mount sinai program

[mrbigshot]

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just wondering if anyone had ANY info on mount sinai's er program. i noticed alot of ppl dropping them from their interview lists and also noticed they did not fill their spots last year. is it b/c it's a 2-3-4 program or for other reasons? thanks in advance.

 

[papichulodoc]

I've heard (and this is only hearsay) that Mt. Sinai ED is a tough place to work. Some have attributed it to the residency director. Mt. Sinai is also not a major trauma center, with a very particular population. On the other hand, I've heard great things about their secondary site (Elmhurst Hospital) great population, very diverse, and high acuity. Also makes me wonder why they didn't fill three spots last year. All that said I have not canceled my interview there.

 

[Apollyon]

I've heard (and this is only hearsay) that Mt. Sinai ED is a tough place to work. Some have attributed it to the residency director. Mt. Sinai is also not a major trauma center, with a very particular population. On the other hand, I've heard great things about their secondary site (Elmhurst Hospital) great population, very diverse, and high acuity. Also makes me wonder why they didn't fill three spots last year. All that said I have not canceled my interview there.

The PD at Mt. Sinai wrote me a solid, great letter, and also got me interviewed at another program, and I'm not a superstar. He is in the top 3 EM docs I've EVER met. The chairman, on the other hand, I'm MUCH more inclined to ascribe the "difficult to work with" label to. It was his direction that I not be ranked (since the only FMG's they rank are from Sackler), and this I discovered after research when I didn't match there, and they didn't fill. I can think, likewise, not filling 3 spots is his handiwork.

As for Elmhurst, I did prelim there, and I can back up the population, acuity, and diversity. If you want a true, great EM experience, you'll get it at Elmhurst (as a bit of trivia, when Noah gets shot in "U.S. Marshals", Elmhurst is the hospital they take him to).

 

[ThinkFast007]

The PD at Mt. Sinai wrote me a solid, great letter, and also got me interviewed at another program, and I'm not a superstar. He is in the top 3 EM docs I've EVER met. The chairman, on the other hand, I'm MUCH more inclined to ascribe the "difficult to work with" label to. It was his direction that I not be ranked (since the only FMG's they rank are from Sackler), and this I discovered after research when I didn't match there, and they didn't fill. I can think, likewise, not filling 3 spots is his handiwork.

As for Elmhurst, I did prelim there, and I can back up the population, acuity, and diversity. If you want a true, great EM experience, you'll get it at Elmhurst (as a bit of trivia, when Noah gets shot in "U.S. Marshals", Elmhurst is the hospital they take him to).

are u all referring to the Mt. Sinai Hosp in Chicago? I didnt even know they had a residency program...

 

[papichulodoc]

are u all referring to the Mt. Sinai Hosp in Chicago? I didnt even know they had a residency program...

Since I am strictly East Coast biased, I assumed Mt. Sinai referred to the one in NY.

You're right Apollyon....it probably was the chair at Mt. Sinai and not the residency director. But now you agree with what I heard, giving the rumor more credence. The tension he generates tends to permeate throughout the ED.

 

[jawurheemd]

are u all referring to the Mt. Sinai Hosp in Chicago? I didnt even know they had a residency program...

U of Chicago and Resurrection rotate through the Sinai ED in Chicago. Does not have a residency of its own, but affiliates the U of C EM program.

 

[MSEM]

I'm a PGY-3 at Sinai and I love the program and experience we get between Sinai and Elmhurst. Out time is split 50/50 between the two sites (and one month a year at Jersey City which is another great site). The program is currently pending approval to switch to 1-4 (not a secret as it is posted on the Sinai website). This may happen before this year's match, so people who interview at Sinai should call in Feb to check on the status, but I'm sure you'll get an e-mail either way. I actually had a great prelim year for the ED anyway and had a baby that year...one of the reasons I ranked 2-4 above the rest.

Sinai is just finishing renovation on a new ED. The old ED had a poor layout and look and was very cramped. The new space doubles the old - we also have an awesome new resus room at Sinai and EMS has been bringing us more and more resusitations because it has become really easy for them to triage the patients to that area. It's much easier to work in the Sinai ED now than it was my EM-1 year, physically it's a totally different place. The attendings are really friendly and there's a great atmosphere at both sites among residents, attendings and nurses.

I was concerned we didn't fill last year also. We have a great program and it looks bad when that happens. We switched program directors 2 years ago and have Andy Jagoda as residency director, who is one of the top guys in the field and great to work with and learn from. He is very picky however as Apollyon alluded. I don't think any DO's or FMG's are currently interviewed and there is also a cut-off board score. Then, the rank list doesn't go very deep...supposedly this is changing this year. The program director had no problem not filling because he had an extra year to fill it with people switching from other fields...and it has gotten us great residents but I still think it isn't the ideal way to fill a residency class.

We had a lot of trouble with attracting people to the 2-4 format, so we're changing it. Whatever we don't like we pretty much change. We didn't like going away and using elective time for US...so we started our own accredidation program so we're now all ACEP II certified for US early on in the training. We also started a resusitation lab this year and have the full working dummy lab that senses O2, gives feedback to the monitors, generates pulses, pupils change size, etc. We saw that other programs we doing it and being at Sinai had the availability of an amazing anesthesia lab area so we got it running for us as well. The program directors are pretty dynamic, if there's a good idea they'll find a way to implement it into the curriculum.

If the program goes 1-4 this year the 1st year is primarily at Elmhurst... everyone who works there feels this is the ideal place to train for EM as you get a sampling of the world and see diseases you thought you studied for no reason...chagas, typhoid, bodypackers...and we also have a lot of trauma there (5 ED thoracotomies done in 20 days this October).

I really can't say enough about Sinai. I did 12 interviews in NYC. I went to NYC because I had to be here for family reasons and had the best feeling from the attendings at Sinai, and it hasn't disappointed at all. Lots of pathology, lots of procedures [had 50 emergent intubations (not counting ansethesia) and 40 central lines (above the waist) as an EM-1], and the attendings are so friendly and easy to work with. Once we get the PGY-1 year this will be the place everyone wants to go, especially if you want to be in NYC. I know residents from all over the city and the Sinai program has just about the happiest residents and have the best balanced experince NYC can offer. They've also been getting great jobs and are well connected when it comes time for that.

Hope this e-mail helps, if there are any questions you can contact any of us, our e-mails are posted on the sinai em residency website under the resident section. Take care and good luck with the match. Happy Holidays.

Chris