New York University today announced that it is creating a new, three-year medical school on the NYU Winthrop Hospital campus in Mineola, Long Island. NYU Long Island School of Medicine will have a curricular focus on training and producing primary care physicians. Additionally, full-tuition scholarships will be offered to all students in its MD degree program regardless of merit or financial need.

The new program received preliminary accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME®), the accrediting body for educational programs at schools of medicine in the United States and Canada on February 12, 2019. The approval denotes confidence in NYU’s plans for the proposed medical school, and paves the way for recruiting the first class of students for July 2019.

Final approval from the New York State Education Department is still pending and is expected later this spring.

NYU Long Island School of Medicine will serve as NYU’s second medical school and will be the only accelerated three-year MD program focused on primary care, including internal and community medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN and surgery and offering students a conditional acceptance to an NYU Winthrop residency slot through the National Resident Matching Program (NMRP) upon matriculation. Students will be selected at the time of their application and interview based upon their commitment to training and practicing as primary care clinicians in the New York metro area.

“What distinguishes NYU is its capacity for boldness and innovation. This new medical school is emblematic of that. 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,” said Andrew Hamilton, President of New York University. “The launch of this program adds not just breadth but real strength to our healthcare enterprise. NYU-trained physicians are among the world’s most highly respected; this new cohort will expand the good that can be done by our medical graduates.”

The proposed 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.

“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,” said Steven Shelov, MD, founding dean of the NYU Long Island School of Medicine. “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.”

Prior to accepting the position as Founding Dean, Dr. Shelov served as associate dean of the Medical Student Education Program for NYU Winthrop Hospital Regional campus for Stony Brook Medicine. Over his career as an academic leader and educator, Dr. Shelov has served as Chair of pediatrics at Maimonides and two other New York Metro hospitals. He is the recipient of the lifetime achievement award in Education from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the George Armstrong Award from the Academic Pediatric Association.

Robert I. Grossman, MD, the Saul J. Farber Dean of NYU School of Medicine and CEO of NYU Langone Health, offers his enthusiastic support. “There is no medical school in New York State, or the tri-state region, exclusively devoted to training primary care physicians as well as health service delivery. Moreover, the proposed NYU Long Island School of Medicine would be unique in the region in offering a three-year pathway to the MD degree facilitating earlier entry to clinical practice.”

About the LCME

The LCME accredits complete and independent medical education programs, leading to the MD degree, involving medical students geographically located in the United States or Canada, and with the programs operated by universities or medical schools chartered in the United States or Canada. The accreditation process requires a medical education program to provide assurances that its graduates exhibit general professional competencies appropriate for entry into the next stages of training, and to serve as a foundation for lifelong learning and proficient medical care. NYULISOM is still awaiting full approval from NYS Education Department and the Board of Regents, but has preliminary approval to begin soliciting applications, reviewing and interviewing candidates. Full approval from NYS is expected in March 2019.

About New York University

Founded in 1831, NYU is one of the world’s foremost research universities and is a member of the selective Association of American Universities. NYU has degree-granting university campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai; has eleven other global academic sites, including London, Paris, Florence, Tel Aviv, Buenos Aires, and Accra; and both sends more students to study abroad and educates more international students than any other U.S. college or university. Through its numerous schools and colleges, NYU is a leader in conducting research and providing education in the arts and sciences, engineering, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and performing arts, music and studio arts, public administration, social work, and professional studies, among other areas.

About NYU Winthrop Hospital

Founded in 1896 by a group of local physicians and concerned citizens, Long Island’s first voluntary hospital is a 591-bed university-affiliated medical center and ACS Level 1 Trauma Center offering a full scope of inpatient and outpatient programs and services to address every stage of life. Ever changing and growing with the diverse community it serves, NYU Winthrop Hospital is, in many ways, a unique institution, simultaneously large and small, regional as well as local. NYU Winthrop successfully blends the progressive philosophy, sophistication and advances of a teaching and research institution with a personal approach to patient care – an approach that has become the cornerstone of our organization.

NYU Winthrop Hospital has a long history of educational programs at all levels of the medical education continuum, from undergraduate education to residencies and fellowship, and is actively engaged in current, evidence based medical education. For more information about undergraduate medical education at NYU Long Island School of Medicine, visit https://medli.nyu.edu/.