In their first year at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, MSTP trainees are immersed in an integrated curriculum which includes both graduate coursework (biochemistry, cell biology, molecular genetics, and/or other courses) as well as the first year medical school preclerkship curriculum. This first year starts in June with Orientation. During the summer students take the MSTP Physiology course and perform their first lab rotation. Incoming students are assigned a Big Sib, a second year student who can answer questions about life at Einstein and the MSTP curriculum.
To select their first lab rotation, entering students meet with the program director and current students prior to arrival on campus. Virtual meetings with potential rotation mentors are arranged to assist students in choosing their first rotation lab. There are 200+ labs and research groups in 9 degree granting departments available to MSTP trainees. MSTP students can also perform their thesis research in clinical research programs via the PhD in Clinical Investigation run by the Montefiore Einstein Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.
Students do two more lab rotations during the second summer. Rotations give students opportunities to explore the science and culture of labs. The goal is to identify a research mentor who will oversee their PhD thesis research in an environment in which they will flourish and feel stimulated and safe.
During the second year, MSTP trainees complete the medical school organ system courses, prepare for and take the first step of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE Step 1), and complete the Transition to Clerkship course. They then have the option to either do one clinical clerkship or start in the lab. Based on their lab rotations, MSTP trainees select a PhD thesis advisor. Ph.D. mentors must be members of the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Candidates for the MD-PhD degree may pursue thesis research in any of the College's degree granting departments.
Starting in Year 3, MSTP student commence their PhD thesis research. In conjunction with their mentor, students develop their thesis projects and complete any remaining graduate coursework to fit individual needs and research interests. During the next three to four years students pursue the research which constitutes their PhD thesis. Students are expected to publish at least one first author peer-reviewed paper. On average students publish 5.5 papers and 2.5 first author papers. During the PhD phase of the program students may participate in the MSTP Continuity Clinic, an outpatient ambulatory care clinic run by the MSTP at Jacobi Medical Center. This allows students to develop their clinical skills one evening per week. Students also participate in monthly Clinical Pathological Conferences and Career Seminars.
After defending the PhD dissertation, students engage in intensive clinical study. They must complete the required clinical clerkships (medicine, neurology, ob/gyn, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery, and the integration module) and two months of acting-internships (choice of medicine, pediatrics, surgery, Ob/Gyn, or adolescent medicine). Additional clinical electives can be arranged depending on individual student’s interests. Further information is available on the medical school clinical curriculum site. The close proximity of the Weiler and Jacobi hospitals, where many clerkships are performed, to the basic science buildings allows for continued interaction with the research faculty during these final months. MSTP trainees graduate with both PhD and MD degrees, and most continue to pursue careers in academic biomedical research at the finest institutions in the country.
The integration of medical and scientific training and the independent curriculum for the Einstein MSTP is unique. While other schools will push students through the labors of becoming both a doctor and a scientist, they usually do so separately, through a medical school curriculum and a graduate school curriculum. Our training seeks to bridge the gap between medicine and science to integrate the educational experience and maximize the impact on career development.