New York Medical College (NYMC) Metropolitan Residency Reviews

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Mighty Mouse

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i interviewed there last year and knew by the time i got there i wouldn't include it on my rank list.

my beefs were as follows:
1) the residency curriculum is spread out over 4 hospitals....metropolitan on 1st ave and 97th, one in the bronx, one in harlem, and one in westchester county. the bulk of your time is actually at the one in westchester. there is no good way to get there...there's no train access to that hospital. i asked the assistant program director about it, and he said most of the residents have cars. a car in manhattan on a resident's salaray seemed ridiculous to me

2) i didn't see a single ED resident on my interview. they were all at conference in westchester.

3) i don't recall exactly what it was i asked for...but i remember having a lot of correspondance issues with their coordinator. very nice lady, but wouldn't provide me with basic information i requested.

4) basically, i felt like there were all sorts of red flags about this place. if you're determined to be in manhattan and its your only shot, then go for it. otherwise, i would search elsewhere.

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I felt the program was fine. Not great, but fine. I think its problem is that it's located in NYC, which is a great place to do EM, but there are just so many other programs.

I actually think the 4 sites of Metropolitan are to its advantage, yes its a drag, but these 4 sites see very different patient populations. For example, many Manhattan programs don't see much trauma, but Metropolitan has it at Harlem Hosp. At Westchester County, you see more of an affluent suburb population, Peds, and blunt trauma from highways, all are things you don't see in much in NYC. Lady of Mercy hospital has more elderly, chronic patients, and Metropolitan hospital sees some of everything from its NYC urban population. So I think Metropolitan perhaps provides the most diverse presentations out of all NYC programs.

The residents I talked to were all nice and stated they were happy, one or two were actually very enthusiastic. I've noticed Metropolitan didn't fill in the past, but neither did Mt Sinai, but last year Metropolitan filled and with how competitive EM is now, I think it'll fill this year again. I think it's a good enough program to deserve filling every year and I think it would if there weren't so many other NYC programs surrounding it. Yes it's not one of the best but I think it deinitely offers good training. I noticed that there are actually several attendings in different programs came from metropolitan, including 2 at St. Lukes Roosevelt, which are the director of Research and the associate medical director.
 
I noticed this hasn't been updated in a few years, so I'll bite. I'm one of the residents here at Met right now. What other posters have said is somewhat true, we would have more trouble than others competing with the larger and "fancier" programs because we are a city hospital within the NYC HHC organization and therefore not a private hospital, so not a fancy kind of place. Having said that, Met as far as I've been here has always matched all of its spots while some of these bigger programs have gone unfilled. NYMC / Met is a really solid program with some good selling points.

Yes, we do transfer to four sites with Metropolitan (2nd ave, 97th street, edge of Spanish Harlem) as the main hub. Here, we see a large spanish and african american population, many without insurance and possibly with major medical problems due to not receiving medical care from fear of illegal immigrant status or from not having insurance. We do see some primary care issues which is not new to any ER, but this site also receives some very good pathology and increasingly so as other NYC hospitals close down. We have our own sim lab with plenty of models, and expired equipment from the hospital comes to our sim lab first. We have been asked by other services to help train their residents in certain procedures. Very enthusiastic faculty in simulation education and we have even started doing daily or at least biweekly mock code cases in the ED with nursing staff included. As a resident, you are given increasing responsibility to run the ER and so by the end of training, you can be confident about running an ER yourself.

Harlem hospital - also good for pathology and medical resuscitations, good experience for us in trauma as it is one of the few EDs I've seen where the ER attending is in charge of all trauma and not just airway. The trauma surgery team does come down, but in terms of running it and doing procedures, we do them without any conflict with the trauma team.

Montefiore North in the Bronx - geriatric population, which is also great for medical resuscitations and procedures (central lines for sepsis), even got a couple transvenous pacings here, plenty of intubations.

Westchest Medical Center - this is the fancy private hospital in a rather wealthy area, and is the hub of NYMC. ED here is run by a large democratic group (EMA). As it's a tertiary referral center, you get a lot of "weird" pathology which to them is normal. Very common to see subdurals here, some aortic dissections. cardiac issues go straight to cath lab. We do medicine, trauma surgery, CCU, MICU, PICU here.

Many of us came to this program because we saw the rotations at 4 sites as a strength. In reality, it is a bigger strength than it seems initially. We learn 3 different computer systems and 3 different ways of documentation, very quickly. That means as an attending, you pick up the technological quirks / EMR's at your attending facility very quickly and employers have called us to commend our graduates. It's just one of those things that makes you seem on the ball.

