In  the last six weeks of MCS 2, you will participate in a self-contained  mini-course, called a selective, usually consisting of six two-hour classes in the  regular MCS 2 slot. The goal of the  selective is to give you the opportunity for more intensive exploration of a  topic which especially interests you. Please read the descriptions  carefully.  Check your e-mail for a memo asking you to choose which ones you wish to take.  (In most cases, you will be assigned your first choice.)

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Descriptions of MCS 2  Selectives

1. Implications of Antenatal Testing
2. History of Medicine
3. Literature and Medicine: Becoming a Better Doctor through Poetry
4. Core Concepts in Geriatrics
5. Holding on and Letting Go: Making End of Life Decisions in Jewish Law
6. Parenting and Professionalism
7. Hospice as Palliative Care
8. Spirituality and Health Care
9. Decision Making in Critical Care Medicine
10. Quality and Safety in Medicine
11. HSC 500

Upon completion of this course, the student will have a basic knowledge of common antenatal screening tests offered to prenatal patients and will develop and defend an opinion on the psychological, economic and ethical impact these have on patients, care providers and society. Christina Kocis CNM, MS Read the syllabus.

NB Check syllabus carefully. Some classes meet slightly outside the MSC time frame.

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History of Medicine

This course is intended to enrich students' training as doctors by familiarizing them with several broad themes in US medical history. These themes will place medicine in its wider social, cultural, political, and economic context so that we may better understand the significance of health care in Americans’ everyday lives. Instructor: Jonathan Anzalone. Read the syllabus.

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SHORT CATALOG DESCRIPTION:
“It is difficult to get the news from poems
yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there.”
-- William Carlos Williams (1883-1963)

This selective has a very simple primary goal: to read and discuss, perhaps write some good poems. You will be given ten poems, two per class meeting. Each poem will be related to health, illness, health care, grief, or dying. Maria A. Basile, M.D. is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Dept of Surgery at Stony Brook. She is a colorectal surgeon and attending physician at John T. Mather Memorial Hospital and St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson. Read the syllabus.

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Long Island Geriatric Education Center will be offering a new selective as part of the MCS 2 course. The selective will cover core topics of significance in the field of geriatrics and gerontology. The curriculum explores physiologic and psychological aspects of aging as well as medical-legal topics. The course also focuses on practical aspects of caring for older people, such as communication and sensory loss, comprehensive assessment tools, community resources, systems of care, and functioning as part of an interdisciplinary team.

This course is open to students in the following disciplines: medicine, dental medicine, nursing, school of health technology and management (physician assistant, physical therapy and occupational therapy) and social work.

Drs. Suzanne Fields, Peter Kuemmel, and Lisa Strano-Paul. Read the syllabus.

NB This course meets in a slightly different time frame (3 to 5 PM). This is also not a small group class, it is joint with other HSC students. Please be sure you are available before you sign up for this course. Check the syllabus for details.

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This selective will explore critical end-of-life medical issues in the context of both contemporary bioethics and Jewish law. We will explore principles such as autonomy in the light of American jurisprudence and Jewish law and also deal with the spiritual and religious understanding of death and suffering in the light of current medical advances. Instructor: Rabbi Zev Shostack. Read the syllabus.

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This selective was adapted from a similar course created by faculty members of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry division of the New Jersey Medical School in Newark. The purpose of this selective is to increase student awareness of the many factors that may influence current and future decisions regarding career path and family planning. The ultimate goal is to allow students to make informed decisions regarding specialty choice, and to ease concerns regarding the ability to balance the demands of their personal and professional lives. Instructor / Mentors Karen Naar MS3 and Jennifer Ripton, MD Read the syllabus.

This selective will present the role of hospice in the terminal care of the dying.  The hospice philosophy, our own death awareness, the  interdisciplinary team approach and many significant issues the physician faces as the patient/family enters this period of crisis will be presented.  Experiential explorations will be used in conjunction with  text and lecture. Kathy van Steen, Hospice Patient Care Volunteer. Read the syllabus  

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Illness is a physical, psychological, and spiritual crisis.  It holds for patients both danger and opportunity.  A growing body of literature suggests that illness is a powerful spiritual experience for both patients and theri physicians and that both physicians and patients can experience spiritual growth in the partnership of healing.  This selective will address some of the most important questions in spirituality and healing:

• How physicians can assess the spiritual resources of their patients.
• What do physicians need to know about theology and spirituality to effectively care for their patients?
• What role does the spirituality of the physician play in the healing of the patient.
• How can physicians deal with the cultural diversity of various religious beliefs and traditions.
• What spiritual skills can physicians use to speak more honestly with patients about death and dying.
• Can physicians help patients to understanding suffering
• Is there spiritual  synergy between the faith of patients and their doctors?  

Read the syllabus.  (Michael A.Vetrano, M.Div., Ph.D.)

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This course will address the following topics in a manner that integrates ethical and legal principles with clinical aspects of critical care medicine:

• Objectives of critical care: how do we judge appropriateness andeffectiveness of interventions?
• Decision making in the ICU: paternalism versus partnership
• How much care is enough? Setting limits
• Withdrawal and withholding of care. Is there a difference ?
• National cost of critical care: Determinants of access.

Thomas O"Riordan MD , Division of Pulmonary and Critical Medicine. Read the syllabus.

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Quality and Safety of Health Care

The goal of this course is to develop an understanding of quality in medical care, and the relationship between patient safety and quality. Future physicians need to understand how quality derives not only from individual excellence, but also from an ever-more-safe health care system. Students who complete the course will have tools to improve quality in their own practices, and be able to understand, promote, and participate in quality-enhancing efforts in their healthcare system.  

• How do we measure quality? Do patients view quality the same way we do?
• Why do medical errors occur and what can be done to minimize injury from these errors?
• Are errors the fault of the individual? What is the role of the healthcare system in patient safety.
• How does Medicine compare to other high risk industries in terms of our safety record?
• How well do we as clinical decision makers?

NB - This course meets at the Norhport VA

Dr. Mark Graber, MD  Read the Syllabus

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The HSC 500 course when taken in first year, fulfills the MCS 2 selective requirement. If you took HSC 500 in first year please register and select HSC 500 for all three choices. 

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