Stony Brook University School of Medicine

Academics

4-yearsemimodern.Firstyear:Consistsofbasicscience courses and introductory courses related to patient care. Courses include: molecules, genes, and cells; the body; neurosciences;theorgans;andpathologyplusadditional minor courses. Second year: Continues with the systems approach. It focuses on an integrated presentation of courses in pharmacology and microbiology. Third year: Consists of clerkships in medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, and reproductive medicine, psychiatry, and primary care, as well as a 4-week elective. Incorporated in each clerkship is a segment entitled Medicine in Contemporary Society. Fourth year: The student assumes greater patient-care responsibilities and continues to acquire clinical and laboratory skills. This is attained during a 1-month subinternship in either medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, or general surgery. Another requirement is a 1-month didactic course in emergency medicine, laboratory medicine, or therapeutics. Other requirements are the completion of a 1-month primary care clerkship at one of the school’s affiliated institutions or elsewhere and also 1 month of neurology experience. All students must successfully complete an exercise with standardized patients designed to evaluate clinical competency.The system’s approach to medicine that forms the core of the curriculum has been favorably received by the students. It reduces the amount of lecture time by strengthening the organization of course material, and decreases the burden imposed by competing examinations.