Founded in 1971,[3] RSOM is consistently ranked the top public medical school in New York according to U.S. News & World Report.

[8] This document recommended the creation of a Health Sciences Center and an academic hospital to serve the need of the fastest growing counties in New York at the time, Nassau and Suffolk.

In response to the Muir Report, an objective was set to build an academic medical center to lure established doctors to Long Island and to train new physicians.

In 1968, Pellegrino and Dr. Alfred Knudson, the school's first appointed Professor of Medicine, presented a vision for a "revolutionary approach" towards medical education, including a compressed three year clinical training period, early direct patient contact, and encouragement of specialization.

[11] During the early years of the School of Medicine, the Northport Veteran Affairs Medical Center was used as the primary clinical site.

The donations have helped create 9 academic and research centers, endowed 34 chairs and professorships, and funded $35 million in scholarships and fellowships.

Phase I, which takes place over 18 months, begins with the 24 week "B3" course, which concerns anatomy, the molecular foundations of medicine, and mechanisms of disease.

Phase II, which is 12 months, marks the start of clinical clerkships, including pediatrics and ob-gyn, surgery, anesthesia and emergency medicine; and psychiatry, neurology and radiology.

RSOM also offers dual degree programs in affiliation with other Stony Brook University graduate schools and outside research institutions.

[23] Residents and fellows of RSOM train at 6 sites on Long Island:[24] Additionally, RSOM offers its students international rotations for residents in the Departments of Medicine, OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Anesthesiology and Emergency Medicine at various partner sites, including Chile, China, Ecuador, Japan, Madagascar, Peru, Rwanda and Uganda.

[5] In 2016, RSOM entered into a strategic partnership with the Mount Sinai Health System and the Icahn School of Medicine in Manhattan.

[25] RSOM ranks in the top 10 U.S. medical schools for NIH research funding in several disciplines, including anesthesiology and biomedical engineering.