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COMMUNITY SCREENINGS

THIS

PROGRAM

provides

FREE health education/prevention via

lectures and workshops, health screenings

(cardiac and asthma risk assessment

screening, distant visual acuity testing),

seasonal flu vaccine, prenatal classes,

expectant family education classes,

breastfeeding classes, and chronic

conditions clubs (diabetes, stroke, kidney).

Uninsured patients have access to clinical

breast exam, mammography, cervical and

pelvic exam, and colorectal cancer

screening, prostate screening, as well.

NEWSLETTER

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

1 Announcements

2 Student Clubs

3 Student Life

4 College Initiatives

5 Student Highlights

6 Opportunities

7 Wellness Tip

ANNOUNCEMENT ANNUAL RESEARCH DAY 2015 will take place on April 1, 2015.

The day will consist of a platform session, two poster sessions,

followed by a keynote address, and finally, a dinner for students

and faculty. Dr. Andrew B. Schwartz, PhD, Professor of

Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh, will deliver the

keynote lecture, "Recent Progress toward a High-Performance

Neural Prosthesis" at 4:00pm in the Alumni Auditorium.

Abstracts and applications will be accepted from February 23 to

March 13th, 2015. More information can be found at:

http://www.downstate.edu/grad/ard/research_day.html

Issue No. 1

At the end of the semester, the Class of 2016

PA club also organized a fundraising event for

the White Coat Ceremony. All Class of 2016

students helped construct the candy sleds by

hand.

Student Clubs

(Picture: 2016 PA Club Members)

“We taught the children where

germs are found, and how to wash

their hands! ”

The Class of 2016 PA Club volunteered

at a local school, PS 107, on Wednesday,

December 3rd. This school lacks funding for

after-school activities. They taught children

the importance of hygiene, especially hand

washing. Additionally, they taught the

children about how germs are spread with the

use of glitter and lotion.

PA Students taught the children where germs

are found, and how to wash their hands! The

local school children all took a pledge to wash

their hands while singing a song. The children

also made their own germs through a germ

activity. They did so by gluing pieces

together, naming them, and coloring the

germs in.

PEER MENTOR PROGRAM (For College of Medicine Students) The Office of Student Affairs is launching a Peer Mentor Program. This is a wonderful way to give back to the SUNY-

DMC community by mentoring incoming Medical students! An email will be sent to you in the coming weeks.

Applications will open on March 30, 2015. All interested 2nd and 3rd year students, in good academic standing, are

encouraged to apply. Applications due on April 10, 2015.

What’s New?

At SUNY DMC, students have many

opportunities to meet other

members of the Downstate

community and establish lasting

relationships through diverse

student programming and events.

THE STUDENT CENTER plans various social and

cultural events for the Downstate Community

throughout the year. Whether it’s bringing

students and faculty together for a Talent Show

or providing spaces for students to bond and

socialize, the student center engages students

to increase student-faculty interaction and

build lasting peer friendships.

Super Bowl Party

The Student Center hosted a Super Bowl

Party on February 1st, 2015, and all

Downstate students were invited. The Student

Center main lounge was filled with spirit from

both Patriots and Seahawks fans. Students had

a fun night of food, drinks, and entertainment

with their friends. Three lucky students won

free Downstate T-shirts in the lottery!

2015 Winter Ball

Downstate students dressed up for the Annual

Winter Ball on February 9th. As one the

biggest annual social events at SUNY

Downstate Medical Center, the 2015 Winter

Ball attracted more than 400 students and was

held at the Brooklyn Museum.

Silent Auction

Many members of the Downstate community,

including faculty, staff, and students,

participated in the Silent Auction on

February 6th. People had the opportunity to

outbid one another to bring home their favorite

items.

Student Life

2015 EARTH DAY

In celebration of Earth Day, SUNY Downstate Medical Center will

host our 7th Annual Earth Day event, on April 22, 2015, in the

Atrium. Please join the community to learn about different ways to

save our planet. All students are eligible to enter a men's and

women's bicycle raffle to encourage your own carbon footprint

reduction.

COMMUNITY SCREENINGS PROGRAM

This program provides FREE health education/

prevention via lectures and workshops, health

screenings (cardiac and asthma risk assessment

screening, distant visual acuity testing), seasonal

flu vaccine, prenatal classes, expectant family

education classes, breastfeeding classes, and

chronic conditions clubs (diabetes, stroke,

kidney) at the Brooklyn Borough Hall and the

Bay Ridge Health Fairs. Uninsured patients

have access to a clinical breast exam,

mammography, cervical and pelvic exams, and

colorectal cancer and prostate screening, as

well.

