News Byte: Fox 5 New York Features NYITCOM in Early Medical School Graduation Story

Pictured from left to right: NYITCOM Dean Jerry Balentine and NYITCOM students Max Cohen and Karen Dermer. Photo credit: NYITCOM.

On April 1, an NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) administrator and two medical students were featured in a Fox 5 New York segment on medical schools that will allow eligible students to graduate early and join the healthcare workforce nearly two and a half months early to help fight COVID-19. 

In the interview, Jerry Balentine, D.O., dean of NYITCOM and vice president for health sciences and medical affairs, noted that NYITCOM is planning to permit eligible students to graduate early in support of Governor Cuomo’s Emergency Orders. This would allow students to enter a local hospital in a position similar to a first-year resident.

He was also joined by fourth-year medical students Max Cohen, who matched in pediatrics at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital (Westchester Medical Center), and Karen Dermer, who matched in pediatrics at Stony Brook Children's Hospital. Both students shared their eagerness to graduate early and provide much-needed assistance amidst the current healthcare crisis.

“There is a danger, but we also feel like we need to give back to all those doctors and nurses that we worked with [during our training] and offer whatever help we can,” said Dermer.

Similar coverage, featuring an interview with Dermer, appeared in a social media news story by NowThisNews.

NYITCOM is currently evaluating all members of the class of 2020 to determine who has fulfilled the necessary requirements and can graduate in April.