NY programs

[iamsleepy]

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Since NY has so many programs and those of us who aren't from there don't know the first thing abt some of them.... here's another new thread!

For starters, anyone know much abt Albany's program or about its location in Slingerlands, NY? I'd appreciate any input, since all I have to go by for now is the website and wikipedia. 🙄

 

[SB2020]

One of the clinics is in Slingerlands (a suburb of Albany and where last year's interview was held), while others are downtown at Albany Medical Center and the VA. Overall, the clinics didn't seem particularly busy, but they mentioned many times during the interview how their program is the only academic medical center for hundreds of miles, making it a referral center for interesting and diverse pathology.

Positives about the program:
1. They have an ASOPRS fellowship spot (often voted the best teacher in the program)
2. The program director is one of the nicest people I met during the interview trail - when I told him I couldn't stay for the post-interview dinner because I was traveling to another city, he ordered for my dinner to be packed to go and personally called a cab for me
3. The chairman is a well-known Pediatric Ophthalmologist
4. The program seemed very amenable to residents taking maternity/paternity leave - there was one who was pregnant and another who just returned
5. Being in Albany (the capital of New York State), there is a strong opportunity for medical advocacy

Negatives about the program:
1. A resident was recently dismissed for poor performance
2. Albany is in New York, but is certainly not New York City
3. Limited camaraderie between residents outside of work as some were married with children and others were single

 

[iamsleepy]

Hey SB2020,
Thanks a lot for all the info! I really appreciate it. PM me if anyone needs more info on this program after next weekend once I've interviewed there.
~Iamsleepy

 

[historian]

Columbia is a great program. Their chair (Dr. Chang) is amazing, and they have a few really great younger faculty members who are also great teachers. The department seems to emphasize research more than anyplace else in NYC. They have a busy resident-run clinic, you might need to speak Spanish to work there. Their retina group is excellent because of Dr. Chang, but one weakness is that I don't think they have a full glaucoma division.

Cornell is okay, and seems to be gradually improving. The char there (Dr. D'amico) is pretty new, and he made lots of changes and is trying to make the department become more focused on academics and research than before. It used to be primarily clinical. Many of the former faculty there left recently, but others started who I've heard are really good teachers.

NYEEI is the biggest program in the city. I don't know much from personal experience, but talked to several students who have rotated there before. They say it's very busy, some residents seem toxic and unhappy, and teaching is variable in quality.

 

[MedicalDoctorV]

Cornell has a big name overall - but has been a mediocre ophtho program up to this point (those are the new Program Director's words, not mine). Like someone already said, most of the old faculty left late last year when a new Chairman and Program Director were appointed. So the ones that are new/remaining are really interested in resident education. While I/others have been on ophtho electives there it seems that the Chief's are begging patients to let them operate on their cataracts (really low volume). Not a great sign! But then again, who knows what the new leadership will bring...

Mount Sinai residents spend time at Mt. Sinai in manhattan, Elmhurst hospital in Queens and the Bronx VA. This can be seen as a good/bad thing - when you are on call for Queens or Bronx - you obviously have to travel to the latter sites. Since all the residents seem to live in manhattan - they found this to be an annoyance. The teaching is excellent. Volume is great. 4 residents/year. Elmhurst is crazy in terms of # of patients to be seen in clinic. Almost every patient speaks Spanish, so if you don't - you are at a significant disadvantage. Translation service ofcourse exists - but consists of handing a phone back and forth making it an all round delightful experience as you may imagine.

 

[schistosomiasis]

I would take issue with your statement that the teaching at Mount Sinai is excellent. Ask the residents how much cornea teaching they get- zero! There is only one surgical retina specialist (the rest are medical) and he is in private practice and only comes once every two weeks. I'm not even sure if they have a neuro- ophthalmologist there anymore! Granted, this was before the new chairman (Dr. Jabs) came on board, there might have been changes.

At least most of the chiefs looked like they didn't have any trouble getting over 100 cataracts as primary surgeon....

