Residency Program: Affiliated Sites
In addition to the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, affiliated training sites include:
- Two hospitals (Stony Brook University Hospital, and Northport Veterans Administration Medical Center);
- Two large County Health Departments (Nassau and Suffolk);
- The Multi State Quality Improvement Organization (IPRO)
- Brookhaven National Laboratory, a national multi-disciplinary research facility occupational medicine clinic;
- Several neighborhood health centers and community-based programs operated by the above hospitals and health departments
Residency Program: Academic Training
The two-year residency program at Stony Brook provides the academic, practicum, and clinical training required for board certification in General Preventive Medicine and Public Health. The academic training leads to a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, which is awarded by the Program in Public Health at Stony Brook University. Applicants who have an MPH or equivalent degree awarded by another approved institution will also be accepted. The academic MPH program includes core courses in biostatistics, epidemiology, health policy and management, environmental and occupational health, and social and behavioral sciences.
The MPH course material is related to and integrated with residents’ field experiences and medical student teaching. Residents develop a firm foundation in the public health sciences and become adept in applying this knowledge in their preventive medicinepractice. A resident-only course in clinical preventive services is also provided along with related direct patient care experience at the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center and in a wellness and chronic illness program that utilizes inter-professional integrative medicine and lifestyle management counseling. In addition to the MPH course in occupational medicine residents have the opportunity for a direct patient care experience in Stony Brook’s occupational medicine clinic and/or in other affiliated occupational medicine clinics on Long Island. In addition, weekly resident seminars and population health rounds provide a forum for discussion and updating of knowledge about current theory and practice in specific areas of the field and are complemented by a resident journal club, board review sessions, leadership and cultural competency sessions. Elective courses are also available at Stony Brook within the Graduate Program in Public Health and in Bioinformatics.
Residency Program: Rotations
Field rotations cover the several areas of preventive medicine and public health practice. Specific rotations are assigned on the basis of the individual resident's interests, requirements, and prior training and experience. Residents may select from various affiliated training sites and specific areas of practice experience. The practicum experience is specifically designed to integrate the basic science and practical aspects of preventive medicine and public health during a supervised practice experience in a broad range of public health and preventive medicine settings. Teaching and supervision at the affiliated institutions are provided by the site Supervisors-of-Training, many of whom are graduates of the residency program. Most medical faculty and site Supervisors-of-Training are board certified in preventive medicine and have many additional years of experience in the field. In addition, a large multidisciplinary faculty, drawn form the Health Sciences Center at Stony Brook and from affiliated agencies, makes a substantial contribution to the training program.
Residents may be involved in rotations at the following training sites, with which the residency program is affiliated. Please click on each rotation site's name for more information:
- Nassau County Department of Health
- Suffolk County Department of Health Services
- New York State Quality Improvement Organization (IPRO)
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Northport VA Medical Center
- Stony Brook Employee Health and Wellness
Residency Program Rotation: Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center
Northport Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center is a tertiary care, level 1 facility serving U.S. military veterans in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, NY. The VA Medical Center, which is part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ NY/NJ Veterans Integrated Service Network #2, is located in Northport, NY, with outpatient primary care/mental health clinics in East Meadow, Patchogue, Riverhead, Bay Shore and Valley Stream, NY. Northport VA Medical Center enjoys full accreditation from the Joint Commission, the College of American Pathologists, the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilitates (Physical Medicine and Psychosocial Rehabilitation Programs), the American College of Radiation Oncology, and the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care. In Fiscal Year 2015, Northport VA Medical Center treated 31,534 veterans through 404,288 outpatient encounters and 2,504 inpatient admissions. VA Northport has over 25 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education approved residency training programs affiliated with Health Sciences Center Stony Brook. These include Internal Medicine and 10 specialties of Internal Medicine, Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Urology, Psychiatry, Neurology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Anesthesiology, Preventive Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery. Each day nearly 80 Stony Brook resident physicians are assigned to VA Northport. All of the patient care provided by these trainees is supervised by VA physician staff who carry academic appointments at Stony Brook. Examples of experiences particular to the Preventive Medicine resident rotation are participation in (1) continuity clinic for smoking cessation which addresses the psychological, behavioral and physical addiction to nicotine; (2) a weekly interdisciplinary Wellness Clinic aimed at assisting Veterans with developing a personalized health plan through health coaching for health behavior modification; and (3) providing patient education around healthy living in group formats following MOVE!, the VA’s weight management program. Other opportunities are available based on resident interest involving population based methodologies to address the prevention of chronic disease such at CHF, COPD and Diabetes.
