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PGY2 Overall Rating: 05-Oct- 2012 Teaching: Atmosphere: Research: Schedule Schedule is very reasonable nowadays...not sure how it was in the past. Day typically starts around 6:00 with setting up room or attending lecture, depending on which hospital you are rotating through. Danbury/Met/Sound Shore lectures are around 6 or 630am. Westchester now starts at 10am. Remainder of the day is spent in the OR (always with several timely breaks throughout the day). Hours vary from site to site as well, but typically never more than 70-80/week, often less. Workload completely depends on the OR schedule...if its very busy overall you'll have more work than usual. If not, you may be sent in to give someone a break, but it's never anything out of reason. Teaching Faculty is overall good...of course there are people that stand out in both the good and bad ways. Generally all the sites have a good amount of attendings willing to explain, show you something, or help with anything else you need. Teaching varies also from attending to attending...however...if you make an effort to ask and not just "wait" to be taught, they are mostly always helpful. We do have lectures daily that are given by both resident and attending together (at Danburry only attendings give lecure). You typically have to present 2 -3 times a month, depending on the site. Grand rounds once a week, board review sessions done about once a month as well. The most learning you'll get simply by being proactive...it's similar in all programs and specialties. Atmosphere Residents are all friendly with each other for the most part...again some people are just more social than others, but everyone gets along good. Small problem is that because of rotating through four different sites, its sometimes hard to meet everyone until you're months into the year, but there are pretty regular resident organized gatherings on the weekend - again depends on how proactive you want to be in getting together. Physical work environment is good - most OR's are organized. Danburry and WC have techs that are available all day if you need anything...anytime :) They usually help turn over the room between cases and set up major equipment in the morning if a big case is scheduled in the room. Other sites you have to set up yourself, but still not a big deal. Definitely have life outside of work...schedule is generally busy, but it's residency :) Didn't sign up for a 9-5 job. There's definitely still time for friends, family, and some time to study almost daily. You also get 60 vacation days per year, which are generally pretty easy to request as long as it's a month or so in advance. Like everything else in life depends on your outlook on what is "busy" :) Conclusion Program stands out in variety and amount of cases you see. Each site prepares you in a slightly different way - WC has complex, very sick patients. Danbury is a great private type practice with many younger and healthier patients but very high volumes that get you working faster. Metropolitan and Sound Shore are kind of in between, but give you an idea of how different hospitals work. The program director is a huge asset to the the residency and is one of the friendliest, most accomplished, and most helpful people you will come across in your career. Drawbacks are that you travel quite a bit, but nothing too crazy. Not more than most people today commute to work. Also, not too much regional experience compared to some other programs nowadays, but it seems like if you make an effort, you can get a decent amount. I haven't finished yet, all seniors and graduates seem pretty well prepared for the next step. Many go into fellowships nowadays, which are very reasonable to get - regional fellowships most popular now probably. Overall pretty happy with everything. I know from some comments I saw above there have been some bad reviews, not sure if they were accurate at the time, but the program really has apparently changed a lot over the years. Wasn't here to compare back then, but few complaints now. Hope this helps, questions welcome anytime.

Medical Student Overall Rating: 03-Oct- 2012 Teaching: Atmosphere: Research: Schedule I did an elective anesthesia rotation at Westchester Medical Center as a fourth year medical student and LOVED it! A typical day begins at 7am - you check on your assignment for the day (the schedule was often available the day before) and connect with your team. Teams were comprised of a resident + an attending or just an attending. Both had their benefits - when you were alone with an attending, you got one-on-one teaching and were allowed to do a lot, since many attendings encouraged you to assume the resident role (with limitations, of course). However, being with an attending/resident team was also great, since I think you are always paired with a CA2 or CA3 and get teaching from both the attending and the resident. We rotated through various anesthesia services during the four week rotation - OR, burn unit, pediatric anesthesia, ambulatory, GI, MRI, cardiac, etc. I was exposed to cases ranging from trauma to cardiac surgeries to endoscopies. Depending on the length of each procedure, you would maybe experience 4-5 different procedures per day. However, this was pretty student dependent. I knew some students who were focused on management during the first 20 min after the patient arrived in the OR. There was enough flexibility for them to leave a case after it was underway. These students, of course, got exposure to many more encounters then the 4-5 that were my average. I like