Browse Otolaryngology Resident Training Program Affiliated Hospital Training Sites:
St. Vincent's Hospital & Medical Center | Beth Israel Medical Center | Westchester County Medical Center

St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center Overview

St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center serves as one of two university medical center for New York Medical College. The otolaryngology service at St. Vincent's was founded by John Conley, M.D. and is currently under the direction of Hyun Cho, M.D. Dr. Cho is a member of the faculty of the Department of Otolaryngology at New York Medical College. His staff includes another Head and Neck Surgeon, Dr. Helen Yoo Bowne and several voluntary faculty members. In addition, several faculty at the Eye and Ear attend patients at St. Vincent's. This institution officially became a part of the residency program on July 1, 1989.

Since July 1, 1999, a second-year resident and a third-year resident rotate for three months each through St. Vincent's. St. Vincent's Head and Neck Surgery service now consists of two otolaryngology residents, a first-year resident in general surgery and an oral surgery resident. The oral surgeon adds to the overall experience of the otolaryngology residents by enhancing their exposure to oral/maxillofacial trauma.

St. Vincent's is a Level I trauma center for lower Manhattan as was very evident during the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. This rotation provides specific resident training in maxillofacial trauma, pediatric otolaryngology, complex head and neck oncologic surgery, thoracic and skull base surgeries, and intra-dural neurotologic surgery.

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St. Vincent's: Resources & Facilities

St. Vincent's: Clinical Services

The residents spend an average of three days per week in the operating room. Clinic is held on Fridays. Teaching rounds are held every morning. Conferences are held monthly as shown in the Conference table below. Additional teaching activities are conducted at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, six blocks away from St. Vincent's Hospital. Comprehensive audiology, balance, and speech pathology services are provided at St. Vincent's. Conferences in those disciplines are also held at NYEEI. Advanced diagnostics are provided at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary for clinic patients seen at St. Vincent's. Allergy and immunology services are provided by Drs. Howard Menikoff and Robert Lin, board certified medical allergists.

An excellent relationship exists between the Department of Neurosurgery at St. Vincent's and the Department of Otolaryngology. Most intra-dural cases diagnosed at the NYEEI were scheduled for surgery at St. Vincent's between the two services. Residents in otolaryngology actively participated in all aspects of skull base cases at St. Vincent's on a team that includes the Director of Neurosurgery, Dr. Raj Murali and his colleague, Dr. Alan Hirschfeld and other St.Vincent’s based neurosurgeons. Because of this close working relationship, Drs. Murali and Hirschfeld have appointments in the Department of Otolaryngology at New York Medical College.

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St. Vincent's: Description of Residency Training Program by Year

The second-year resident assists or is the primary surgeon on all otolaryngologic cases. The resident performs all in-house consults and attends clinic one day per week. Consults are reviewed with the attending staff on a daily basis. The second-year resident will participate in approximately 200 major head and neck procedures during a three-month rotation. The specific cognitive experience and skills for the second-year resident are described in Goals

The third-year resident spends a total of three months at St. Vincent's where he or she is the senior resident for the service and is responsible for conducting all aspects of clinic patient care. The third-year resident is either the primary surgeon or first assistant on all surgical procedures under the supervision of the attending surgeon. Given the volume and complexity of head and neck surgeries performed at this hospital site, the senior residents experience is similar to that of a fourth-year resident in many other training programs (see Goals and Objectives for specific operative experience). The full time faculty at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and seven other private physicians use St. Vincent's. In addition, the senior resident at St. Vincent's assists on those cases in which otolaryngology participates with neurosurgery (for example, acoustic neuroma resection and skull base surgery). The fourth-year resident at St. Vincent's coordinates care of patients with retrocochlear or skull base lesions with the Chief Resident on the Otology Service at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. This includes all diagnostic testing, the scheduling of surgery at St. Vincent's Hospital, as well as extended post-operative care, including the rehabilitation of swallowing, vestibular, and facial nerve disorders, as necessary.

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Beth Israel Medical Center Overview

The Department of Otolaryngology at Beth Israel Hospital was founded by Max Som, M.D. and is directed by Dr. Mark Persky, who is a member of the attending staff and faculty of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary/The Albert Einstein College of Medicine. His staff includes full-time faculty members Mark Urken, M.D., Theresa Tran, M.D. (Head & Neck Surgery), Ronald Hoffman, M.D. (Neuro-Otology) and Milton Waner, M.D. (Pediatric Head and Neck/Plastic Reconstructive Surgery), Marc Zimbler, M.D. (Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery) and Abtin Tabaee, M.D. (Rhinology). Residents from the Eye and Ear Otolaryngology program have been rotating through Beth Israel Hospital since November 1, 1985. Two Albert Einstein residents began rotating at Beth Israel Medical Center on July 1, 1994, at which time Beth Israel Medical Center formally changed its affiliation from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine to the Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and Beth Israel Medical Center are separate corporations under Continuum Health Partners, Inc. Although Beth Israel Medical Center is the academic affiliate of The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, its geographic proximity to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (one block away), its medical facilities and shared attending staff, and its financial association with The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary under Continuum Health Partners make the inclusion of rotations at Beth Israel a logical and important part of resident training for this department. To accommodate residents from the two different academic programs (NYEEI/NYMC and Einstein), the Beth Israel rotation was divided into two separate services staffed by residents from the two academic affiliates in July 1999. However, residents from both programs work very well together and share the demands of this busy clinical service. Eye and Ear residents are primarily involved in head and neck surgery, and Einstein resident concentrate on otology.