FUNDING for these services is provided by the

College of Medicine, Student Clubs and a State

grant for Cancer Services Programs. The

program represents a collaboration between the

Department of Nursing, Department of

Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, and

the Office of Institutional Advancement.

IN ADDITION, many culturally diverse bright

and talented students from the School of Public

Health, College of Medicine, College of Nursing,

and College of Health Related Professions are

instrumental forces in the community health

team’s effort. The program is under the

supervision of licensed professional health care

providers. The program has reached more than

12,000 people this past year. Volunteers present

in large numbers to provide health screening and

information to the residents of Bay Ridge.

College Initiatives

This program’s objective is to bring the

benefit of classroom knowledge and

training to the community, in an effort to

promote health and disease prevention,

in a culturally diverse, urban and

immigrant setting.

FEATURED STORY: A CREATIVE PATH TO WELLNESS Tania Fils-Aime, Student, Midwifery Education Program

Good communication skills are essential for today’s

healthcare professionals. Speaking one-on-one and addressing

groups are competencies we must develop. When our patients feel

that we are their partners on their journey to wellness, they are more

likely to follow our recommendations.

For my one hour teaching/learning project for the Midwifery

program’s Introduction to Teaching course, I designed and

implemented a session to teach the benefits of the DASH diet, and

alternative food preparation techniques to a group of 8 elderly hypertensive

Haitian women, 60 to 85 years old. They were predominantly creole

speaking, had limited reading and writing skills, and followed a traditional Haitian diet of high salt and

high calories.

We discussed what a healthy diet meant to them and if they were currently changing their diets in

any way to combat their hypertension. None of the women had heard of the DASH diet. I defined it by

providing images illustrating the diet’s main components. We also discussed that, when prepared

healthfully, the diet could decrease blood pressure. I addressed the issue of appropriate portion sizes by

handing out colored pictures of each of the major food groups, along with pictures of plates containing

different amounts of foods.

As rice plays a big role in the Haitian diet, they were presented with a pot of cooked rice and asked

to scoop out what they thought was a half cup serving. They compared their portions with that from a ½-

measuring cup. These women cook by measuring portions with their eyes so this activity was a good segue

into talking about how to use measuring cups and spoons to determine appropriate portion sizes.

In real time, I prepared a healthier version of Salade Russe, a popular Haitian dish. The healthy

ingredients are boiled beets, potatoes and carrots, chopped onions, the unhealthy, copious amount of

mayonnaise and a Maggi Bouillon Cube added for good measure. In the process we brainstormed a list of

different foods that could be substituted for the mayonnaise. I indicated that my choice is vinegar and

extra virgin olive oil.

My assessment tools was a glue stick and pictures of different healthy and unhealthy foods from

which participants were asked to create a collage of a healthy breakfast that illustrated DASH principles.

The session was a success because they were able to define what DASH meant, to comprehend the proper portion

sizes for their age, to apply the components of the DASH diet to create a healthy breakfast, and to distinguish

alternative food choices for modifying their diet and lower their blood pressure.

The participants evaluated the session with a verbal and a hands-on activity. All nine questions

were read out loud. For four questions I recorded their answers, and for the remaining five questions, I

asked them to choose their answers from 5 emoticons (representing fair, good, very good, and excellent)

and glued their choice next to the question.

Student Highlights

FELLOWSHIPS & SCHOLARSHIPS

NATHAN BOUCHER, PA-C, MS, MPA,

CPHQ, Doctoral Candidate in the School of Public

Health, was awarded a two year post-doctoral

fellowship in aging and health services

research at the Durham, N.C. VA Medical

Center/Duke University.

STEPHANIE MYERS, MPH, Doctoral

Candidate in the School of Public Health, was

awarded a $10,000 Pilot Project Grant for

the year 2015 from the Universities

Occupational Safety and Health Education and

Research Center, funded by the National

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH), CDC. The grant is designed to help

her conduct her dissertation research

titled "Association of work stress and

obesity: Analysis of NIOSH Quality of

Work Life survey”.

