New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
of New York Institute of Technology
Old Westbury, New York 11568
Overview
Founded in 1977, the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine is the osteopathic medical college of the New York Institute of Technology. A multicampus institution of higher learning, NYIT offers varied curricula leading to associate, baccalaureate, and master's degrees in such areas as architecture, fine arts, business, computer science, media, labor relations, and several health-related fields. The Institute and the College offer a combined seven-year B.S./D.O. program.
One hundred percent of NYCOM graduates are accepted into postgraduate internship or residency programs. Of the 252 graduates in the class of 2001, 52 percent are pursuing osteopathic internships (63 percent in NYCOM-college coordinated program). Approximately 60 percent of NYCOM graduates enter primary care.
The Community
NYCOM is located on the scenic 750-acre campus of the New York Institute of Technology some 22 miles east of New York City in the suburban community of Old Westbury on the North Shore of Long Island. The nearby New York metropolitan area is unparalleled in its cultural and recreational offerings. The area is one of the major health-care centers in the country, and it is an excellent resource for NYCOM's medical program. Leading medical practitioners and researchers lecture at the College during the academic year.
The 2001–02 enrollment of the College is 1,098 and includes a first-year class of 260 students. Women constitute 51 percent. The student body is a diverse one with respect to age, ethnicity, and background. NYCOM offers a seven-week Basic Science Summer Program (BSSP) for traditionally underrepresented minorities, who constitute 13 percent of the student body.
Programs of study and degree requirements
New York College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM), the first school of osteopathic medicine in New York State, is dedicated to the predoctoral and postdoctoral education of osteopathic physicians, the fostering of careers in family medicine, and research on human health and disease, with a focus on the roles of the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems. The curriculum emphasizes needs and opportunities in primary health care and community health services, particularly health-care problems of the inner city and smaller communities.
NYCOM's educational goals are pursued during a four-year program leading to the degree of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. Courses in the biomedical sciences are offered at NYCOM, while training in the clinical sciences takes place at NYCOM, its affiliated hospitals, cooperating physicians' offices, and NYCOM-operated health-care centers. In addition, sixteen affiliated hospitals, in association with NYCOM, offer the largest internship program in the osteopathic profession, annually training more than 150 D.O.'s in their first postdoctoral year. Residency programs in family practice, surgery, emergency medicine, internal medicine, radiology, osteopathic manipulative medicine, psychiatry, pediatrics, and dermatology have also been established.
The two-year on-campus portion of the program consists primarily of didactic instruction in the basic sciences and clinical sciences. The curriculum becomes progressively more clinical with the study of the cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, endocrine, renal, hematogenous, and nervous systems, including the biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology of each system. Other courses include community medicine, dermatology, differential diagnosis, emergency medicine, family practice, gerontology, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, radiology, rehabilitation medicine, and surgery. Intensive course work in osteopathic principles and practice is given during the first two years of the program. Continuous clinical rotations in all disciplines, with a program focusing on family practice and preventive health care, constitute the last two years. In 1992 NYCOM introduced a three-year Accelerated Program to Educate Emigre Physicians in Osteopathic Medicine (APEP). Combined D.O./M.B.A. and D.O./M.S. in clinical nutrition programs are also available.
Facilities & Resources
NYCOM is housed in three buildings. The Nelson A. Rockefeller Academic Center contains a multilevel library with an extensive collection of texts, journals, and audiovisual/computer aids; study rooms; and laboratories for student instruction and faculty research. The W. Kenneth Riland Academic Health Care Center houses a family health-care center for research and evaluation in patient care, laboratories for faculty and student research, an anatomy laboratory, group study rooms, a student lounge/exercise room, and an auditorium. The newly completed Hannah and Charles Serota Academic Center contains two amphitheater lecture halls, a clinical laboratory for instruction in osteopathic manipulative medicine, and faculty and administrative offices.
Expenses and Aid
Costs: Tuition for the academic year 2001–02 is $25,500. Fixed expenses in addition to tuition include fees, books, supplies, health insurance, and uniforms; these average $5426 in the first year of study.
Financial Aid: Students can apply for scholarships and loans provided by government and private sources. Aid programs administered by the College require that the student meet three criteria: good standing with the College, satisfactory academic progress, and demonstrated financial need. Need is calculated by subtracting all available resources reported on the Graduate and Professional School Financial Aid Service (GAPSFAS) form from the College-determined student budget. The Financial Aid Office then attempts to meet the remaining need. Institutional guidelines and federal and state regulations determine how aid is administered.
Housing/Living Expenses: Housing is available in the surrounding communities. Estimated living expenses (rent, food, utilities, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses) range from $9075 (ten-month cost for students living with parents) to $16,625 (twelve-month cost for students not living with parents).
