Basic Science Tower, SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8651 / 631-444-3219
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK
Medical Scientist (M.D./Ph.D.) Training Program


Structure of the Program:

MSTP Fellows are required to participate actively in research during their entire time at Stony Brook. Minimally, this entails performance during the first summer at Stony Brook (between years I and II of the preclinical medical curriculum) of a full-time research rotation in at least one lab that participates in a SBU Graduate Program (many active laboratories participate in several Graduate Programs). By the time applications to a Graduate Program are made, SBU MSTP Fellows will have performed at least one and perhaps two or more research rotations. On the basis of this experience, most MSTP students will have chosen a thesis advisor (laboratory) and thesis project.

The First Year of Medical School
MSTP Fellows are strongly encouraged to arrive at Stony Brook the summer before medical school matriculation so that they can pursue a research laboratory rotation during this period as well. While not required, we feel that this can assist the student by allowing him or her to have a final lab chosen by the time they enter graduate school in year 3. The first year curriculum consists of basic science courses and introductory courses related to patient care. The basic science courses are Molecules, Genes and Cells; The Body (anatomical sciences and embryology); Neurosciences; Medical Physiology; and Pathology. The other required course is Foundations of Medical Practice, a recent integration of five previously separate courses: Medicine in Contemporary Society (social sciences & humanities in medicine); Introduction to Preventive Medicine; Introduction to Human Behavior; Introduction to Clinical Medicine; and the first segments of Nutrition. The first year Introduction to Clinical Medicine occurs through the year and teaches basic skills in taking a patient history and doing a physical examination.

The Second Year of Medical School
After a course in Microbiology, the second year emphasizes the study of pathophysiology in organ systems. The Systems Approach to Medicine consists of integrated elements of basic and clinical science related to the neuroscience, blood, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, psychiatry, renal, reproductive, and respiratory systems. Pharmacology is synchronized with the system segments. Medicine in Contemporary Society and Introduction to Clinical Medicine continue in the second year. The latter focuses on the patient interview, examination and correlative skills as the student acquires additional knowledge in physiology, pathology, and the natural history of diseases in the systems course. Students take Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) at the end of the second year. Passage of USMLE, Step I, is a requirement for advancement into the clinical years of study.

Graduate school (3-4 years)
- Coursework, teaching, seminars
- Independent research project
- Optional clinical research experience (CRETE)

Re-entry to Medical School
Students can enter back into medical school at almost any time of the year. Approximately 14 months of clinical training are required to graduate; however, most students undertake more than than the minimum to help them decide what career path to follow and / or to increase their compeititveness for highly desirable residency positions. The medical school academic office provides special assistance to the MSTP students to help them set up their clinical schedule and to adjust it if their thesis defense occurs later than initially anticipated.


The Third Year of Medical School
The third year curriculum is patient focused and consists of a twelve week inpatient/outpatient clerkship in medicine, eight week clerkships in surgery and pediatrics; six week clerkships in obstetrics-gynecology and primary care; a four week clerkship in psychiatry and two-week rotations in emergency medicine and radiology or elective month. Medicine in Contemporary Society is part of each of the major clerkships.

The Forth Year of Medical School
During the fourth year, the medical student assumes greater patient care responsibilities and continues to acquire clinical and laboratory skills. The curriculum includes: a one-month subinternship (medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, or general surgery), a one-month didactic course (emergency medicine, laboratory medicine, clinical therapeutics, or surgical anatomy), a one-month neurology clerkship, a one-month experience in the surgical subspecialties, a two week block in primary care psychiatry, and additional elective time to complete a total of 8 1/2 months. There is also a requirement that each student complete either coursework or a project in Medicine in Contemporary Society.

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Last reviewed on May 5, 2006