YUSUF ANWAR, MS3, won the Roothbert

Fund Scholarship in the amount of $3,000 in

Fall 2014. The Roothbert Fund was created in

1958 by Albert and Toni Roothbert to assist

those in need of financial aid to further their

education. The scholarship component of this

program provides grants for students at

accredited colleges or universities. Once a

year, applications for grants are accepted,

finalists are interviewed and 20 recipients are

selected.

PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS

Boucher NA, Guadalupe E, Lara L, Alejandro

M. Health Care and End-of-Life Decisions:

Community Engagement with Adults in

East Harlem. Journal of Community Health

2014; 39(6):1032-1039.doi:10.1007/s10900-

014-9929-4.

Boucher NA , McMillenMA, Gould JS.

Agents for change: non-physician medical

providers and health care quality. Perm

J 2015 Winter; 19(1):90-

93. http://dx.doi.org/10.7812/TPP/14-095.

Boucher NA. Made-to-measure palliative

care: an ethical imperative for growing

cultural plurality in the United

States. Paper at the 8th International

Conference on Ethics in Biology,

Engineering and Medicine, Brooklyn, NY,

April 24-26, 2015.

PUBLICATIONS

MARK DENESHA, a 3rd year Physical

Therapy student, wrote an inspirational

article about exercise that was published in

Tabata Times. Mark is also in the process of

organizing an NY/NJ discussion group on

sports/orthopedic Physical Therapy. Before

he started full time clinic, Mark was involved

in helping to organize and run the bi-weekly

orthopedic journal club hosted by the PT

program at Downstate (with Dr. Farhad Haeri

and Dr. Terri Miller on the PT faculty).

http://www.tabatatimes.com/life-lessons-

exercise/).

Student Highlights

PRIORITIZING SELF-CARE IN ORDER TO COPE WITH STRESS

Are you finding yourself stressed out a lot? Worrying about school, exams, or other life pressures?

Do you find yourself feeling down: unable to motivate yourself or not experiencing much pleasure? Let’s

face it: school is tough! Whether it’s a higher workload than you’ve experienced before or juggling school

and work or family, graduate school can get to the best of us! How do you cope with such difficulties?

Over the years, we in the Student Counseling Service have heard many great coping strategies and we

want to share them! So here’s Wellness Tip #1:

It can be very tempting to forgo sleep, food, exercise and socializing with the rationale that the

extra hour spent studying is more important. Beware! While this may lead to a short-term gain, it is not

sustainable for very long. Think about a time in your life when you felt especially calm and happy. Were

you getting more exercise then? Were you reserving Friday or Saturday nights for socializing? These

activities are not only intrinsically beneficial, but also can lead to

more focused and more productive studying later on. So an hour

spent at the gym is truly an investment in your overall wellbeing!

So try to keep activities in your life that you know make

you feel good or good about yourself. Remember you’ll be at

your best performance if school is NOT your focus 24/7. And

if you find yourself struggling or feel that you could use a little

extra support, the Student Counseling Service is here to help.

Individual counseling appointments are available to all

Downstate students by emailing us at

counseling@downstate.edu.

Wellness Tip:

PROFESSIONAL REFEREED PRESENTATIONS

Presented by Nathan Boucher, PA-C, MS, MPA, CPHQ, Doctoral Candidate in the School of Public Health

Policy Process: Formulating and Implementing a National Agenda in Palliative Care. Panelist

with Mary Beth Morrisey, PhD, MPH, JD, Lene Levy-Storms, PhD, MPH, and Patrician Alt, PhD at

the 142nd Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, New Orleans, LA.

November 18th, 2014.

Big Picture Clinicians: Putting “Public” into Clinical Health Professions Training. 142nd

Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association, New Orleans, LA. November 17th,

2014.

Collaborating to Improve Care in Aging: A Synergy Session. Presentation/workshop with James

McGovern, OT, MS. 42nd Annual Conference of the State Society on Aging of New York, NY,

NY. October 22nd, 2014

“You gotta be heard”: Patient Voices from Spanish Harlem Guiding End-of-Life Care Quality.

National Association for Healthcare Quality 39th Annual Conference, Nashville, TN. September 8th,

2014.

ASK A COUNSELOR! Do you have a question regarding mental health

and wellbeing as a SUNY Downstate student? If

so, this is your opportunity to anonymously get a

response from the Student Counseling Center.

Simply email your question to

counseling@downstate.edu and we will forward it

to the counselors at the Counseling Center. If

appropriate and relevant, the response will be

published in the next Student Affairs Newsletter.