continuity, so I stayed as often as possible for the entire procedure and followed the patient and attending/resident to the PACU. The day ended anytime between 2pm and 5pm. Like many other things, this depended on the student. If you were done early you could find another resident or attending to shadow. No one ever turned you away. I did not feel like there was any scutwork at all. Everyone was very accustomed to doing things themselves, even the little things. Everyone was just really, really nice and very respectful which paved the way for an extremely collegial atmosphere. Teaching The faculty was excellent – available to teach one-on-one, provided feedback, were approachable and went the extra mile to answer all questions. Their willingness to teach and collegiality made the atmosphere wonderful. I also had a positive experience with the surgical teams. The residents were eager to share their knowledge and take the time to teach, guide and advise you. We have lectures with the residents every morning at 10am (yes, they were incorporated into the day and it was great!). The lectures were really useful for solidifying the topic you read about the night before or for answering questions you came up with during your time in the OR. There were special didactic sessions for the medical students at 2pm. These were incredibly useful since they were more at our level and you could ask random questions. M&M conferences were once monthly and grand rounds were three times a month. Atmosphere One of the best parts of this rotation was precisely the camaraderie among residents and among attendings and residents. I was impressed with how friendly and approachable everyone was, attendings and residents alike. I also liked the support staff in the OR - friendly and approachable. Conclusion I hope I enjoy my next anesthesia rotation half as much as I did this one. I was impressed with the commitment to teaching, the extremely collegial atmosphere and the variety of cases. I highly recommend WMC for a 4th year anesthesia rotation. Feel free to contact me if you have questions!

PGY3 Overall Rating: 26-Sep- 2012 Teaching: Atmosphere: Research: Schedule At WMC the typical day starts at 7am. You are sent your room assignments the afternoon before and your attending assignments as you. The night before you are supposed to call your attending to discuss the cases for the next day and they may suggest reading, etc to help you prepare (especially if you are new). When you come in at 7 you set up your room and go see the patients in the holding area for pre-op eval. Lecture is everyday at 10am in the Anesthesia library. Attending coverage is always 1:1 in the OR no matter what year you are. You are relieved for lecture and lunch by your attending. The day ends about 430pm. If you have pre-ops for the next day you may go see them then. 2 residents take call each night (usually 5 calls per month) and you are let go at 7am the next morning. total work hours each week including call: 55-65 Teaching About 90% of the faculty are very willing to teach and spend time in the OR with the residents talking about various topics, doing 1:1 informal teaching. Daily lecture at 10am is conducted by both a resident and an attending with oral board review on Thursdays. Atmosphere The residents get along very well with each other and have monthly get togethers (dinners, paint balling, BBQs, etc.) just for the residents. There is a new resident lounge currently under construction for the anesthesia residents only that will be a place to hang out, eat, etc. Most residents have a life outside work if the so choose and at least 1 3-day weekend per month. The chiefs are very accommodating whenever possible in regards schedule requests. The program is extremely flexible with vacation days as long as you as in advance. There are 4 different hospital sites (3 of which are in close proximity to each other)The brunt of the time is spent in Westchester. Metropolitan is on the upper east side of Manhattan, and Sound Shore is near WMC (no moving necessary). Danbury is the private hospital that we rotate at 1-2 months a year which provides a different type of learning environment. A resident house directly across the street from the hospital is provided for the residents with cable and internet free of charge. You have 4 weeks vacation per year and 1 week of conference (that is funded up to $1500 by the CIR) There is a $650 book/mobile device(iphone/ipad/computer) allowance per year as well that rolls over (so $1950 over three years) Conclusion This is a busy program and your case load will be high. The good thing is that every resident that graduates from here is definitely prepared to go practice on their own. Traumas are brought in here from upper Manhattan all the way up to Albany by helicopter. We have heart, liver, and kidney transplants here as well. The residents here are usually placed in fellowships that they desire. One will be attending Hopkins regional program and another going to Seattle for regional this year as well. Our program director has connections throughout the anesthesia community and is very helpful in obtaining jobs/fellowships after graduation. She is also the editor-in-chief of an anesthesia journal (Survey of Anesthesiology) so there are many opportunities for publications if you so choose. This may not be a "cushy" residency, so if that is what you are looking for this my not be the place for you, however the learning experience is great, and you will come out of this program more than ready to be an attending. feel free to contact me with questions, etc and good luck!!

