A Teaching Hospital

In addition to educational programs for nurses and doctors, Sinai has created opportunities for a wide variety of medical professionals. One of such programs is a physician assistant surgical residency.

Commitment to Education

Since its inception, education has been a core component of Sinai Hospital’s mission. In particular, historic antisemitism in the medical professions was the impetus for developing Sinai’s postgraduate education programs (residencies), giving aspiring doctors the opportunity to learn their craft. Educational opportunities at Sinai eventually expanded to include programs in nursing, physician assistant, pharmacology, and radiological technology, among others.

Sinai has long been a unique place for doctors to complete their residency programs, being a community hospital that offers comprehensive and state-of-the-art care.

Graduate Medical Programs

After more than 150 years as an independent academic medical center, and despite not having a university affiliation, Sinai grew to be the third largest residency program in the State of Maryland. Graduate medical programs currently include 7 full-time residency programs in Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Other residency programs over the years have included Anesthesiology, Radiology, Pathology, Psychiatry, Dermatology, Urology, and Dental Surgery.

Sinai nurses continued their education even after their initial time at the hospital's school of nursing.

Nursing

Sinai Hospital (then Hebrew Hospital) established a nursing school in 1906, graduating more than 1,600 students until its closure in 1975. However, recognizing the importance of training and retaining a well-educated nursing staff, Sinai Hospital partnered with Church Hospital and Johns Hopkins University Hospital in 1983 to offer nursing degree programs leading to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.). Many of these nurses stayed at Sinai or worked in the Baltimore area.

Dr. Albert Mendeloff served as Sinai's Chief of Medicine for 25 years and held a faculty appointment at Johns Hopkins University.

Faculty

Sinai Hospital has maintained a roster of full-time faculty since the beginning of its residency programs in 1928, eventually exceeding over 100 faculty members. Some of these faculty members have included titans in their respective fields of medicine, such as Dr. Albert Mendeloff, founder of the Division of Gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins University Hospital and former Chief of Sinai’s Department of Medicine, and a vast majority has held faculty appointments at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The first Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology was world-renowned Dr. Alan Guttmacher, who went on to establish Planned Parenthood nationally.

Dr. Arnold Seligman, Chief of Surgery, with his surgical residents. In addition to his teaching duties, Dr. Seligman was world-renowned for his research on the composition of cells, particularly methods for identifying and treating cancers.

Impact

Sinai continues to make a commitment to medical education, drawing applicants from all over the world. Sinai's educational programs provide a unique experience that blends innovative care with a community-based approach. Some of the graduates from Sinai's programs have continued at Sinai as faculty, as staff members, in private practice, and/or practice at various prestigious hospitals in the country, as well as conducting research. Hospital educational programs continue to inspire our staff physicians and faculty to stay current and learn cutting-edge techniques.

Newly-graduated nurses pose for their photograph in 1963.

True to its identity as a teaching hospital, Sinai graduated 9 new radiological technicians from its School of Radiation Technology in 1980.

Luvean Houston, RN (left), instructs nurses in a special refresher course, designed to get inactive nurses back to hospital duty. The nurses in the program underwent 120 hours of intensive training.

Six former Sinai nursing students attended a reunion in 1949. Seated, left, is Director of the School of Nursing Winnie Coxe, RN (Class of 1920), and right is Irene Coleman, RN, Associate Director of the School of Nursing.

Obstetrics/gynecology residents Dr. Juan Rubio and Dr. Richard Bass present Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology Dr. Jerome Harris with a gift, as attending obstetricians Dr. Stanley Goldsmith and Dr. William Korman look on.

For decades Sinai has emphasized heavily its identity as a teaching hospital that focuses intently on its care of the surrounding community.

Sinai joined a consortium with Johns Hopkins Hospital and Church Hospital in 1983 to provide a two-year nursing program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree for students who completed a pre-nursing program.

Beginning in 1951, the Alumnae Association of Sinai Hospital created a "mother" and "daughter" program where current students would live with retired nurse hosts.

Nursing candidates trained at Sinai's nursing school between 1906 and 1975, graduating more than 1,600 students.

Sinai has been a staunch supporter of various pathways toward medical careers, including the education of new licensed practical nurses.

Dr. Albert I. Mendeloff (second from left), Chief of Medicine, with medical house staff.