Academic
Advisement & Career Planning
Entering students are assigned peer advisors and may request that the
Associate Dean for Students assign him/her a faculty advisor to provide
advice and counsel during the early period of adjustment. During the
clerkship period, each student has access to faculty advisors whose
primary role is to discuss career opportunities and help the student to
plan the senior elective period. An organized program of career advising
is presented each year.
Summer
Preparatory Program
On the basis of their undergraduate academic record, some students
accepted to the first year class are invited to attend a summer
preparatory program scheduled during a two-week period preceding
classes. Participants are given accommodations at no cost in the
Einstein housing complex. The program includes an introduction to
biochemistry, medical genetics and immunology and is presented through
lectures, laboratory sessions, conferences and tutorials.
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Office
of Diversity Enhancement
In
mid-August of its 51st year, the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine welcomed the Class of 2010. Echoing Albert Einstein's
expressed wishes when he lent his name to the medical school, this class
is indeed diverse, hailing from 22 countries and ranging in age from 20
to 34. Among the class is a group of 21 minority students
considered underrepresented in medicine. Throughout their course
of study at the medical school, these students will benefit from
Einstein's long-term commitment to the recruitment and retention of
minority students.
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Support
for Minority Students
The
first of these efforts for the new minority students was the annual
two-day Minority Student Retreat held after the first week of classes in
nearby Tarrytown, New York, coordinated by the Einstein Office of Diversity
Enhancement. The Retreat aims to foster a sense of community among
the minority students, to prepare them for the academic and personal
stressors they will encounter in medical school, and to help them
maximize the resources available to them.
For
the past 24 years, the Office of Diversity Enhancement (formerly called
the Office of Minority Student Affairs) has played a major role in
serving the needs of minority students enrolled in the medical
school. Under the leadership of Milton Gumbs, M.D., Associate
Dean, and Assistant Dean Nilda I. Soto, M.S.Ed., the office tracks the
performance of minority students and provides a haven of support and
advisement for them as they adjust to the medical school environment and
progress through the curriculum. In addition, for many years, the
Office has provided after-school and summer programs for minority high
school students and summer research fellowship programs for
undergraduate college students. This investment in our community
is designed to attract students to a career in medicine early in the
course of their education.
Einstein's
focus on creating a diverse student body is a longstanding one, dating
back to the establishment of the Martin Luther King, Jr. - Robert F.
Kennedy Program for Special Studies in 1968. Recognizing that many
minority students lacked the proper preparation for medical school in
their undergraduate institutions, the Einstein faculty planning the
program recruited a small group of students for yearlong immersion in a
program designed to prepare them to compete for admission to medical
school. The students were registered as undergraduates at Yeshiva
University and received full-tuition, a stipend for living expenses, and
all books and laboratory equipment essential to their studies. At
the end of the first year of the program, all seven initial King -
Kennedy scholars were offered places in the next class entering Einstein.
Soon
after establishing the King – Kennedy Program, Einstein's
Senate formed a Minority Affairs
Committee (MAC) with responsibility for recruitment and retention of
minority students. Recognizing
that such programs require expert management and financial support, not
to mention advocacy, MAC recommended that an office devoted specifically
to these activities be developed within the Office of Education.
Thus, the Office of Special Education Programs, the forerunner of the Office
for Diversity Enhancement, was established in 1981. This new Office
rapidly became the focal center for attracting highly qualified minority
students, developing an academic support system, and providing
adequate guidance and counseling services.
Minority
Student Organizations on Campus
Einstein’s
minority students have always been active in the many student
organizations on campus. Chief
among these are the Student
National Medical Organization (SNMA) and the
Boricua
Latino Health Organization (BLHO).
The two organizations are devoted to promoting medical education
as a career among minority students, increasing enrollment and retention
of minority students in medical school, and advocating for improved,
culturally sensitive health care services for underserved populations.
Together, the organizations host many events during the school
year, including lectures, clothing drives, and a senior dinner for
graduating medical students. Membership
in the Einstein chapters of SNMA and BLHO promotes strong bonds among
minority students at Einstein and strengthens ties with the local
community. Such membership
is often a springboard to national leadership positions: from 2001 to
2002, Francine Garrett, M.D.,
Ph.D., Class of 2005, served as SNMA national Chairperson of the
Board.
Esther Vivas, Class of 2006, was Co-Chair of the BLHO national
organization.
Developing Our Minority
Faculty
Einstein’s
commitment to diversity does not end with programs for medical students.
For the past three years, and under the co-sponsorship of the Education
& Faculty Support Committee and its Faculty Mentoring Group,
together with Bronx CREED and Einstein's Hispanic Center of Excellence
– and with major financial support from the Office of the Dean –
Einstein has mounted the highly successful
Minority
& Women Faculty Career Development Day. This event has attracted
minority and women faculty from all Einstein affiliates and from clinical
and basic science departments alike.
Expanding
Cross-Cultural Education Across the Curriculum
In
a related development, Einstein’s
Hispanic Center of Excellence, originally established with support
from a federal grant, continues its activities with University
funding. The Center has as its
major goals:
-
Initiating
training in cultural competency for faculty and students;
-
Supporting
research on Hispanic health care;
-
Supporting
the development of underrepresented minority faculty; and,
-
Providing
mentoring for college students with the aim of increasing the number
of underrepresented minority applicants to medical school.
The
work of the Hispanic Center supplements the ongoing commitment by the
College of Medicine to provide programs for students abroad in Latin
American countries, as well as establishing and supporting the inclusion
of cultural competency throughout the curriculum. Providing expanded
clinical experiences in community centers and hospitals that serve
underrepresented minority patients is another of the center’s goals.
Historically, these experiences have enabled Einstein students to
identify health issues and disparities in health care they may not have
witnessed in their home communities. For further information about the
Hispanic Center of Excellence contact
hcoe@aecom.yu.edu.
For further information about the Office of Diversity Enhancement, please
contact: Ms. Nilda I. Soto, Assistant Dean, Office of Education,
(718)-430-3091, soto@aecom.yu.edu.
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Office
of Academic Support & Counseling
The Office of Academic Support & Counseling offers academic
advising, peer tutoring, reviews of low score basic science exams,
assistance with the USMLE Step 1 & Step 2, and cognitive skills
consults and referrals for evaluation. The office strives to custom
tailor its recommendations to meet the unique needs of each individual
student - assisting to make them successful, active, and self-directed
lifelong learners. Academic Support & Counseling also offers
confidential psychological consults, counseling referrals, and support
services for students with disabilities. While the office is especially
helpful to students experiencing academic or personal difficulty, its
broader objective is to help all students further their academic,
professional, and personal development. Academic Support &
Counseling, which operates out of the Office of Educational Resources,
is located in the Belfer building - room 208. Students may either
schedule an appointment or walk-in. For further information, please
contact Arlene Caban, Ph.D. at (718) 430-3154 or 2693. Dr. Caban can also
be reached via E-mail - caban@aecom.yu.edu.
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