PGY3 Overall Rating: 26-Sep- 2012 Teaching: Atmosphere: Research: Schedule So as a resident, my day begins around 630-645 am depending on which case I am scheduled to do. OR schedule is updated every evening so it is expected that the residents/CRNAs will go and set up the room every morning. Obviously, Cardiac room setup takes a bit longer so one needs to show up a little early. For the most, part, patients are in holding area by 7-715am so you go and see your patients. If the patient is an inpatient, they usually have a pre-op completed by another resident the day prior, if not, then you must see the patient and complete a detailed history/physical from the patient. First case usually beings around 745 so you have ample time to take care of everything. On an average day, one may do anywhere from 3-5 cases depending on the type obviously. There is usually a daily lecture from 10-11am that is moderated by one of the residents and an attending. Most Thursday lectures are board reviews moderated by an attending. Generally, between 1130-100 pm, residents are relieved for 30 min lunch break. Around 430-5 pm, residents are relieved for the day and usually take care of any pre-ops for the next morning. On average, 2-3 preops are assigned to CA-1, and 1-2 to CA2s and CA3s. Teaching This program has recently implemented multiple changes to assist residents get better education. For example the 600 am morning lectures are now done at 10 am. Each resident is usually 1:1 with a faculty member. Every Thursday morning is a board review session. Moreover, as with any program, there are attendings that are truly interested in teaching and others not so much. However, most if not all of the attendings are willing and able to incorporate teaching if the resident shows interest, i.e. asks questions.... Atmosphere For the most part, residents get along with each other extremely well. Many of the residents are married so life outside the hospital is somewhat limited. However, many of the residents do in fact usually get together every month or so and hang out at various places and engage in various activities. As for the attending-resident relationship, it works out for the most part. As I alluded to earlier, there are many attendings (esp. the younger ones - i.e. recent grads) that are very fun to work with and do usually accompany us during our outside the hospital get-together. As for the work environment, overall I think its a good place to work. Every program has its strength and weakness and I can tell you while this program may not be very academic, its clinical basis is extremely strong. I think that if you want to be a great anesthesiologist, this is the place to be. However, if you want to do lots of research and remain strong in academics, this place may not be the best place for that- although I must confess that most attendings (esp. the Program Director, Dr. McGoldrick and Peds Director Dr. Barst are very well published) and readily participate in publications. As for the quality, many of the cases are ASA 3-4 (and even 5!) so there is no lack of clinical education. Conclusion Overall, I think this program gives you one of a kind of clinical experience. Most (if not all) of the residents get into great fellowship programs including Beth Israel, Hopkins, Children's Hospital Pittsburg (just to name a few). As a CA-2, I feel very confident in doing the bread and butter cases already - granted that I have not completed many of the subspecialties. I believe that by the end of my CA3 year I will be able to take care of any patient - from the very young to the very old, from healthy to the most sick. This place, in my opinion, does in fact prepare you to successfully tackle any and all types of cases.

PGY4 Overall Rating: 26-Sep- 2012 Teaching: Atmosphere: Research: Schedule Normal day starts at 7AM and ends 5PM at the main site. The hours at the other three sites are better. Usually 7AM to 3 or 4PM. Lecture is from 10-11, no more 6AM lectures here. During the day, you are responsible for the cases assigned to your room. If the cases are done, you are usually done for the day..assuming there are no addons to your room. Unlike other specialties, scutworks are limited in anesthesia. The only scutwork I could think of is preoping the cases for the next day, which are usually not the same cases in your room. Teaching Teaching is not the strongest. About 15% of the attendings go beyond the call of duty. 15% or so just dont care. And the rest are just there. Conferences are run by residents with supervision of a attending. As a CA1 or 2, you will definitely learn new information. The learning process slows down in your last year..thats usually a good sign. Overall, the residents do put in a good amount time on the presentations at the main site. Danbury lectures are given by attendings, which are excellent. The other two sites lectures are below average. But if you are motivated, just go home and pick up a book. Our board passing rate is over 90% this year. Atmosphere Most, if not all of attendings are very friendly. Residents all get along. We do social gatherings once a month. Many residents have family and kids. Its never a struggle to balance the two. One comment about on the last reply from 2010 on residents with multiple houses. Please do NOT falsify information. While we do have to travel to four different sites, we have residents live in the city, westchester county, or even CT. No one..let me say it again no one has more than one apt. The Danbury site is 45 mins from the main site, but housing is provided (free) if ones wants to live there. Conclusion This program definitely will prepare you to the really world. We have attendings from Cornell and Columbia all confirm the acuity of cases here are beyond average. About 10% of residents go into fellowships. The director is a well-known anethesiologist in the field. There are many connections here with other attendings. The draw backs are long hours at the main site and the lack of interest from some attendings. I will choose this program again.