The agreement will ensure that UMDNJ and NJMS students receive real-world training to better prepare them to be competent and compassionate physicians. The learning program will also enhance Palisades Medical Center's patient care by lending additional support to its highly qualified medical personnel.

"Our affiliation with Palisades Medical Center underscores our commitment to educate our students to meet current and future healthcare needs through patient-centered education," said James R. Gonzalez, MPH, FACHE, Director of Clinical Academic Education at the NJMS. "The program will also focus on our vision to enhance the quality of life for the people of New Jersey."

Within the learning program, selected NJMS students will participate in supervised patient care at Palisades Medical Center by taking medical histories, performing physical examinations, recording differential diagnosis, making recommendations for diagnosis and therapeutic procedures, and making recommendations for care of patients after discharge from the hospital. Professional responsibility for the care and management of all patients will remain with the hospital's Medical Staff.

"The presence of medical students improves the desire for new knowledge in all members of our professional staff by stimulating education, teaching and learning through the provision and the delivery of excellent care in a safe and nurturing environment. It is consistent with the highest standards of practice guidelines while recognizing the intrinsic needs of each patient in a compassionate manner," said Maria E. Bornia, MD, Vice President of Medical Affairs at Palisades Medical Center and director of the learning program.

Palisades Medical Center

Palisades Medical Center is a regional hospital located in North Bergen, NJ, serving a population of 350,000 in Hudson and Southern Bergen Counties. The hospital is a member of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System, and operates the 202-bed Medical Center as well as The Harborage, a 245-bed rehabilitation center and nursing home.

UMDNJ

UMDNJ is the nation's largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,700 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and its only school of public health, on five campuses. Last year, there were more than two million patient visits to UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.