The SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (formerly The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn)[3] is a publicmedical school in Brooklyn, New York City.[4] The university includes the College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies and School of Public Health.[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.[5]
History
The SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University was founded in 1860 as the Long Island College of Medicine. The site where the SUNY Downstate Medical Center stands was purchased in 1946. In 1950, the state university merged with Long Island College Hospital to form SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.[6] Later, the university was called The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn and the SUNY Downstate College of Medicine.
Campus
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.
Academics
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 MD/Ph.D., MD/MPH, MD Medical Educators Pathway, MD Clinical Neuroscience Pathway, and MD Global Health Pathway.[7]
In clinical years students rotate at several different hospitals including:[8]
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.[9][10][11]
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.[12]
SUNY Downstate Medical Center
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is a publicmedical school and hospital in Brooklyn, New York, and is the southernmost member of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It is the only academic medical center for health education, research, and patient care serving Brooklyn's 2.5 million residents. It is the only state-run hospital in New York City.[13] As of fall 2018, it had a total student body of 1,846 and approximately 8,000 faculty and staff.
Downstate Health Sciences University comprises a College of Medicine, Colleges of Nursing, School of Graduate Studies, School of Health Professions, and School of Public Health, and University Hospital of Brooklyn. It also includes a major research complex and biotechnology facilities.
Controversies
In 2013, SUNY Downstate released a court ordered financial audit which found the institution in need of capital funds citing large losses from 2007 through 2011. The audit cited bloated salaries for top administrators, underuse and poor financial decisions contributed to the losses.[14][15]
In January 2020, two SUNY Downstate surgeons filed lawsuits accusing the medical center of retaliation against them for reporting patient safety and death concerns in the heart-surgery and organ-transplant programs. Prior to the complaint, the institution paused these two programs in July 2019 due to pressure from the New York State Department of Health and the United Network for Organ Sharing when reviewers found issues in the programs and recommended a more extensive review in hopes to remediate the problems.[16]
Student activities
The Anne Kastor Brooklyn Free Clinic
The Anne Kastor Brooklyn Free Clinic (BFC)[17] 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.[18][19] 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.[20]
The clinic hosts an annual conference on health seen through the eyes of medicine, art, technology and community called BFC What's Next.[21] 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[22] and a bronze medal at the CLIO Healthcare Awards.[23]
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.[24]
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.[25]
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.[26] Keriann Shalvoy of the class of 2017 currently sits on the Board of Directors for Physicians for a National Health Program - NY Metro.[27]
Notable physicians and researchers
Louis Bauer - Credited as "the father of orthapaedic surgery in the United States"[28]
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.[29]
Jeffrey S. Borer, MD - Professor and Physician in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine is a senior editor of The Medical Roundtable[30]
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.[31][32]
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[33]
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.
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
A. L. Mestel - Alumni and pioneer in the field of pediatric surgery. Especially known for the first successful separation of Ischiopagus Tripus conjoined twins
Alan S. Rabson - pathologist and cancer researcher, deputy director of the National Cancer Institute from 1995 to 2015.
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
Marc Straus - oncologist, art collector, poet, and writer
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