At each site, you interact with many attendings who were all trained from various institutions and you see that while there are some slight differences in the way of thinking, basically everything is standard and you start realizing that it isn't a program that makes a certain doctor good, it's his/her own personality / motivation / efficiency.
 
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I personally also came here because I felt that at this place, if you had an idea and interest in something at any point in your residency, you could follow that up with support, instead of being dictated at. Instead of someone telling you what research project to do, you could say "what about x" idea, and someone would advise on who to contact, what you might do with that idea, etc. There's a lot of opportunity at a facility like this.

Research here has been in a state of flux with different research directors, but now we have a director who is very used to the research world and knows how to get through IRB (the traditional place where we get stuck in research limbo).

Ultrasound is used on a daily basis, and is used at all four sites. Met has 2 sonosites (in the process of being upgraded to GE's), Harlem has 1 sonosite, Monte North has a large Phillips (in the process of getting 3 sonosites I think), and Westchester has 1-2 sonosites. There is one recent fellowship-trained attending who helps with intern orientation and resident ultrasound education, and a couple graduating residents this year are looking to do US fellowships too so this will continue improving.
There've been a bunch of previous residents who've done toxicology fellowships as well.

The NYMC website doesn't say much because every time we want to change something, we have to go through a guy at NYMC. We're trying to figure out how we can have direct access to it so we can put more things up ourselves, but for right now, that's why we don't update things that often. It should be pretty current though.

When people come for interview, sometimes people aren't all that impressed because all they see is the 1960's designed building that's not all aesthetically pleasing and stuff, but people need to look beyond looks at any they interview at and figure out where they will feel comfortable that they will get a good education and clinical background.
 
Just wanted to add a blurb about where our graduates go.

Of this year's seniors, one is going to Yale for a US fellowship, another going to Johns Hopkins for a US fellowship, and another currently interviewing for an international fellowship. A bunch of previous graduates have done tox fellowships, with the most recent one (who is now a Mt. Sinai attending) completing the fellowship at Bellevue. A few of us are interested in international work and one previous graduate is now in Australia.

Otherwise, many of our grads have ended up in community based practices in TX and FL (high paying, tort reform, etc.), or with large democratic groups. Others have stayed in academic settings (sinai, harlem, etc).

Even though we're a smaller program, we find the opportunities we have to match any other program's, with equal ability to achieve whatever personal goals we may have.
 
This is a review sent to me by a SDN user who interviewed there and wishes to remain anonymous. I am posting it verbatim as a service for the SDN community.

NY Metropolitan (NYC)

Pros: Diverse training at 4 different sites (Metropolitan Hospital, Westchester, Harlem, and Montefiore North), no fast track shifts, subsidized housing and parking

Cons: Having to go to 4 different sites in NYC (getting to Westchester is no picnic without a car). ED at Metropolitan was pretty small. Old PD is leaving for medical reasons. The “Sim Lab” was one dummy on a bed in an empty hospital room.

Impression: It’s in NYC, so the pathology will be good. The new PD seemed very enthusiastic but also seemed like he was left scrambling to get things in order when the old PD left. We didn’t see the other 3 hospitals, but Metropolitan is a run-down county hospital.
 
1. NYU - County + Academic. Patient population was major determining factor. Great didactics. I guess only drawbacks would include the extra year (only 4 year program on my list) and the poor ancillary staff at Bellevue. But, training here would be worth the extra work.
2. Emory - Again County + Academic. And, again liked the patient population at Grady - uninsured, underserved. Also, great didactics. Location was also a plus. It's a superb program overall. But, it's not the sort of program that is right for everybody. Some people would be very miserable here. Residents in general are outgoing and enthusiastic. I would recommend rotating or doing a second look before deciding.
3. UNC - Loved the program director and the residents. Community + Academic. Was not as thrilled about living in NC. This program is really well-rounded. Almost anyone would be happy here.
4. NYHQ/Cornell - Community. Very diverse, immigrant population (which is a plus for me). Great schedule and benefits (includes subsidized housing). Dr. Ryan is very friendly and active in resident education. A great group of fun residents. Would be very happy to match here. I guess it ended up not being in top 3 just because it isn't as academic as the ones above.
5. North Shore - Was really impressed with North Shore. Community hospital and population but an academic program. The best benefits ever (really high salary + great housing). I liked the critical care emphasis. Lots of high acuity stuff in the ED. So many fellowships available. The residents are super-friendly, laid-back. This one moved up and down my list alot. But, at the end, what didn't really do it for me is the patient population. Though most people would enjoy working with patients who are neatly dressed and have insurance, not exactly my cup of tea. (Just personal preference.) Like UNC, well-rounded program that almost anyone would be very happy with.
6. Thomas Jefferson - Overall, I liked this program and would be happy if I matched here. New global health fellowship with public health focus is a major plus. They also have a whole building dedicated to simulation, special course on intubation, and other unique opportunities that makes the program stand out from others. I was also impressed that some of the residents volunteered at local, nonprofit clinics (more impressed that they didn't think it was a big deal). Moreover, pretty diverse and some underserved patient population across its many sites (which is a plus for me). BUT, the drawback to this program is having too many sites. Though I prefer more than one site in general, having multiple sites gives diminishing returns after a certain number (I would say 3). Not only that, these many sites are not all that close to one another (one was in Delaware). I think the residents only have to go to Delaware like one month out of the year or less. But, still...
7. Metropolitan/NYMC- New PD at this program is very energetic, enthusiastic. I get the feeling he is the sort of person who would really advocate for his residents and try to get them far as he can. Considering how small the program is (8 per class), many (at least from this year's graduating class) seem to go onto do fellowships - impressive ones at that too. (This was a plus for me... not necessary a plus for everyone.) That said, the interview day in itself seemed very disorganized, which made me concerned. The Metropolitan ED needs to be bigger and better-equipped. Housing is cheap and available but dorm-style. And, again, number of sites is so that cost outweighs the benefits (at least for me).