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Beth Israel: Resources & Facilities

Beth Israel: Clinical Services

The residents are in the operating room five days per week. Clinic is held on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Pathology conference, Radiology conference, and Tumor Board are held weekly. Teaching rounds are conducted every morning. A combined skull base conference is held monthly with the Departments of Neurosurgery, Neuroradiology, and Pathology. Cases involving the posterior, middle, and anterior skull base are discussed. Representative cases include acoustic neuroma, meningiomas, esthesioneuroblastomas, and glomus tumors.

Additional educational conferences are shared with the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. Comprehensive audiology, vestibular, and speech pathology services are provided at Beth Israel. The ambulatory vestibular, testing and rehabilitation services at both Beth Israel and NYEEI were consolidated and moved to NYEEI in 2000. Conferences in those disciplines are also held at NYEEI. Beth Israel, and the Eye and Ear, share a large and comprehensive Children’s Hearing and Cochlear Implant Program. This program consists of five full-time otologists (Drs. Alexiades, Arigo, Hoffman, Linstrom and Parisier) and three voluntary otologists, approximately 20 audiologists and other related specialists, and other support personnel. Plans are underway to combine all of these programs, and those at the Eye and Ear, into an Otology Institute at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary.

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Beth Israel: Description of Residency Training Program by Year

The first-year resident in otolaryngology is at Beth Israel a total of three months. The first-year resident attends all clinics under the supervision of full-time faculty and the Chief Resident. He or she will perform surgery appropriate for this level of training, such as tonsillectomy / adenoidectomy, tracheotomy, septoplasty, myringotomy and tube insertion, as well as minor procedures under local anesthesia. The first-year resident also second assists on more advanced head and neck and skull-base cases.

The fourth-year resident spends a total of three months at Beth Israel where he or she is the Chief resident for the NYEEI/NYMC service and is responsible for conducting all aspects of clinic patient care and supervising Clinic for junior residents. The Chief resident is either the primary surgeon or first assistant on all surgical procedures under the supervision of the attending surgeon. The Chief resident will perform range of thyroid and parathyroid surgeries, laryngectomies, radical and modified neck dissections, composite resections, parotidectomies, submandibular gland resections, pectoralis myocutaneous and other flaps, tracheal reconstructions, endoscopic sinus surgeries, maxillofacial fractures, maxillectomies and assist on acoustic neuroma and craniofacial surgery (detailed operative experience appears in Goals and Objectives).

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Westchester County Medical Center Overview

The Westchester Medical Center is the university medical center for New York Medical College in Westchester County. This institution is located on the same campus in Valhalla, New York. Augustine Moscatello, MD, a head and neck surgeon, is chief of service. His staff includes full-time faculty members Angela Damiano, MD (general otolaryngology and head and neck surgery), Lianne deSerres (pediatric otolaryngology), Steven Hemmerdinger, MD (general otolaryngology), Carlo Honrado, M.D. (Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery), David Merer, M.D. (pediatric otolaryngology) and Craig Zalvin, M.D. (laryngology).

Westchester Medical Center is a Level I trauma center for a region that includes eight counties. This rotation provides additional experience in all aspects of otolaryngology, with emphasis on oncology, trauma, neurotology, and pediatrics. Proximity of the Westchester Medical Center to the main campus of the New York Medical College enhances resident access to the department's basic science laboratories.

A new Children's Hospital located on the Medical Center campus opened in August 2004. This facility will markedly expand clinical opportunities in pediatric otolaryngology for our residents. In addition, WMC has been designated as the only American College of Surgeons-approved trauma center in New York State. The Medical Center will be expanding its trauma facilities during construction of the new Children's Hospital.

Westchester: Resources & Facilities

Westchester: Clinical Services

Each resident spends an average of three days per week in the operating room. Clinic is held on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings at Westchester Medical Center. Radiology conference and Tumor Board are held monthly. Journal club is held monthly. Additional educational conferences are conducted at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, approximately 28 miles away from Westchester Medical Center. Comprehensive audiology, balance, and speech pathology services are available. Conferences in those disciplines are also held at NYEEI.

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Westchester: Description of Residency Training Program by Year

Residents have rotated through the Westchester Medical Center since July 1, 1993.

Two second-year residents are each assigned to this three-month rotation for a total of six months in this year of training. During this rotation, he or she assists with all otolaryngologic surgery and shares clinic responsibilities with the senior resident. The resident performs all in-house consults. These are reviewed with the attending staff on a daily basis. The second-year resident, the third year resident, and a general surgery or oral surgery resident alternate first call every third night and weekends. The second-year resident assists on approximately 70 major head and neck procedures during a three-month rotation. The resident will be the primary surgeon on such procedures as tracheotomy, tympanoplasty, excisions of skin malignancies, direct laryngoscopy and esophagoscopy, tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomies, septoplasty, sinus surgery, repair of facial fractures and treatment of simple and complex facial lacerations.

The third-year resident is the senior resident. The third-year resident performs approximately 70 to 100 major head and neck procedures during a three-month rotation. This number includes thyroidectomy, parathyroidectomy, parotidectomy, laryngectomy, composite resections, maxillectomies, major airway reconstructions, pediatric endoscopy, sinus surgery, repair of facial fractures and lacerations, tympanomastoidectomy, and tympanoplasty and other procedures described in Goals and Objectives.

Several basic science laboratories for the Department of Otolaryngology/ Head and Neck Surgery are housed at Valhalla. Basic science research in laryngeal and hearing physiology is conducted in one laboratory. In addition, several joint head and neck cancer molecular biology projects are conducted jointly in the Basic Science departments at NYMC and the Department of Otolaryngology. Grand Rounds for the Department Of Otolaryngology are held at Westchester Medical Center every fourth month.

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