St. Luke's Roosevelt

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troutangler

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I was just curious what everyone's thoughts are about this program. I interviewed there and it seemed like a great place to train. Great location, premier regional, strong didactics, great variety of cases, etc. Makes me wonder why it isn't a more recognized and sought after program. Any thoughts? Thanks.

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Workhorse program but you can probably say that for all NYC programs. Great housing but little time to appreciate it. I interviewed there quite a few moons ago and a graduating CA3 that I know from high school pulled me aside and told me not to come there. I still ranked them in my top 5 as the location, housing and association with Columbia are strong enough reasons to endure just about any torture they could inflict on me for 3 years.
 
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Workhorse program but you can probably say that for all NYC programs. Great housing but little time to appreciate it. I interviewed there quite a few moons ago and a graduating CA3 that I know from high school pulled me aside and told me not to come there. I still ranked them in my top 5 as the location, housing and association with Columbia are strong enough reasons to endure just about any torture they could inflict on me for 3 years.

This is their old rep but they've apparently changed significantly since Santos took over. More CRNAs hired, much better hours etc. They almost went out of their way during interview day to shoot down the old (but def true) stereotype of how the program used to be
 
I was wondering the same thing. Read quite a few mixed reviews. Would love to hear from a current resident on the changes. While on the interview i remember PD emphasizig change, but cant recall any specifics mentioned. One quote that sticks out in my head concerning the workhorse question was rrom a resident..."yeah we work hard, but its not as bad as other nyc programs". Not sure how to interpret. Either way i agree with the op, they all seemed like great people to work with.
 
I was wondering the same thing. Read quite a few mixed reviews. Would love to hear from a current resident on the changes. While on the interview i remember PD emphasizig change, but cant recall any specifics mentioned. One quote that sticks out in my head concerning the workhorse question was rrom a resident..."yeah we work hard, but its not as bad as other nyc programs". Not sure how to interpret. Either way i agree with the op, they all seemed like great people to work with.

I know rumors will never die even if I say something now but I can say without reservation that the hours at SLR are the best in the city. No question. I know b/c I've shared notes with other anesthesia residents in the city. And for the most part anesthesia residency nationwide is no where near as hour intensive as other specialties so I don't see what you guys are so anxious about. Anesthesia residency will never be as bad as even the easiest surgical or medicine residency.

Those evaluations are from nearly a decade ago. We've had a new chairman for several years now, a whole bunch of CRNA's and a lot of other changes.

Typically 50 hours a week. Sometimes 60. In the ICU where you are Q3 it can approach 80... but thats the ICU for you, and its only two months out of your residency.

We've got a strong program here, we are not name branded and that makes applicants jittery I know and honestly in terms of prestige we can't compete with the likes of Columbia, and Sinai, but we don't try to. We come to work, enjoy learning from our attendings and patients, our didactics are strong, but most importantly our chair and our PD know us all very well and they care about us and are willing to pick up the phone to get us a fellowship or a job.

Good luck with the match.
 
It is debatable if SLR was once a "workhorse" program 5-6 years ago (some of the attendings who were residents back then say that while the residents did used to work longer hours, they were rarely close to 80hrs per week)

One thing is for sure: this reputation is definitely NOT TRUE of the current situation.

I am usually in hospital 40-50hrs per week. In the last year, I have only had to stay past 8pm 2 times when I was not on call. Vacation scheduling is easy, and the "number system" is more than fair. Residents usually take call q6 or q7. Some rotations have less time commitments and allow for ample "play/study" time (PACU etc) while some are a pain in the ass (ICU).

But, I think that what is more important than the low work hours are the fact that the Attendings, Program Director, and even Chairman are all driven towards making sure that the residents are not over worked and have time to read. Also, they are very relaxed and fun to hang out with.

I have friends in other Anesthesia programs who constantly complain.... It is very hard to find a current resident here who is dissatisfied with our program.
 
Any updates here? I'm trying to find some more info on the program. I'm still an M2 getting ready for step 1, but I've had my eye on SLR for a long time. I used to work around the corner in another life, and would love to start my career there.

It's nice to get a perspective from people actually in the program. I'm assuming its competitive...
 
