Our Curriculum
Our LEARN curriculum provides extensive and integrated training in the basic medical sciences and clinical disciplines of medicine. There are three distinct phases in LEARN:
- Phase I – the Foundational Phase – of 18 months;
- Phase II – the Primary Clinical Phase – of 12 months; and
- Phase III – the Advanced Clinical Phase – of 16 months.
“Transition” courses occur at key transitional times in students’ medical training.
Phase I (Foundational Phase) begins with a one-week Transition to Medical and Dental School course, followed by Biomedical Building Blocks (B3), a 24-week course organized into four distinct components – The Body (anatomy); Molecular Foundations of Medicine (biochemistry; cellular biology and physiology; and pharmacologic principles); Pathogens and Host Defense (integrating immunology, inflammation, microbiology and immunologic diseases); and Basic Mechanisms of Disease (integrating histology, general pathology, hematologic and neoplastic diseases, and dermatologic diseases). A 36-week sequence of four systems-based Integrated Pathophysiology courses follows B3: Cardiovascular-Pulmonary-Renal, Mind-Brain-Behavior, Endocrine-Reproductive, and Gastrointestinal-Nutrition. Three longitudinal courses span Phase I: Introduction to Clinical Medicine introduces students to the clinical skills required to examine and integrate clinical information from patient history and physical exam; Themes in Medical Education are week-long units that bridge key content across the curriculum; and Medicine in Contemporary Society introduces students to ethical and social issues in current health care. Phase I provides time during the first summer for research, clinical shadowing, global health studies, etc.
Phase II (Primary Clinical Phase) begins with a two-week Transition to Clinical Care course followed by four 12-week blocks of core clerkships: internal medicine (8 weeks) and primary care medicine (4 weeks); pediatrics (6 weeks) and obstetrics and gynecology (6 weeks); surgery (8 weeks), emergency medicine (2 weeks) and anesthesiology (2 weeks); psychiatry (6 weeks), neurology (4 weeks) and radiology (2 weeks). Beginning with the entering class of 2016, students take USMLE Step 1 after completion of the Phase II clerkships.
Phase III (Advanced Clinical Phase) offers students maximum flexibility to explore areas of interest, prepare for USMLE Step 2 CS and CK, and engage in the residency search process. Students complete a 4-week sub-internship in medicine, pediatrics, surgery, emergency medicine, Ob/Gyn, orthopedics, or urology, a 4-week selective, an individualized 4-week Advanced Clinical Experience, and a 4-week Transition to Residency course. Students also complete a minimum of 24 weeks of electives.
Clinical Training Sites
Primary clinical clerkships are completed at Stony Brook University Hospital, as well as other major teaching affiliates. Other clinical affiliates include Nassau University Medical Center, an acute care facility integrated with a network of ambulatory primary care and specialty sites, and a long-term care facility; the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Northport, a full-service facility; and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, which offers inpatient and outpatient services ranging from primary medical care to specialized surgical procedures.
Academic Requirements
The MD degree is conferred by Stony Brook University upon persons who have met the following requirements: satisfactorily completed all coursework, examinations and mandatory academic exercises; passing scores on USMLE Step 1, Step 2CK, and Step 2CS; passing scores on an end of Phase I OSCE and an end of Phase II Clinical Performance Exam; maintained acceptable academic ethics and professional behavior; paid all tuition, fees and fines in full; and for students who have received loans, completed an exit interview conducted by the Office of Student Affairs. Over the most recent five year period, 87% of students, on average, complete their MD degree in four years.
Special Programs
We offer Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), MD/MPH, MD/MBA MD/MA in Humanities and a Scholarly Concentration Program as special programs within our curriculum.Composition of the MSPE
Evaluative comments from required courses and clerkships are not substantively edited. The final draft of the MSPE is prepared after the student meets with the dean of their choice who will be their MSPE writer. Students are permitted to review the MSPE and correct factual errors, if any. We do not have a formal class ranking system, however students are placed into quartiles based solely on course grades. The first quartile is the highest and represents the top students in a graduating class.
Transcript Compliance
The Renaissance School of Medicine's transcript is in compliance with the "AAMC Guidelines for Medical Schools Regarding Academic Transcripts approved by the AAMC GSA Steering Committee May 2016. All medical students are HIPAA compliant and are required to complete the OSHA training in Infection Control prior to starting their clinical rotations. Students must successfully complete a course in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support prior to the start of Phase II clinical clerkships and again during the Transition to Residency course near the end of Phase III. Students also receive training in the Recognition and Reporting of Child Abuse during their pediatric clerkship that satisfies the New York State Department of Education requirements.