learning activities take place in the Health Sciences Education Building located at 395 Lenox Road.

Clinical rotations take place at University Hospital of Brooklyn (UHB); the main teaching hospital at SUNY Downstate, Kings County Hospital Center, located just across the street from UHB, the Brooklyn Veteran's Administration Hospital, Staten Island University Hospital among other places.

History

SUNY Downstate College of Medicine was founded in 1860 as the Long Island College Hospital school of medicine. The site where the Downstate Medical Center stands was purchased in 1946. In 1950 the State University merged with Long Island College Hospital to form SUNY Downstate Medical Center.^[22]

Notable physicians and researchers

• Louis Bauer - Credited as "the father of orthapaedic surgery in the United States"^[23]
• Henri Begleiter - Former Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. Made important discoveries about alcoholics and their offspring.
• Jeffrey Birnbaum M.D. M.P.H. - Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health. The director of the one of a kind HEAT program offering a wide range of HIV and transgender services to at risk youth in New York City.^[24]
• Jeffrey S. Borer, MD - Professor and Physician in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine is a senior editor of The Medical Roundtable^[25]
• John A. Boockvar - Prominent neurosurgeon and Professor of neurological surgery at Hofstra-North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine graduated from Downstate College of Medicine
• Howard Choi - Principal editor of the PM&R Handbook and Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Mt. Sinai graduated from Downstate College of Medicine
• James E. Cottrell - Dean for Clinical Practice, Distinguished Service Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology. Former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology.^[26][27]
• Raymond Vahan Damadian - Former Professor and inventor of the MR Scanning Machine. First person to perform full body MR scan on a human.
• Clarence Dennis - Chair of the Department of Surgery (1951), inventor of one of the first cardiopulmonary bypass machines. Successfully used his at Downstate in 1955.
• Marian Dunn, Ph.D. - Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Director of the Center for Human Sexuality and member of the advisory panel for BetterSex^[28]
• Richard D. Feinman - Professor of Biochemistry, medical researcher with focus on human metabolism. Dr. Feinman is an outspoken proponent of the low carbohydrate diet of which he has written several papers and a book.
• Austin Flint - Former Professor of Pathology and Practical Medicine. Founder of Buffalo Medical College (SUNY Buffalo) and identifier or the murmur of severe aortic regurgitation.
• Robert F. Furchgott - Ph.D. - Recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology
• John Hartung - Professor of Anesthesiology and former Associate Editor of the Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology
• Adrian Kantrowitz - Alumni and inventor of the intra-aortic balloon pump and left ventricular assist device. His team performed the first pediatric heart transplant at Maimonides Medical Center
• Samuel L. Kountz - Former Professor of Surgery and Chairman of the department. While at Stanford, he performed the first successful kidney transplant between non-identical humans
• Hans Kraus - Former Associate Professor. Kraus' studies led to President Dwight D. Eisenhower establishing the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. He also served as the secret back doctor to President John F. Kennedy.
• Sheldon H. Landesman M.D. - Professor of Medicine and pioneer in the fight against AIDS in Brooklyn^[29]
• Julius Lempert - Alumnus and father of modern otology.^[30]
• Susan Love - Alumni and prominent advocate of preventive breast cancer research. She is currently Professor of Surgery at David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
• Stephen Macknik, PhD - Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Physiology & Pharmacology. Neuromagic founder, Scientific American MIND columnist and co-author of the popular book Sleights of Mind.^[31][32][33]
• Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD - Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Physiology & Pharmacology. Co-author of the book, Sleights of Mind.^[33] Director of the Martinez-Conde Laboratory at Downstate.^[34]
• A. L. Mestel - Alumni and pioneer in the field of pediatric surgery. Especially known for the first successful separation of Ischiopagus Tripus conjoined twins
• James B. Ranck, Jr. - Distinguished Professor of Physiology and discoverer of head direction cells.
• Todd C. Sacktor M.D. - Professor of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neurology and pioneer in memory research^[35]
• Peter T. Scardino - Professor of Urology and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering
• Arthur Schatzkin, M.D. - nutritional epidemiologist at the National Cancer Institute
• Leonard Shengold - psychiatrist known for studies on child abuse and popularizing the term "soul murder"
• Alexander Skene - Completed his medical education at Long Island College Hospital. Gynecologist who described what became known as Skene's glands
• Ralph Snyderman - Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine at Duke University from 1989 to 2004 graduated from Downstate in 1965
• T. K. Sreepada Rao - Former Professor of Medicine and Associate Director of Renal Diseases

References

1. "Dean's Message", 2015
2. "Class Profile". sls.downstate.edu.
3. "About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University". SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
4. Anemona Hartocollis (January 17, 2013). "Audit, Citing Mismanagement, Finds SUNY Downstate in Dire Fiscal Straits". The New York Times. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
5. "College of Medicine: Integrated Pathways Curriculum". sls.downstate.edu.
6. "Quick Guide To Clerkships" (PDF).
7. "Residency Placement Lists". sls.downstate.edu.
8. "Main residency match" (PDF). www.nrmp.org. 2015. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
9. "Doximity Residency Navigator". Doximity.
10. "Medical School Admission Requirements®".
11. "About Us".
12. Marcus, David (2013). "A Remembrance, Dedicated to Dr. Anne Kastor". emimdoc.org.
13. "Anne Sarah Kastor". legacy.com. 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
14. "Weill Cornell Community Clinic - Directors Emeriti and Founders".
15. "whatsnext2014". whatsnext2014.
16. . Archived from the original on January 11, 2015. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
17. "CLIO Healthcare Awards - Integrated Campaign - Grand CLIO Winners". CLIO Healthcare Awards.
18. "[Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health] About AAIUH".
19. "Ethics Society". SUNY Downstate Medical Center. 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
20. "Student Clubs & Organizations". sls.downstate.edu.
21. "People". Physicians for a National Health Program-NY Metro Chapter.
22. "About SUNY Downstate". sls.downstate.edu.
23. "The National cyclopaedia of American biography, being the history of the United States as illustrated in the lives of the founders, builders, and defenders of the republic, and of the men and women who are doing the work and moulding the thought of the present time". New York, J. T. White company – via Internet Archive.
24. "HEAT - Health & Education Alternatives for Teens – Health & Education Alternatives for Teens".
25. "TMR Cardiovascular - Editorial Board". The Medical Roundtable. September 10, 2013.
26. . Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
27. "Editorial Board : Journal of Neurosurgical Anesthesiology". journals.lww.com.
28. "Marian E. Dunn, PhD - relationship and sexual therapy - Garrison NY and NYC". mariandunn.com.
29. "AIDS Doctors". archive.nytimes.com.
30. Krisht, KM; Shelton, C; Couldwell, WT (2015). "Early Conquest of the Rock: Julius Lempert's Life and the Complete Apicectomy Technique for the Treatment of Suppurative Petrous Apicitis". J Neurol Surg B Skull Base. 76 (2): 101–7. doi:10.1055/s-0034-1389372. PMC 4375049. PMID 25844295.
31. "Macknik Lab - SUNY Downstate Medical Center".
32. "Stories by Stephen L. Macknik". Scientific American.
33. "Sleights of Mind - What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals About Our Everyday Deceptions".
34. "People - Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience : : Susana Martinez-Conde, Director".
35. "Department of Physiology and Pharmacology - Todd C. Sacktor, MD". www.downstate.edu.