St. Luke's Roosevelt Anesthesia 2014-2015 Application Cycle

[Grecko88]

Hello everyone,

I am an MS4 who has to submit my rank list in just a few days. I really liked the people at SLR, and it was one of my most enjoyable interview experiences, but I am a little concerned about all of the transitions going on in their program. Between a new PD, Chair, and being purchased by Mt. Sinai, I feel like I could use more info on the program. I have done a few searches on the SLR Anesthesia program, but most of them are outdated. Can anyone give me ANY insight about the program? Is their intern year brutal? Are they regarded well in NYC? Other than regional experience, are they considered a strong program?

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[AnesthesiaBallerina]

Hi,
I did my residency training at SLR. Honestly, for the incoming class the sinai transition shouldn't worry you too much because it's already happened. And by that, I mean the anesthesia departments have completely merged- so not really in a transition phase anymore. By and large, the residency program has the same quality of leadership, focus on resident education, and family-style feeling with some minor tweaks to individual rotations that you probably heard about on interview day. Intern year is totally manageable- very friendly medicine and surgery departments- and comparable to any other new york city intern year in terms of hours. Based on my own experience during residency on rotations at other new york city hospitals, we are regarded as independent and highly competent clinicians. A more objective measure of that might be the board pass rate (100% for written and orals since I started my residency) and consistently impressive fellowship match list (you can always email the PD to ask for that list if you like). I hope this info is helpful. If you are looking for in depth guidance about residency programs I would highly recommend speaking with the anesthesia PD or clerkship director at your home institution- they can probably provide a broader perspective about residency training in general then one of these forums which tend to be biased (as mine certainly may be). What I can tell you based on my own experience however, is that I graduated feeling very confident in my training and skills and totally prepared for fellowship and attending roles. I wish you the best of luck with everything!

 

[NYCgas2015]

Hi. I'm a current CA-3 resident and I thought I could help answer your questions.

In terms of the transition to the new affiliation with Mount Sinai, we've merged at this point and have a new Chair, Dr Rosenblatt, and Program Director Dr Mahoney, whom both are focused on quality of resident training and education. Our regional experiences continue to be very strong, as Dr Rosenblatt is herself a renowned regional anesthesiologist. Didactics are continually improving, and we maintain excellent outside extra rotations for pediatric anesthesia at NYP Columbia, a second month of cardiac anesthesia at Mt Sinai, and a second month thoracic anesthesia at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Residents seem to get a lot of benefit from these outside rotations, and they're only on the other corners of Central Park via subway or shuttle. Residents manage to find their way into any sub-specialty after graduating.

In terms of cases, no one in NYC gets tons of trauma anymore. However we are very well trained and graduating residents are equipped for academia or PP.

The intern year is nice as far as intern years go. Hours range from 55-70 hours a week. 5 months surgery, 5 months IM + 1 month of EM and 1 month of anesthesia. People are overall pretty nice and any nonsense from the outside departments would be dealt with promptly if it happened.

Salary and health care is great. Location and hospital affiliated housing is fantastic.

Current residents are finding great fellowships or jobs, and we do solidly on the In-Training Exam.

I feel very well trained as I will be graduating in a few months. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[Grecko88]

Hi. I'm a current CA-3 resident and I thought I could help answer your questions.

In terms of the transition to the new affiliation with Mount Sinai, we've merged at this point and have a new Chair, Dr Rosenblatt, and Program Director Dr Mahoney, whom both are focused on quality of resident training and education. Our regional experiences continue to be very strong, as Dr Rosenblatt is herself a renowned regional anesthesiologist. Didactics are continually improving, and we maintain excellent outside extra rotations for pediatric anesthesia at NYP Columbia, a second month of cardiac anesthesia at Mt Sinai, and a second month thoracic anesthesia at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Residents seem to get a lot of benefit from these outside rotations, and they're only on the other corners of Central Park via subway or shuttle. Residents manage to find their way into any sub-specialty after graduating.

In terms of cases, no one in NYC gets tons of trauma anymore. However we are very well trained and graduating residents are equipped for academia or PP.

The intern year is nice as far as intern years go. Hours range from 55-70 hours a week. 5 months surgery, 5 months IM + 1 month of EM and 1 month of anesthesia. People are overall pretty nice and any nonsense from the outside departments would be dealt with promptly if it happened.

Salary and health care is great. Location and hospital affiliated housing is fantastic.

Current residents are finding great fellowships or jobs, and we do solidly on the In-Training Exam.

I feel very well trained as I will be graduating in a few months. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank you so much for all of your help! If you don't mind, I have just a few more questions. I am between St. Luke's Roosevelt and NYU as two of my top choices. Other than program size, do you know any striking differences between the two? Lastly, do you have any advice/tips for deciding between them? Thanks again.