 

[MedicalDoctorV]

Good point - you might be right about Cornea or the surgical retina issue. They do have a neuro ophthalmologist though. And yeah, everyone believes that Dr. Jabs is making a difference... in a good way.

 

[Les Yeux]

Anyone rotated here or know of anything in regards to this program? Good surgical #s? Quality of training?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jacksroy]

I was curious on anyone's past or present knowledge of St. Vincent's. From the website, looks like they take 3 residents, and may have all of the subspecialties.

If anyone has interviewed there in the past or heard anything about the training or program, that would be great. It seems like one of the less discussed programs, compared to the more recognizable names of NYEE and Mt. Sinai.

Thanks!

 

[ophthoapplicant]

Hey everyone,

Due to search limitations it is hard to find anything on NYU. It obviously is a strong name in other specialties, but what about ophtho?

From what I've gathered from a few postings on this board, here is what I've heard (but this is admittedly very patchy and most likely not representative)
1. happy residents
2. 15 minute panel interview
3. "politics"?
4. possible volume issues?

Does anyone know anything about the program?

 

[nyeyes]

Interviewed at both st vincents & NYU in recent past, my 2 cents

st vincents: not very strong program. Poor volume. Only have 1 phoropter for refraction in entire clinic!! Have to cover staten island for call. Curiously, the only program where you didnt meet the chair during interviews. I ranked this program last

NYU: politics, politics, & more politics (I also did a rotation there). From residents feeling a rift from the attgs, to a poor relationship w/ the program director, to all the pvt attgs who try to call the shots while only marginally involved w/ education. Dodick has been the interim chair for yrs, dont know what they're doing about filling the post. Residents at the VA were leaving ~3pm = poor volume.

 

[jacksroy]

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Please post your input in our new program compendium. Pick the program in the table of contents and post your comment in the program thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=470595

Thanks!

 

[Irish82]

Hey everyone,

Due to search limitations it is hard to find anything on NYU. It obviously is a strong name in other specialties, but what about ophtho?

From what I've gathered from a few postings on this board, here is what I've heard (but this is admittedly very patchy and most likely not representative)
1. happy residents
2. 15 minute panel interview
3. "politics"?
4. possible volume issues?

Does anyone know anything about the program?

Responding to your questions: (I rotated there for a month)
1. Residents are generally happy, some super nice; some a little neurotic
2. Not only is it a panel interview, but heard from another Ophtho resident that interviewed at NYU-->there is a psychiatrist in the panel checking for "red-flags"
3. Don't know much about the politics as I never met many attendings and the residents kept their mouth shut. Most attendings were generally stuffy and unfriendly (except for a few gems in Retina-but they are in private practice)
4. The residents biggest complaint was surgical volume. Yes, it is an issue.

 

[toulouselautrec]

Please don't single out St. Vincent's and NYU for poor surgical volume. This trend applies to all Manhattan-area ophthalmology programs in general, with perhaps the exception of NYEE. It's a geographic area that is just very saturated with programs both large and small.

And there is a difference between surgical volume and clinic volume. Almost all of the NY programs (again, an exception here and there) have more than enough clinic volume--ask any NY/Manhattan ophtho resident.

Being in New York and in particular the Manhattan area has of course its pros and cons. Surgical volume is of course going to be more of an issue than if you were, say, in Iowa or Utah or middle-of-nowhere Pennsylvania. It doesn't mean though that if you go to a New York program you will be insufficiently prepared for surgery--quite the contrary. There's obviously more to the training than just numbers. And there will always be an element of self-motivation and aggressiveness on part of the resident to acquire cases no matter what program you're at. No one is going to hand you anything on a silver platter in residency (except maybe for the call schedule).

 

[motorcity]

I interviewed at Columbia, after having spent a short amount of time visiting there last year, and it is an awesome program. Great chairman, amazing faculty researchers and teachers. Only negatives are that it's only 3 residents per year, and that many patients in the resident clinic speak only Spanish (there are translators there and the residents learn "medical Spanish"). Feel free to PM me.