How to Apply
NYCOM participates in the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS). Applicants are encouraged to apply online at http://www.aacom.org. Applications must be submitted no later than February 1 of the year in which admission is sought. Selected applicants are invited for a personal interview, at which time a supplemental application must be completed and a $60 fee remitted. Careful consideration is given to applicants' academic records, MCAT scores (required), letters of reference (an osteopathic physician's recommendation is strongly suggested), and extracurricular and health-related activities. Required courses include 8 hours of biology, 8 hours of inorganic chemistry, 8 hours of organic chemistry, 8 hours of physics, and 6 hours of English, with no grade below C. A bachelor's degree and a personal interview are required. Acceptances are issued on a rolling basis. NYCOM provides equal opportunity in admission and student aid, regardless of sex, race, handicap, color, or national or ethnic origin.
Who to Contact
Director of Admissions
New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
of New York Institute of Technology
Old Westbury, New York 11568
Telephone: 516-686-3747
http://www.nyit.edu/nycom
THE FACULTY AND THEIR RESEARCH
The NYCOM faculty numbers approximately 325 full- and part-time members, all of whom possess either the D.O., M.D., or Ph.D. degree. Faculty members include those who teach the basic and clinical sciences in the classroom and at affiliated and cooperating hospitals and those who serve as instructors and role models in an extensive preceptorship program required of all students. Additional faculty members are employed at NYCOM's three Family Health Care Centers.
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
Eileen L. DiGiovanna, Professor of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine; D.O., Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. Evaluation of forces used in osteopathic manipulative techniques.
Dennis J. Dowling, Associate Professor and Chairman of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine; D.O., NYCOM. Determining a viable alternative descriptor system for somatic dysfunction.
Brian H. Hallas, Associate Professor, Chairman, and Cours Director of Neuroscience; Ph.D., Purdue. Investigating the retinal growth in optic nerves, as well as the effect of OMM on arthritis.
John Hunter, Assistant Professor of Anatomy; Ph.D., Brown. Trends in the molar crown types in mammals.
Christine Hutak, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology; Ph.D., St. John's (New York). Growth patter of SIRC rabbit corneal cells in microwell inserts.
Marie E. Kavanagh, Associate Professor of Pathology; M.D., Faculté de Medecine d'Haiti. Histology changes in the cornea of SIRC rabbits.
Chellappa Kumar, Assistant Professor and Course Director of Biochemistry; Ph.D., Indian Institute of Technology. Enzymology of oxygen, spectroscopy and structure of metalloproteins, noninvasive methods of monitoring organ function and pathology.
Claudia McCarty, Assistant Professor of Osteopathic Medicine; D.O., NYCOM. Osteopathic manipulation therapy in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Charles Pavia, Associate Professor and Course Director of Microbiology; Ph.D., North Carolina. The root cause of Lyme disease.
Daniel Peruzzi, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience; Ph.D., Vermont. Neuroanatomical and neurophysiological research in the central nervous system.
Thomas A. Scandalis, Associate Professor and Course Director of Family Practice; D.O., NYCOM. The effects of osteopathic manipulative therapy on the range of motion in the arthritic knee.
Troy Schmanke, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience and Histology; Ph.D., Texas Christian. Sensorimotor recovery of function after cortial damage.
Donna Dixon, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry; Ph.D., NYU. The effects of dietary isoflavones and herbal remedies on breast cancer.
Nikos Solounias, Associate Professor and Chairman of Anatomy; Ph.D., Colorado. The study of fossil horses to address how the diets of all these species changed through time, as well as how it affected the modern horse's diet and its evolution.
Larry R. Stepp, Assistant Professor of Physiology; Ph.D., Vanderbilt. Physiological mechanisms for the regulation of enzymatic activity.
David Strait, Assistant Professor of Anatomy; Ph.D., SUNY at Stony Brook. Evolutionary history of early hominids, cranial functional morphology.
John Strauss, Assistant Professor of Physiology; Ph.D., Cincinnati. The study of smooth muscle of the vasculature, which controls the function of the blood vessel and how it relates to diseases of the heart.
Michael Wells, Associate Professor of Neuroscience; Ph.D., Florida. Rehabilitation of patients with Parkinson's disease.
David Yens, Associate Professor and Director of Educational Development Resource Unit; Ph.D., Penn State. Efficacy of education technologies, especially for undergraduate and graduate medical education.
Steven Youmans, Assistant Professor of Physiology; Ph.D., Indiana. How changes in potassium may bring about changes in sodium handling and how the mechanism that connects the two can be used for a rational approach for dietary refinement or therapeutic intervention for blood pressure.
Han-Gang Yu, Assistant Professor of Physiology; Ph.D., SUNY at Stony Brook. Molecular basis for the voltage dependence of the cardiac pacemaker current.