 

[NYCgas2015]

As far as I know, NYU doesn't have the outside exposure to other New York City hospitals as SLR does. The residents at St Lukes Roosevelt are able to make real connections with multiple other academic medical centers via these outside rotations. I honestly don't know tons about NYU's program, however the impression I get is that NYU offers solid training as well. Maybe someone from that program could offer some specifics. The location is a bit different as well. In my free time, I value how close I am to Central Park, Midtown, and the Hudson River.

In terms of picking, all else being equal, I would go with wherever you feel as though you're going to best fit, personality and lifestyle-wise. This goes a long way to ensuring success. The current leadership at St Luke's is dedicated to creating a positive resident experience and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. I'm very happy with the current program.

 

[JeffGarrett]

Hello NYC Gas,

I'd love your feedback about housing for residents who choose NOT to live in the subsidized housing across the street? What alternatives have you witnessed for those who want to live with their significant other? How far away do some residents live?

Finally, I'm interested to know what your thoughts on the Pain rotation at St luke's is like for residents and how residents perform match wise when it comes to Pain fellowships?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[AnesthesiaBallerina]

Hi,
I would definitely agree with the above response. All of the manhattan programs provide excellent training. If you go with your gut in terms of your rank list, you really can't wrong. Feeling like you fit in personality-wise goes a long way to feeling happy and successful during your residency. The SLR housing is convenient and very inexpensive for this neighborhood. Significant others are welcome to live with you in the housing and that is the option that most people choose. That being said, some residents choose to commute from various parts of the city. My co-chief, for example, commuted from Brooklyn everyday during our residency (about an hour commute each way). Another classmate of mine lived in midtown east with her husband who was a resident at LIJ (takes about 20-30 minutes by public transportation). If you don't live in the housing then you have to brave the terrifying world of NYC real estate which can be both expensive and frustrating (as well as a very high start up cost in terms of first/last months rent, security deposit, and broker's fees), which is why most residents live in the housing. In terms of the pain rotation- great experience, very procedural, exceptional teaching. In the last couple of years everyone matching into pain (and any other speciality for that matter) has matched into their top choice. For pain that list includes SLR, Cornell, John's Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, UGA, UT Houston, UCSF, and Texas Tech.

Hopefully that helps!

 

[NYCgas2015]

Hello NYC Gas,

I'd love your feedback about housing for residents who choose NOT to live in the subsidized housing across the street? What alternatives have you witnessed for those who want to live with their significant other? How far away do some residents live?

Finally, I'm interested to know what your thoughts on the Pain rotation at St luke's is like for residents and how residents perform match wise when it comes to Pain fellowships?

Thanks,
Jeff

The last reply is pretty much spot on. We not only have had graduating anesthesia residents go into solid pain fellowships, but also great fellowships in pediatric anesthesia, CT, ICU, regional, OB anesthesia, etc. If you put the hard work in, the sky is the limit.

In terms of housing, the hospital housing is a great deal as far as Midtown/Upper West Side real estate goes. As AnesthesiaBallerina said, we've had residents live in Brooklyn or New Jersey, etc. You would then, obviously, need to factor in the cost of car/parking or a subway ride into your cost of living and commute time.

 

[etarip]

Thank you so much for all of your help! If you don't mind, I have just a few more questions. I am between St. Luke's Roosevelt and NYU as two of my top choices. Other than program size, do you know any striking differences between the two? Lastly, do you have any advice/tips for deciding between them? Thanks again.

Warning: This is my first post on this board.

I'm basically stuck between SLR and NYU, though neither is my top. Went into SLR not sure what to expect. Got a great vibe from everyone there, the Chair, PD, residents, etc. People didn't seem too busy. Location was great (though likewise at NYU). I feel like they're going to be an even greater program in a year or two.

I didn't get that from NYU even though I've heard wonderful things. Everyone just seemed tired of the interview season, so I didn't pick up on those wonderful things. Definitely has a great reputation, and from what little I got from the residents they all seemed happy.

 

[anesleep]

Warning: This is my first post on this board.

I'm basically stuck between SLR and NYU, though neither is my top. Went into SLR not sure what to expect. Got a great vibe from everyone there, the Chair, PD, residents, etc. People didn't seem too busy. Location was great (though likewise at NYU). I feel like they're going to be an even greater program in a year or two.

I didn't get that from NYU even though I've heard wonderful things. Everyone just seemed tired of the interview season, so I didn't pick up on those wonderful things. Definitely has a great reputation, and from what little I got from the residents they all seemed happy.

i also got a great vibe from SLU and feel that they will only become better with the current PD and being part of Mount Sinai... and have a similar dilemma!! the residents all seemed very cheerful and their graduates were going into great fellowships. sorry I couldn't be of more help!

any thoughts on how to rank it against USC and Yale? location kind of matters but it alone isn't important enough to make this decision easy for me.