NYMC > News and Events > Press Room > 2015 Press Archives

New York Medical College Hosts Service Learning Exhibit

“Service learning allows students to become directly involved in serving their community in ways that contribute to their growth as future physicians,”

Date: August 24, 2015
Media Contact:

Jennifer Riekert, M.B.A.
Vice President of Communications
New York Medical College
(914) 594-4552
Jennifer_Riekert@nymc.edu

Ten, Second-Year Medical Students Showcase Community-Focused Products

Valhalla, N.Y., August 24, 2015— New York Medical College (NYMC) today announced plans for their Service Learning Exhibition that will showcase the contributions of 10 second-year medical students to their community. Hosted by NYMC’s Department of Family and Community Medicine, the exhibition will be held on campus on Wednesday, September 2.

Service learning is a structured learning experience that combines community service with preparation and reflection. As part of this effort, each student is required to create a product that serves a community agency – a creation NYMC coins as the students’ “deliverables.” Projects that will be presented during the exhibit include:

  • An analysis of sources of referrals to the Westchester County Department of Health’s  Children with Special Needs Department to explore ways to improve services
  • A project to increase the number of women who breastfeed their newborns past six months at the NYMC Hoboken University Medical Centers Family Medicine Residency Program 
  • The effectiveness of teaching middle-schoolers about alcohol, smoking and marijuana abuse at the White Plains Youth Bureau
  • A survey of 30 health coalitions in the local area to assist the Westchester County Department of Health to develop a County Health Coalition
  • A project to improve Human Papilloma Virus vaccination rates at the Neighborhood Health Center of the Hoboken University Medical Center
  • A survey of patients at the Family Medicine Center of the Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Yonkers to improve that clinic’s continuity of care
  • A compilation of school contacts for the American Diabetes Association to assist them in better reaching out to youth

In addition, all 10 students inserted themselves into the interdisciplinary teams they encountered at all six sites of their deliverables, working side-by-side with them in accomplishing the goals of their community.

“Service learning allows students to become directly involved in serving their community in ways that contribute to their growth as future physicians,” said Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., chancellor and CEO. “By putting the service first, the result is paradoxically a richer educational experience.” 

“Once of the things that impacted me the most during my experience was seeing how much of an impact that social issues can have on the overall well-being of a patient,” said Shannon Cain, one of the summer service learning students.

The Service Learning Exhibition runs from 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the BSB lobby and Cooke Auditorium at NYMC, and will be followed by remarks from Dr. Edward Halperin, as well as Senior Associate Deans Gladys Ayala, M.D., and Jennifer Koestler, M.D., from 6:30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.

About New York Medical College
Founded in 1860, NYMC is one of the oldest and largest health sciences universities in the country with more than 1,400 students, 900 residents and clinical fellows, nearly 2,800 faculty members, and 16,000 living alumni. The College, which joined the Touro College and University System in 2011, is located in Westchester County, New York, and offers advanced degrees from the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences, and the School of Health Sciences and Practice. The College manages more than $32.6 million in research and other sponsored programs, notably in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases, kidney disease, the neurosciences, disaster medicine, and vaccine development. With a network of affiliated hospitals that includes large urban medical centers, small suburban clinics and high-tech regional tertiary care facilities, NYMC provides a wide variety of clinical training opportunities throughout the tri-state region for medical students, residents, and other health providers.