Did not rank one program that I interviewed at. PM me if you have questions about the above programs.
 
Schedule
ER hours (Metropolitan and Harlem Hospital) are 12 hour shifts: 7am-7pm, 7pm-7am. 1st year (20 shifts), 2nd year (18 shifts), 3rd year (16 shifts).
- Blocked (5 day shifts, 5 night shifts, etc)--it's not 2 nights, 5 days, etc.
- You get 1-2 golden weekends (Saturday and Sunday off).
- Chiefs are good at accommodating requests for certain days off (for weddings, etc).
- You can eventually ask to have more day shifts or night shifts.
ICU/CCU/PICU/Off-service rotations (NYMC westchester campus) also 12 hours, 20 shifts. NO CALLS!!

Curriculum
- 3 years
- Tightly structured with all the essential off service electives.
- 2 weeks of elective time your 3rd year -- able to do an international elective (people have gone to Hati, etc)
- ** NOW it's a 3 hospital system...not 4. The new class won't rotate at Montefiore North, rather, will have more months in Harlem Hospital ***
(1) Metropolitan Hosp (80% of your EM rotations), (2) Harlem Hospital (20% of your EM rotations), (3) NYMC-Westchester Medical Center (EM and off-service rotations--i.e. MICU, PICU, CCU, etc).

Teaching:
- Great blend of trauma (Harlem, Westchester), Community Hospital (Metropolitan), University/Research education (Westchester), etc.
- Didactic sessions are on Wednesday. The PD is very hyper and tries to make the most of boring powerpoints. He has instituted a 15 min switch from topic to topic so your mind doesn't wonder but is constantly engaged.
- Attendings enjoy teaching (except one that is a bit rough on the edges).

Atmosphere:
- Everyone gets along. Equal mix of men and women in the program as well as US med grads and FMGs (mostly US born, studied med school outside the US, did clerkships/internships in US).
- If you are single -- you will love this program. A lot of residents go out on the weekends: parties, drinks, restaurants, etc.
- Attendings are great--some take you out after your shifts for drinks, dinner, breakfast. Some are hilarious -- constantly making you laugh!
- We have our own pad in the hospital that is newly decorated (leather couches, computers, table, etc).

What stands out
(1) 3 hospital system (great blend of university and community hospital education)
(2) Mix of living in the suburbs (with university education at NYMC at Vahalla 3 months in the 1st and 2nd year) and LIVING IN NEW YORK CITY for the rest of the time. Able to enjoy NYC with their outstanding salary
(3) exposure to trauma, stroke center, cardiac center, burn unit, community, etc when rotating at Harlem and Westchester (6 months-1st year, 6 months-2nd year, 2 months-3rd year).
(4) 2 week international medicine opportunity
(5) a PD that constantly advocates and invests in your future.

I ranked it number 1 and would do it again if I was to re-rank.
 
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Does anyone have anything new to add about this program?
 
