SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
The SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is a public medical school in Brooklyn, New York City. The university includes the College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies and School of Public Health.
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.
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. 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 ; 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.
In clinical years students rotate at several different hospitals including:
- SUNY Downstate Medical Center
- Kings County Hospital
- Downstate at Bay Ridge
- Brooklyn Veterans Administration Hospital
- Lenox Hill Hospital
- North Shore University Hospital
- Staten Island University Hospital
- New York Methodist Hospital
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.SUNY Downstate Medical Center
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is a public medical school and hospital in Brooklyn, New York, and is the southernmost member of the State University of New York 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. 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.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.
Student activities
The Anne Kastor Brooklyn Free Clinic
The Anne Kastor Brooklyn Free Clinic 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. 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.The clinic hosts an annual conference on health seen through the eyes of medicine, art, technology and community called BFC What's Next. 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 and a bronze medal at the CLIO Healthcare Awards.
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 - HIV/HCV counseling, syringe exchange counseling and harm reduction.
- Emergency Response - Responsible for clinic mobilization in case of emergency
- Pharmacy Assistance
- Patient Education and Health Promotion
Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health