A tuition-free medical school focused on training primary care doctors has received approval to open at NYU Winthrop Hospital in Mineola.
New York University announced Tuesday that the three-year medical school plans to bring in its first recruiting class of students this July and focus on training primary care physicians.
“What distinguishes NYU is its capacity for boldness and innovation,” NYU President Andrew Hamilton said in a statement. “This new medical school is emblematic of that.”
The program will offer full-tuition scholarships to all students in its MD degree program regardless of merit or financial need.
“By offering an exceptional educational experience, it will enable us to develop a new generation of medical leaders in primary care, an area of medicine where there is a pressing need,” Hamilton added.
An April 2018 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges detailed how the nation could see a shortage of up to 120,000 physicians by 2030, which would have a widespread impact on patient care.
The new school will join Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Hofstra’s Zucker School of Medicine and New York Institute of Technology’s College of Osteopathic Medicine as the only medical schools on Long Island.
The program received preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the nation’s accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine Feb. 12. Final approval from the state Education Department is pending but expected later this spring.
In December, the proposed school was awarded $1 million in state aid as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s annual Regional Economic Development Council competition, which awarded a total of $68.3 million to 103 projects on Long Island.
NYU Long Island School of Medicine will serve as NYU’s second medical school and will be an accelerated three-year MD program focused on primary care.
“There is a growing trend towards a flexible, accelerated MD curriculum for students who know early on the area of medicine in which they wish to specialize,” Dr. Steven Shelov, founding Dean of the NYU Long Island School of Medicine, said. “We’ve worked closely with the LCME to develop a comprehensive and rigorous program that meets the needs of today’s students, and we look forward to collaborating further on the next steps in establishing the new medical school.”
The medical school at NYU Winthrop would accept 24 students for its first class in the summer of 2019, with additional slots opening up in subsequent years, eventually accommodating 40 students in each of its three classes, according to the school.