Thoughts from interview day

The interview day was completely disorganized. The program director couldn’t find the key at first, then breakfast was served late, interviews were not done in an orderly manner, and we didn’t even get any lunch. Dr. Chirurgi was very friendly and he seemed like he cared about the residents, but if he cared so much why wouldn’t he invest in interview day? One of the applicants only interviewed with 2 people and the 3rd attending who was supposed to interview him said “It’s time to go to lunch, you can leave.” I’ve heard from residents and other applicants that the program is great, but I have to seriously question the administration’s leadership if this is the best foot forward they can do. You work at 3 hospitals Westchester, Metropolitan, and Harlem. Metropolitan seems like it’s very small and the diversity of pts seems limited. There’s a lot of drunks, druggies, asthma and diabetics. Inner city stuff without the diversity. Harlem has a lot of penetrating trauma and Westchester is a ritzy Level 1 trauma but it’s 30min away from Metropolitan. You need a car to get to Westchester and it’s $90 to park at Metropolitan for a month and $25 at Westchester. I really don’t want to bring my car if I’m in NYC.
 
Thoughts from interview day

The interview day was completely disorganized. The program director couldn’t find the key at first, then breakfast was served late, interviews were not done in an orderly manner, and we didn’t even get any lunch. Dr. Chirurgi was very friendly and he seemed like he cared about the residents, but if he cared so much why wouldn’t he invest in interview day? One of the applicants only interviewed with 2 people and the 3rd attending who was supposed to interview him said “It’s time to go to lunch, you can leave.” I’ve heard from residents and other applicants that the program is great, but I have to seriously question the administration’s leadership if this is the best foot forward they can do. You work at 3 hospitals Westchester, Metropolitan, and Harlem. Metropolitan seems like it’s very small and the diversity of pts seems limited. There’s a lot of drunks, druggies, asthma and diabetics. Inner city stuff without the diversity. Harlem has a lot of penetrating trauma and Westchester is a ritzy Level 1 trauma but it’s 30min away from Metropolitan. You need a car to get to Westchester and it’s $90 to park at Metropolitan for a month and $25 at Westchester. I really don’t want to bring my car if I’m in NYC.

I guess I'll add my two cents since my experience at the interview was so drastically different. I guess the full disclosure is I am from the westchester area originally, so the idea of spending time at Westchester is awesome to me.

My interview was extremely well organized, though it ran long. We were brought up to the lounge and met by Dr. C. He told us all to get some food (breakfast was there) and relax and get to know each other after some welcoming comments. Residents came in to join us. We knew them all already because there was a nice (boozy) pre-interview dinner the day before. Once they left for their lecture Dr. C came back up and gave us a 30ish minute lecture on everything we needed to know about met. He then told us that we'd be interviewing with him, the asst PD, and a cheif resident. Also pre-warned us that it would take a while. While we waited we were split into two groups. Group I was basically the 6 people who would have an interview in the first 30 minutes and group II was everyone else who wouldnt. Group II had the first tour of the hospital. Interviews did drag on for ages (I was second to last done) but they were fully open that they wanted to talk to people varying amounts and that meant that some ofus would get very long interviews and would sort of slow the process down. But the whole time we waited there we had a steady stream of attendings coming in to introduce themselves and give 5 minute introductions of what their role is in the educational team.

Okay I said itwas extremely well organized. I guess "well organized, with open admission of the flaws" would be better.

As for the hospitals, being from NYC for the last 5 years I can tell you that metropolitan sees a pretty diverse group. They get more than their share of druggies, but it doesn't stop them from having more sick patients than most other hospitals would see. It helps that there is no other real option for ED in the area. Note: Its ironically only a few blocks from Mount Sinai, but as a New Yorker I would *not* want to go to Sinai for an ER visit (once I'm admitted is a different story) because their ER is far secondary (or tertiary) to their direct admissions. I've rode EMS on other student rotations in NYC. The EMS dont go to Sinai unless they can't avoid it given patient acuity, because Sinai isnt really the ED of choice in the area, Met is.

Harlem is your stabby stabby central.

Westchester is the golden nugget of it all. The above poster sort of brushed it off as some glitzy level I hospital. And it is. But it is *THE* highest acuity hospital in America. That ED has the distinction of having both the sickest patients in america and the highest admission rate of any ED in america. It has a 5,000 square mile catchment area, and that's probably under-estimated as significant portions of the capitol region go south to WMC rather than north to Albany. That is an *awesome* ED experience by every residents comments.

The upside is you dont need a car 2/3 of the time. The downside is that you could really use one the other 1/3 of the year.
 
But it is *THE* highest acuity hospital in America. That ED has the distinction of having both the sickest patients in america and the highest admission rate of any ED in america. It has a 5,000 square mile catchment area, and that's probably under-estimated as significant portions of the capitol region go south to WMC rather than north to Albany.

Sources, please? You're a resident - dig it up. I'm not looking, but this sounds specious. So prove it.
 
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