Residency Program Rotation: Nassau County Department of Health
The Nassau County Department of Health (NCDOH) serves a population of approximately 1.4 million people. The mission of the NCDOH is to promote and protect the health of all who live, work and play in Nassau County. This mission is accomplished through direct services and community partnerships in the following areas:
- Development and maintenance of individual and community preparedness for public health hazards and events.
- Investigation, prevention, and control of communicable diseases.
- Prevention of environmental health hazards through assessment, regulation, and remediation.
- Promotion of healthy lifestyles through outreach and education.
- Provision for evaluation and services to individuals, children, and families that have developmental delays and concerns.
Residents may elect to spend up to the full practicum year in health department programs apart from the longitudinal academic training provided by Stony Brook University Hospital. The NCDOH is an important site for training in public health, health services administration, environmental health and clinical preventive medicine. Residents can gain experience in varied activities in the different divisions of the health department listed below:
• The Division of Environmental Health Environmental which protects the community from those adverse effects resulting from environmental pollution, unsanitary conditions or unsafe practices.
• The Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness which is tasked with responding to a range of public health threats—including infectious diseases; natural disasters; and biological, chemical, nuclear and radiological events.
• The Division of Community and Maternal & Child Health Services which oversees:
• The Office of Children with Special Needs which coordinates the Early Intervention Program, an entitlement program that provides specialized services to families with children under age three with developmental delays and disabilities.
• The Women Infants and Children (WIC) program, a grant funded supplemental nutrition and education program.
• The Child Fatality Review Team which reviews unexpected/unexplained deaths of Nassau County residents under the age of 18 years
• The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program which monitors and manages all lead poisoned children in Nassau County
• The Office of the Center of Population Health and Disease Prevention which oversees:
• The Bureau of Communicable Disease Control which protects the public from the spread of communicable diseases.
• The HIV Bureau focuses on education as well as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) counseling and testing to prevent the spread of the virus. It also assists in the coordination of a referral network of HIV/AIDS services, administers the $6 Million Ryan White Care Act grant and serves as a repository for HIV/AIDS statistics.
• Bureau of Tuberculosis Control conducts investigation and case management for all reported cases of tuberculosis and identifies and evaluates contacts to cases of TB. It also provides directly observed therapy (DOT) for all patients receiving medication for TB disease in order to help them complete their full course of treatment.
• Perinatal Hepatitis B Program provides case management services for pregnant and parenting women who have hepatitis B infection in order to prevent its spread to their newborn infants.
• Bureau of STD Control conducts confidential investigations, case management and contact notification services of reported cases of syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia to prevent the spread of these diseases.
Through a contractual arrangement with the Nassau Health Care Corporation, the County provides essential public health services at Federally Qualified Health Centers in Elmont, Freeport-Roosevelt, Hempstead, and New Cassel-Westbury, and the grant funded School-Based Health Program in the Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School. The NCDOH also serves as a site for resident training in the application of principles and methods of epidemiology and biostatistics. Epidemiologic and disease control activities include: surveillance and investigation of communicable disease; investigation of potentially hazardous environmental conditions in the home; epidemiological surveys and studies of selected chronic and communicable diseases; and specific disease control programs including tuberculosis, venereal disease, and lead poison control.