I was just curious what everyone's thoughts are about this program. I interviewed there and it seemed like a great place to train. Great location, premier regional, strong didactics, great variety of cases, etc. Makes me wonder why it isn't a more recognized and sought after program. Any thoughts? Thanks.

I am currently a resident there. Your assessment is correct. It is a great environment to train, the staff is excellent, location in midtown Manhattan and currently, we have been changed to Mount Sinai, so now we have a name. I would highly recommend it if you are looking for a well balanced program.
 
does anyone know what this new affiliation with Mt. Sinai will mean for the anesthesiology residency program at SLR? Smiley, when you say "so now we have a name", what does that actually mean in terms of changes to your program after the merger?
 
Has anyone else heard of rumors that the current PD is stepping down?
 
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How big of a loss would that be to the program? because he seemed like a strong advocate for the residents, plus a big contributor to their regional program.
 
Not sure. I liked his presentation a LOT. He is a big regional guy but one of the guys that wrote the book on regional, Hadzic, would still be there. I guess it ultimately depends on who takes over.
 
My concern too...PD seemed like a cool guy based on the presentation...the chair is the guy that ushered in most of the changes that make this program attractive, so I wouldn't imagine this place doing a 180 because Gadsen left...well I hope not
 
I never imagined people took the PD that much into consideration. My experience is that there is a high turnover for that job.
 
I never imagined people took the PD that much into consideration. My experience is that there is a high turnover for that job.

This guy was one of the nicest PD I met on my interview trail. He is a huge resident advocate and great to work with. It would be hard to replace him.
But back to the original concern, is he really leaving?
 
In my experience, the quality of the PD strongly influences your residency experience. There seems to be a lot of uncertainty regarding the future of this program, has me a bit concern personally. This may be more than just a rumor unfortunately
 
Does the Mt. Sinai PD remind you of Chris Traeger from Parks and Recreation? I was waiting for him to say "Literally" in his presentation.
 
bumping this as rank lists are due Wed...i have heard both the chair and PD are stepping down and the regional fellow has to relocate next year, is all this true and how is this going to affect the quality of the program?
 
Yea u guys ranking st Luke's Roosevelt should definitely know the scoop. One of the residents recently told me that the program director is definitely leaving in a few months and Hadzic the famous regional guy there is also definitely leaving. This is confirmed by the fact that there will be no regional fellowship there next year. Since the Sinai merger seems like there is a lot of uncertainty, more than they are leading on. Plus it seems to be pretty clear that the program either shut down or merge with Sinai within the next few years though they keep denying it. I would high recommend not ranking them, I know I won't be.
 
lol I really hope this is some ploy to get ppl to change their rank lists

i think there is more truth to this than not. i also heard something similar from another pretty reliable source. it sucks that the program is trying to hid this from us.
 
Timing of all these negative comments makes me curious....
 
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i think there is more truth to this than not. i also heard something similar from another pretty reliable source. it sucks that the program is trying to hid this from us.
Asked one of the residents if there were any rumblings about this and they flat out denied any personnel changes. I don't know how much residents know though
 
Asked one of the residents if there were any rumblings about this and they flat out denied any personnel changes. I don't know how much residents know though
Resident told me: the regional fellowship will be gone for sure and because of this there is a high probability the PD Will leave too, since he's regional
 
Resident told me: the regional fellowship will be gone for sure and because of this there is a high probability the PD Will leave too, since he's regional
Why are you speaking to residents as a pre-med?
 
Why no regional fellowship next year? This to me is already a red flag as it was pretty much the biggest (only?) strength of the program as the home of NYSORA...
 
heard this is all true… not sure what it means for the program though...
 
