Beth Israel Mount Sinai

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AnonDoc88

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I am posting this anonymously due to a fear of retribution, but I feel like I can't stay silent anymore. Things at Beth Israel just continue to get worse. The surgery program has cancelled all interviews because they can't guarantee that they can provide an appropriate education to incoming interns, and yet they continue to refuse to orphan their current residents. We simply don't know where to turn, the program is falling apart, attendings are leaving, they admit that the education is no longer of any significant quality, but they are not doing anything to help the current residents. I understand that with the hospital closing so many services, the program leadership's options may be limited, but if they are unable or unwilling to provide a decent educational opportunity for us, then they should admit this openly and allow us to seek better opportunities elsewhere. This program is certainly not what was advertised to me when I was making my rank list; I wish I had gone virtually anywhere else.

Dr. Leitman continues to refuse to orphan anyone, and has been making life miserable for any residents who try to speak up. We are concerned that he is being selfish. He has a history of testifying as a medical expert witness in frivolous cases, either in error, or out of prioritizing his finances over all else. See www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions%5Cunpub%5C10/10-50561.0.wpd.pdf.

We residents just want someone to show that they care about us and our futures, because we feel like we are being left to suffer at the faculty's expense. Please someone help us.

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Sorry you're in this situation. This is difficult, no doubt, but I'm not sure why you think making a post like this on SDN will help your case. You say your PD is being unreasonable, so you think the best option is trying to publicly shame him for doing something thats legal and lots of physicians do?

You don't have to be "allowed" to seek better educational opportunities. You signed a contract (most are for 1 year), and you are free to pursue other options elsewhere once that contract is up. The worst thing your PD can do is write you a bad LOR. Seeing as your hospital is very publicly closing and you could presumably get LORs from other faculty at your program, I don't think any other program would hold that against you if you talked to them and explained the situation. You would have to do anyway as you would be applying for advanced positions outside the match.

Again, you got a dealt a bad hand, there's no doubt about it. But doing childish stuff like this isn't gonna change that or help you going forward.
 
The issue the OP is bringing up is the idea of "orphaned" residents. If a program closes mid training, residents are free to find another program and their funding follows them until the end of their training. This allows programs that are "full" to take another resident. The ACGME will also usually approve temporary complement increases to accommodate orphaned residents like this.

Really, you only have the nuclear option left. You could contact the ACGME and ask for an emergency site visit. If you're going to do this, you should try to have a majority of the residents be in agreement. The ACGME can force closure of the program, which will give you orphaned status. The ACGME really resists closing programs, but if the residents complain that the training is unacceptable, that's exactly what they will do.
 
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So the OP's actual complaint is that the GME office is refusing to shut down the residency programs (i.e. orphan them) before the hospital actually closes? I've never been involved in the inner workings of these types of things, but I would assume that that decision would rest with more than just a single person. Makes this idea of publicly shaming this Dr. Leitman seem even more ridiculous...
 
Did you read his testimony as described by the appeals court? There is no recourse against sell-outs other than public shaming. His words were public record and he was paid for them. Fair game to criticize these otherwise untouchable plaintiff shills.
 
Did you read his testimony as described by the appeals court? There is no recourse against sell-outs other than public shaming. His words were public record and he was paid for them. Fair game to criticize these otherwise untouchable plaintiff shills.
I agree with the sentiment, just not sure how it helps the OP with their problem...
 
I know nothing about surgical training, but why do you feel the training is not adequate? Are u not able to get enough surgeries to meet your required numbers? Not enough uncommon surgeries to gain skills? Senior residents not given autonomy?

I don't fully know your program's situation, but maybe the PD is trying his best to make sure current residents can finish.
 
Did you read his testimony as described by the appeals court? There is no recourse against sell-outs other than public shaming. His words were public record and he was paid for them. Fair game to criticize these otherwise untouchable plaintiff shills.

Just read that PDF. Pretty poor stuff from Leitman.

As to OP's problem, if you truly feel that way, the nuclear option that has the potential for significant blowback to you as well as the other residents is to call the ACGME directly with your concerns.
 
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