THE 2015 HAZLDEN BETTY FORD

SUMMER INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL

STUDENTS (SIMS) The SIMS program was designed to give Medical

students the opportunity to become a part of the

Betty Ford Center experience for a week. Instead

of participation in a classroom setting, the

students learn by integration into the daily life of

either the patients currently in treatment or the

participants in the family program of the Center.

The scholarship includes airfare up to $500, a

hotel room for 6 nights, and an once-in-a-lifetime

experience of an insider’s view of the world-

renowned Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.

Eligibility: Medical students

Deadline: March 2, 2015

For more information, please go to:

http://www.bettyfordinstitute.org/education/sum

mer-institute-for-medical-students.php

MINORITY MEDICAL STUDENT AWARD

PROGRAM

The Minority Medical Student Award Program

(MMSAP) is structured around an 8- to 12-week

research experience for students from the United

States and Canada in their early years of Medical

school. Each year, up to 10 minority Medical

students enrolled in DO, MD, or MD/PhD

programs are selected to participate.

Eligibility: First or second year of Medical

school, enrolled in a MD, DO, or MD/PhD

Medical school programs

Deadline: March 10, 2015

For more information, please go to:

http://www.hematology.org/Awards/Medical-

Student/383.aspx

AMERICAN VASCULAR ASSOCIATION

STUDENT RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

The Student Research Fellowship, established by

the SVS® Foundation, stimulates laboratory and

clinical vascular research by undergraduate

college students and Medical school students

registered at universities in the United States and

Canada. Each award consists of a $3,000 student

stipend and a two-year complimentary

subscription to the Journal of Vascular Surgery®.

In addition, award recipients will be eligible for

a travel scholarship to attend the 2015 Vascular

Annual Meeting in Chicago, June 17-20, 2015.

During the meeting, recipients will participate in

educational programming designed exclusively

for students and residents and attend a research-

focused luncheon program to discuss their

research project with leaders in the field.

Eligibility: The Medical student must be

sponsored by a Society for Vascular Surgery

(SVS) member.

Deadline: March 2, 2015

For more information, please go to:

http://www.vascularweb.org/about/SVSFoundat

ion/Pages/student-research-fellowship.aspx

Opportunities

HONOR COUNCIL

The Honor Council is Peer-elected committee of Medical

students (4 MS4’s, Four MS3’s, two MS2’s and Two MS1’s)

who promote the principles of the Honor Code and assess

situations in which it is violated. Students who witness or are

aware of an Honor Code violation are encouraged to report

it by submitting an Honor Code Violation Form. All cases

are treated with the utmost of confidentiality and respect.

Cases are assessed by the Honor Council, and

recommendations are then made. The Honor Code Violation

Form is located on the PRIME homepage under “Incident

Reporting & Suggestion Forms”. You can also email

downstatehonorcouncil@gmail.com with any questions or

concerns.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES AND

DIGESTIVE AND KIDNEY DISEASES

NRSA DIVERSITY SUPPLEMENT AWARD

The NIDDK currently provides the opportunity

for well-qualified individuals from

underrepresented minority groups to receive

research training under an existing NIDDK-

funded T32 award, even when all the positions

awarded for the T32 have been filled. To ensure

an appropriate training experience, predoctoral

slots will only be awarded to T32 programs

exclusively supporting predoctoral training; the

same applies to postdoctoral slots. Mixed

programs, (i.e., those supporting both predoctoral

and postdoctoral training) may apply for either.

Deadline: June 15, 2015

Eligibility: Medical students

For more information, please go to:

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/research-

funding/process/apply/about-funding-

mechanisms/t32/t32-diversity/Pages/T32-nrsa-

diversity-supplement-award.aspx

SUMMER EXTERNSHIP IN RADIATION

ONCOLOGY

The Department of Radiation Oncology at

Thomas Jefferson University & Hospitals in

Philadelphia, PA, is offering the annual Simon

Kramer Society Externship in Radiation

Oncology. This externship was established for

the purpose of exposing Medical students to the

discipline of Radiation Oncology and provides

up to two students each year with the opportunity

to spend six weeks in the Department working on

a research project and participating in clinical

and educational activities. Applicant must be a

first year student in good standing in order to be

considered for this externship. The start and end

dates will be determined with the students after

the selection process, but must occur between

June and August. When applying, students

should indicate whether they wish to pursue a

research project in Medical physics, molecular

radiation biology, or clinical radiation oncology.