This sucks if it is true. They were talking up the regional anesthesia BIG time during the interview. I would hate to be duped
 
This sucks if it is true. They were talking up the regional anesthesia BIG time during the interview. I would hate to be duped
Chair was pretty cool too...if he stays then it shouldn't be all bad for the program (I would hope)
 
Hi- I'm a current resident at SLR. Our chairman Dr Santos just returned from traveling and he and Dr Gadsden addressed these rumors with us this morning. Here's what's happening:
1. For family/geography reasons our current PD has accepted a position down south and is moving at the end of June.
2. Dr Santos, our chairman, is not going anywhere. He will remain the leader of our department.
3. The regional fellowship is not being shut down. There will however be a transition period next year due to some rearranging of staff- both anesthesia and Ortho in terms of RH/SL so the CA3 who was going to stay on as the fellow has decided to accept a fellowship position elsewhere. The fellowship will resume next year after the transition.
4. Dr Hadzic is not leaving but also for family reasons may be spending more time abroad next year. This whole situation is up in the air. we have a lot of very experienced regionalists so frankly, this will not affect resident education.
5. Dr santos is actively interviewing candidates for the PD position with the goal of keeping the tone and goals of our program the same- focus on progressive resident education and maximizing opportunities for clinical and academic growth. The tone of our residency is very much set by the chairman and as he is not going anywhere we are confident in a smooth PD transition.

After the meeting this morning I personally feel confident with the direction of the program and leadership. As a CA3, and having interviewed with the previous PD and then having Dr Gadsden take over during my residency, I can tell you that a PD change is really not a big deal. In terms of the Sinai merger there is nothing new to report. The residencies will remain separate, our salaries and benefits are staying the same, as is the housing.

Hope this was helpful to you guys. Good luck with the match and your residencies!
 
Timing of all these negative comments makes me curious....

Well people are more likely to be interested in residency programs after interviews are over and when match day is coming up. Just like how there will be more tweets about the winter olympics during the winter.
 
Well people are more likely to be interested in residency programs after interviews are over and when match day is coming up. Just like how there will be more tweets about the winter olympics during the winter.
I was talking about the timing being shortly before ROLs are due
 
i heard most people are changing here most likely d/t mt sinai affiliation and making the hospital more academic. any current residents around?

anesthesia residents respond to trauma? is anesthesia in charge of any icu? job/fellowship prospects graduating from slr?

Thanks!
 
Hi, recently graduated from this program and am now a fellow. In response to the above, I'm not really sure what you mean by 'making the program more academic', maybe you could clarify and I'll try to answer. During my residency, there was always a focus on resident education and participation in clinical research, as there continues to be currently, so I guess I'm just not sure of your meaning. In terms of the merger, a few attendings have decided to leave due to better financial opportunities closer to their homes outside the city but not because of any academic changes. Of those, one was an icu attending. So currently, we have been without an anesthesia icu attending for 6 weeks or so but I'm told someone has been hired for that position and will be starting soon. We also have trauma critical care and pulm critical care attendings that staff the icu as well, so you get a broad perspective of icu management which I thought was beneficial. Anesthesia does not routinely go to all trauma codes (thank goodness!) but we do get paged by the ER if they anticipate needing airway backup.
The new PD started in June and has been very proactive about making the transition smooth, supporting the residents, and maintaining the friendly and collegial atmosphere that makes this program so unique. If you have questions or want to know more about the program I highly recommend checking out the website www.slranesthesiology.com.
 
Can anyone comment as to how the program is now? I got a bad vibe today during the ASA meet and greet and want to know more to make a decision if I should cancel my interview with them
 
Can anyone comment as to how the program is now? I got a bad vibe today during the ASA meet and greet and want to know more to make a decision if I should cancel my interview with them

I hear they have good regional, and hours are not bad. What type of bad vibe did you experience?
 
Bad vibe? We had cannoli! I don't know who you were talking to. We are a reasonably happy/goofy bunch.
 
Can anyone comment as to how the program is now? I got a bad vibe today during the ASA meet and greet and want to know more to make a decision if I should cancel my interview with them

Also curious about this
 
I completed my internship in medicine at SLR so I worked with the entire graduating class of 2017. They were some of the most pleasant people I worked with throughout my medical training. Everyone from my intern class also matched very well for fellowship such as CHOP, CHLA, mount sinai, etc. I am now back completing a fellowship and I am impressed at how involved the program director is in advocating for his residents. I am also impressed by the knowledge of the residents and the amount of research they do. Overall I think its a great place to work with a very warm environment. But remember it is a NYC program so you're going to work hard, which the case with any NYC program.
 
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