Overview The Northeast Regional Alliance (NERA) MedPrep Program is a partnership between New Jersey Medical School, Mount Sinai School of Medicine Center for Multicultural and Community Affairs, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Manhattan Staten Island Area Health Education Center.
The Program uniquely builds on the collective expertise of four outstanding institutions to expand health careers preparation for minority and disadvantaged students from junior high school through medical school with the goal of increasing competitiveness for medical school. Ultimately, we expect that our scholars will have the humanism, professionalism and interpersonal skills required of a future physician caring for a diverse population.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM) has prepared physicians since 1968, granting the MD and PhD degrees in Biomedical Science.The School is an affiliate of New York University and is autonomous and self-supporting with its own Board of Trustees.The main campus is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, bordered by East and Central Harlem to the East and North(two predominantly poor, ethnic minority communities),and by Yorkville on the South (one of the nation’s most affluent communities). Together, they provide a broad mix of cultural, socio-economic, and ethnic diversity that makes the educational and health service opportunities at Mount Sinai unique.
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
The College of Physicians and Surgeons is joined with the Presbyterian Hospital division of the New York Presbyterian Hospital, forming the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest and most academically active patient-care, teaching, and biomedical research centers.Presbyterian Hospital merged with New York Hospital in 1997 to form the New York Presbyterian Hospital and its related network of 34 closely affiliated hospitals and health systems throughout the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut region.Columbia has considerable teaching, clinical and research-based programs in additional affiliated hospitals including Harlem Hospital Center, the St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, and Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York,as well as Stamford and St. Vincent’s Hospitals in Connecticut.The affiliated hospitals participate heavily in the education of students as well as the regional care of patients while extending and enriching the College of Physicians and Surgeons faculty.The Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and the Health Sciences campus feature exceptional diversity in all aspects of Medicine.
New Jersey Medical School
In 1970, all health sciences in New Jersey were consolidated into what is now the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).The New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) is one of eight schools that comprise UMDNJ and is located in Newark.NJMS’ historical development has been closely intertwined with that of the City of Newark.It is articulated in a document called “The Newark Agreements” which included the provision of employment opportunities as well as a commitment to the education of underrepresented minorities from the contiguous community.Since then, the NJMS has worked closely with the community to address diversity in medicine and the health needs of Newark’s citizens.This commitment has been translated into programs that provide educational opportunities to members of the Newark community.
Manhattan Staten Island Area Health Education Center
The Manhattan Staten Island Area Health Education Center (MSI AHEC) was incorporated in May, 2004 to address health care disparities through increased workforce diversity, and improve access to health care by providing education services particularly for medically underserved communities. The MSI AHEC is part of both a national program, with centers in 46 states, and a New York statewide system, developed in 1998, with four regions designed to support nine centers throughout the state.
New York’s ninth and newest AHEC is located at the top of Central Park in the Harlem community and serves the counties of New York (Manhattan) and Richmond (Staten Island).
This program was made possible by funding through the Health Career Opportunity program (HCOP) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration..
