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March 15 Bulletin

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Rationale and Context for Decisions

Every day we have been forced to suspend traditional thought and adjust beyond our imagination for a situation that none of us – across the globe – have experienced before and that is particularly surreal for our community.

The trajectory of this pandemic is very clear. What we know from all our Infectious Disease and epidemiology colleagues, the CDC and DOH is that this will get much worse in the coming months, swamping health systems and challenging the clinical capacity of practicing doctors, as well as infecting providers. We feel that it’s far better to set a healthy buffer of time for NYC and the nation to recover, and give students the ability to restart in a new academic year. We do not plan to let this impact derail the timelines of progression to the next phase of your education or pursuit of residency, and are engaged with our national colleagues who are all experiencing this with us.

Despite the decisions that other schools may be making, we cannot in good conscience continue to operate ISMMS in the way we have all experienced before this crisis hit our community. In addition to minimizing risk for the student body, we are also making decisions on behalf of our dedicated staff, faculty and clinical providers.

Finally, we are not precluding students from staying at Sinai and supporting the Health System and our patients. There will be messages tomorrow about opportunities for students to get involved. We all went into medicine for the very same reasons you describe, and many of us plan to continue coming in every day to do what we can.

MS1 and 2: Online learning for the remainder of the academic year

All Year 1 and 2 coursework will continue online through the rest of the academic year. Our faculty are working double-time to ensure the content delivery and assessment remains rigorous, and to ensure you feel supported through the learning experience. Additionally, Dr. Lauren Linkowski remains committed to supporting your learning, study and preparation for Step 1 and will be in touch ahead of dedicated study and the Step 1 Board Review Course by Elite Medical Prep.

MS3 and 4: Discontinued clerkships and electives for the remainder of the academic year

Effective immediately, all Year 3 and 4 required clinical rotations are cancelled through the rest of the academic year.
The Student Affairs and Curricular Affairs teams are actively engaged in national conversations about the impact that these changes have on your future milestones (i.e. graduation requirements, residency application, MSPE, away rotations) and while we cannot answer these questions today, we remain focused on your best interests and will engage in student input along the way.

Vacating Aron Hall

As some of you are considering leaving Aron Hall, the question of rent has come up from some students. To clarify our approach, now that Year 1 and 2 classes are online and Year 3 and 4 clinical rotations are suspended, students who choose to leave Aron Hall may do so. The question of continuing to pay rent will be addressed in the following way: If you are planning to remove all your belongings from Aron Hall during your absence, you will not be required to continue paying rent. In that event, you will also not be guaranteed return to your current apartment or with your current roommates. If you choose to remove just the belongings that you will need during your absence and plan to return to your apartment with your roommates, you will continue to be charged rent during that absence.

You are encouraged to update your plans by completing the Aron Hall Census Form. If your plans have changed since earlier submission, you can complete a new form and we will defer to the most recently received results.

Accessing Aron Hall

ON BEHALF OF Dennis S. Charney, MD Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai President for Academic Affairs Mount Sinai Health System

As we continue to monitor the growing spread of COVID-19, we will be taking strict measures to support social distancing and to reduce the number of people in our laboratories, offices, residences and buildings

Effective immediately, no non-Aron Hall residents will be allowed on the ground floor of Aron Hall unless they are visiting Student Trainee Mental Health, the Office of Student Affairs or the Office of Disability Services. Medical and Graduate students will be the only individuals allowed to access the gym and only those with a valid Mount Sinai Health System ID will be allowed into the building other than parcel and mail deliveries.

In addition, to reiterate the policy that was announced last week, Aron Hall residents are no longer allowed to receive guests and visitors who do not have a valid ISMMS ID.

Conversion to Telehealth

In light of the quickly evolving situation with COVID-19, and in accordance with the Mount Sinai Health System directive to Clinical Staff, we are converting Student Health to a telemedicine model, effective immediately. Please know that this effort is to maintain our ability to provide the best clinical care for you, while also protecting your overall health and safety along with that of the general public.

So how will this work?

  1. All visits for compliance physicals will be canceled. PPD drives have also been canceled.
  2. Other currently scheduled appointments will be conducted by phone.
  3. To speak with a physician, please call 212-241-6023 during regular business hours (8:30-4:30) and your call will be triaged and routed to one of our student health physicians.
  4. For routine matters such as medication refills, please send us a MyChart message. You may also reach us by email at studenthealth@mssm.edu.

For after hours urgent care, please use promo code COVID19 for free telehealth access:

As the great physician and educator William Osler said, “Listen to your patient; he is telling you the diagnosis.” We will continue to listen to you on the phone, and provide the best care possible. Thank you for your understanding!