Eligibility: First-Year Medical Students

Application: Starts in February

For more information, please go to:

http://www.jefferson.edu/university/jmc/depart

ments/radiation_oncology/education/Simon_Kra

mer_Externship.html

JACKSON-STEINDLER ORTHOPAEDIC

CLERKSHIP

The University of Iowa Department of

Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation is accepting

applications for the Jackson-Steindler

Orthopaedic Clerkship. One or two outstanding

Medical students who have successfully

completed the third year of Medical school and

who have an interest in Orthopaedics will be

selected for this award. The awardees will

participate in the clinical services at the

University of Iowa Department of Orthopaedics

and Rehabilitation. The clinical services include

conferences and surgical skills education as well

as have the opportunity to participate in research

conferences.

Eligibility: Medical Students

Deadline: April 1, 2015

For more information, please go

to: http://uiortho.com/index.php/education/ruth-

jackson-steindler-orthopaedic-clerkship.html

CROHN’S & COLITIS FOUNDATION OF

AMERICA STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS

This program offers financial support up to

$2,500 for students to spend time performing

research on topics relevant to Inflammatory

Bowel Disease (IBD) for a minimum of 10 weeks.

CCFA hopes to stimulate research interest in the

areas of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Eligibility: Medical and Graduate students

Deadline: March 15, 2015

See more at: http://www.ccfa.org/science-and-

professionals/research/grants-

fellowships/student-research-awards.html

M3 STUDENT GLOBAL HEALTH

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

(GHLO)

As you plan your MS 4 schedule, you may wish

to consider taking an overseas elective in Spring

2016 through the Association of American

Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) Global Health

Learning Opportunities (GHLO) program.

SUNY Downstate is pleased to participate in this

program, which provides overseas elective

opportunities to senior year medical students. To

learn more about this program, go to:

http://sls.downstate.edu/student_affairs/ghlo/ind

ex.html and www.aamc.org/ghlo. You can sign

up for the GHLO scope quarterly e-newsletter on

the right hand side of the AAMC GHLO web

page.

Eligibility: M3 Students

THE FERDINAND C. VALENTINE

MEDICAL STUDENT RESEARCH GRANTS

IN UROLOGY

Funding will be provided for research projects

lasting between ten (10) and twelve (12) weeks

in the summer of the upcoming year, preferably

between the first and second years of Medical

school, but Medical students in any year of their

education may apply. Students are encouraged to

pursue research projects that extend beyond the

startup period. Students enrolled in combined

MD/PhD programs are not eligible for this

program. Additionally, eligible candidates are

required to be a US citizen, permanent resident

of the US, or authorized to work in the US for the

period of time covered by this proposed award.

Eligibility: Medical students

For more information, please go to:

http://www.nyam.org/grants/valentine-

student.html

AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION SEED

GRANT RESEARCH PROGRAM

The program provides grants to supports Medical

students, physician residents, and fellows in

conducting small research projects. With a

generous contribution from Genentech, Inc., in

2015 the AMA Foundation will be awarding

research grants of up to $2,500 in the areas of

cardiovascular/pulmonary diseases and

pancreatic cancer and $5,000 in the area of

neoplastic diseases.

Eligibility: Medical students, Physician

Residents or Fellows

For more information, please go to:

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/about-

ama/ama-foundation/our-programs/medical-

education/seed-grant-research.page

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR OUR NEXT

ISSUE?

If you have any suggestions or feedback for our next

issue, please email us at studentaffairs@downstate.edu.

We would love to hear from you!

JEFFREY S. PUTMAN, ED.D. VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS & DEAN OF STUDENTS

Jeffrey.Putman@downstate.edu

SOPHIE CHRISTOFOROU, M.S.ED. ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR STUDENT & CURRICULAR AFFAIRS

Sophie.Christoforou@downstate.edu

MADIHA AKHTAR, PHD ASSISTANT DEAN FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS

madiha.akhtar@downstate.edu

HELEN PONCET SENIOR STUDENT AFFAIRS ASSOCIATE

Helen.poncet@downstate.edu

LYNNETTE QUINTERO STAFF ASSISTANT

lynnette.quintero@downstate.edu

HUI (ELAINE) YING GRADUATE ASSISTANT

hui.ying@ downstate.edu

OFFICE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

450 Clarkson Avenue, MSC 85

BSB 1-114

Brooklyn, NY 11203-2098

Phone: (718) 270-2187

Fax: (718) 270-7592

Email: studentaffairs@downstate.edu

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