Residency Program Rotation: Suffolk County Department of Health Services
The Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS), which serves a county population of approximately 1.5 million, consists of seven operating divisions. The SCDHS is a site for all aspects of the training program, and residents may elect to spend the bulk of the practicum year in health department programs apart from the longitudinal training provided at the medical school. The SCDHS is an important site for training in environmental health, since it has one of the largest environmental health services in the country, including Offices of Ecology, Wastewater Management, Water Resources, and Pollution Control as well as the Public and Environmental Health Laboratory. Opportunities for training in health services administration are also provided within the SCDHS. Residents can assist division directors and program administrators in developing and implementing program standards, evaluation and review procedures. They can also be involved in studies analyzing the key health needs of the people of Suffolk County, as well as those which provide alternative options and strategies. Residents may also participate in the development of health management information systems and in identifying the appropriate data that must be collected and reports prepared to meet information needs. Residents can participate in quality assessments and gain experience in health services administration within the department’s administrative unit, which includes personnel, budgeting, accounting, auditing, state and federal reimbursements, and purchasing and contract management.The Divisions of Public Health, Patient Care Services, and Community Mental Hygiene, have been actively involved in a wide spectrum of preventive services, including adult and childhood immunization campaigns, diabetes management training, prevention of childhood lead poisoning, communicable disease monitoring and response, preventive services for inmates in the county correctional facilities, patient advocacy, alcohol and substance abuse services and access to mental health care. Sexually transmitted disease and tuberculosis control programs also offer special opportunities to gather experience. Residents have the ability to work with the SCDHS Office of Minority Health, which strives to improve health outcomes and eliminate existing health disparities in minority populations through educational programs and promotions in collaboration with a variety of community organizations. Experiences in public health protection are available through the SCDHS programs for food protection, regulation of temporary residences, and general sanitation investigations. The Division of Preventive Medicine offers programming for falls prevention and home health care. The Office of Health Education provides additional opportunities for practical experience in preventive medicine and behavioral aspects of the field. Priority has been given to campaigns on smoking, exercise, and diet/nutrition. Residents can also be involved with staff in the planning, development, and implementation of multimedia education efforts in a variety of settings: community, schools, worksite, clinics, and in-service. The department incorporates mass media in its public information campaigns, and residents are oriented to working with the press and electronic media. SCDHS Staff working in the area of public health preparedness are able to provide experiences in disaster and public health hazard planning for residents.
Residency Program Rotation: Multi State Quality Improvement Organization (IPRO)
IPRO is one of the largest independent quality improvement organizations in the United States, with more than 30 years of continuous quality assessment and improvement experience on behalf of national and state clients, including review activities for the Medicare and Medicaid programs, unions, and health maintenance organizations. All of IPRO’s projects are based in the health care field, with major emphasis directed toward improvement activities for the Medicare and Medicaid programs. IPRO also works under separate contracts with other divisions of the State government, such as the Office of Mental Health and the AIDS Institute. IPRO examines the patterns of care provided to Medicare and Medicaid patients in New York and the outcomes of that care. This is accomplished through the use of the large databases of the Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as other databases. IPRO collaborates with healthcare providers in all settings in a joint effort to help improve the quality of care. This site affords residents instruction and experience in epidemiology and biostatistics, involving analysis of large sets of data; Federal, State, and local medical care policies and regulations; and essential skills, such as communication, leadership, and computer use. While at IPRO a resident has the opportunity to participate in broad improvement activities involving projects that utilize Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance claims data to examine both the processes and the outcomes of medical care, including the identification of health disparities.
Residency Program Rotation: Occupational Medicine Clinic at Brookhaven National Laboratory
The Occupational Medicine Clinic is a component of the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), a federally-funded multi-purpose research facility located in Upton, NY, and operated by Brookhaven Science Associates for the United States Department of Energy. The Occupational Medicine Clinic provides a complete range of occupational health services to the employees of Brookhaven National Laboratory. The Manager of the Clinic reports to the Manager of Human Resources and Occupational Medicine, who in turn reports to the Director of the Laboratory. During this BNL rotation residents will have the opportunity to understand in detail how an in-house comprehensive occupational health program serves a working population, and to apply public health and preventive medicine principles towards further improving and enhancing this program for the betterment of the health and safety of workers. Towards this end, the resident will help to design and implement medical surveillance and on-site wellness programs, as well as performing medical surveillance and wellness/screening exams on individual workers, and counseling the workers on prevention and on improving their health. The resident will learn how to design, manage, and query computerized systems to obtain population health indicators that inform screening and prevention programs. The resident will also identify and deal with ethical issues inherent in the practice of occupational medicine in balancing the needs of the employee and the employer. The resident will learn the importance of an adequate occupational history, and will also observe first-hand the work being performed on site, associated hazards, and how these hazards are monitored and mitigated. The resident will work in a multidisciplinary team of health and safety professionals in monitoring and mitigating occupational hazards and exposures, and in managing occupational conditions, including illnesses and injuries, with the goal of preventing disability and returning an ill or injured worker to back to work and to an optimal state health.