Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship

The goal of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (Weill Cornell Campus) ACGME-accredited program in Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) is to build experts and leaders in the field of pediatric emergency medicine. The curriculum concentrates on all areas of academic and clinical pediatric emergency medicine, and emphasizes independent, evidence-based medical decision-making. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (Weill Cornell Campus) offers a uniquely diverse clinical environment, with mentorship by highly respected experts in both pediatric and surgical subspecialties. The PEM resident has the opportunity to achieve comprehensive training, to become a skilled clinician, educator, researcher and administrator and to develop confidence in managing the most ill and injured children in a timely manner.

Developing Clinicians

The program offers the unique opportunity for the resident to train in three diverse pediatric emergency services. The majority of clinical training is at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located on the upper east side of Manhattan. This is a private urban hospital caring for a variety of general and subspecialty patients, many with highly complex medical pathology. We accept referrals from neighboring schools and private physician offices as well as transfers from many affiliated hospitals throughout the metropolitan region. The resident also performs clinical rotations each year in the pediatric emergency service at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, located in Washington Heights, New York and at New York Methodist Hospital, located in Brooklyn, New York.

The clinical milieu at each of these sites offers a complement of experiences, providing the resident exposure to a high volume inner city population of patients with a wide variety of medical entities, and education by highly regarded and nationally acclaimed Pediatric Emergency Medicine faculty at each site. The resident is offered an outstanding opportunity to develop skills at medical investigation, rapid assessment and triage, evidence-based analysis and technical procedures. Residents will learn to prioritize care and manage patient flow in a variety of busy urban emergency services. Pain management and child health advocacy are greatly emphasized during the training program. A simulation-based educational program is currently being developed and will allow enhancement of the clinical educational process by incorporating simulation-based scenarios for infrequently seen medical entities and resuscitation procedures into the curriculum.

Developing Educators

At Weill Cornell, there is a strong emphasis on developing educators. The PEM resident is offered formal training and close mentorship in developing the process and skills of teaching. There are numerous opportunities to teach, ranging from one-on-one sessions with medical students and pediatric residents at the bedside, to giving formal talks to pediatric, emergency medicine and PEM residents, attendings, nurses and EMS in a variety of venues and Grand Rounds. Lecture development and public speaking skills are emphasized throughout the curriculum.

Developing Researchers

The Department of Pediatrics, General Clinical Research Center, and the School of Public Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College offer the essential resources our residents require to attain expertise in the development, design, methodology, statistical analysis and composition of original clinical research. Formal coursework in research design and statistical analysis is provided. Monthly meetings with the mentor to review research progress are conducted. Our resident is expected to present his/her research at a national meeting and to prepare a completed manuscript during the training program. Funding for research-related travel and CME is available to the resident each year of training.

The curriculum includes 12 months of dedicated research time, distributed throughout the 3 years in a manner that will support the development and performance of meaningful clinical research.

Developing Administrators

The resident is exposed to a variety of administrative roles and leadership opportunities. These activities may vary based on the experience and interest of the individual resident. The resident may develop programmatic enhancements in the pediatric emergency service, serve on a departmental or institutional committee, participate in safety and quality improvement, develop programs for pediatric advocacy and/or join in community outreach activities. Formal education is offered on physician wellness, ethics, healthcare economics, safety, and quality improvement.

The Environment

The Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the Phyllis and David Komansky Center for Children's Health is part of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, a world-renowned university hospital affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College, The Hospital for Special Surgery and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. The hospital is a tertiary care medical center and is designated by the New York City Regional Trauma Advisory Committee and the New York State Department of Health as a Level One Trauma Center for children and adults. The William and Randolph Hearst Burn Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is one of the largest and busiest burn centers in the country and serves as the primary regional burn center in New York City.

The Phyllis and David Komansky Center for Children's Health, Department of Pediatrics, has distinguished faculty in all subspecialties of pediatrics, offering the highest caliber in teaching and clinical consultation. The pediatric in-patient unit and critical care unit serve children with complex medical and surgical entities. The Department of Emergency Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center offers a highly acclaimed and nationally renowned Emergency Medicine Residency Program with outstanding faculty from both NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia campuses contributing to the didactic educational efforts in emergency medicine.

The Faculty

The Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine is comprised of eight PEM board-certified/eligible faculty members, recruited from the top fellowship programs in the New York City metropolitan area. The faculty are dedicated to the training program, and work closely with the resident, offering expertise in both a clinical and didactic venue.

Current Pediatric Emergency Medicine Faculty

Shari Platt, MD
Director, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Director, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Subspecialty Training Program

Jennifer I. Curran, MD
Dorothy J. Damore, MD
Caridad D. Isaac, MD
Marie Lupica, MD, PhD
Michele Rosenthal, MD
Nikhil B. Shah, MD
Eric Weinberg, MD

The Curriculum

The program is uniquely structured to meet the interests and needs of each individual resident while adhering to ACGME program guidelines. This is a 3-year program, structured to foster academic and personal growth by encouraging increasing independence and responsibility with each training year.

Clinical rotations at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center include anesthesiology, pediatric critical care, adult emergency medicine, EMS, and child protection. A rotation in Toxicology is performed at the New York City Poison Control Center . This regional poison center receives more than 90,000 consultations each year. During this rotation, the resident will have the opportunity to participate in daily rounds taught by toxicology fellows and nationally renowned faculty, and to attend the monthly regional toxicology conference. A rotation in Trauma is performed at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. This is an intense month of training, during which the resident is supervised by highly skilled and trained trauma surgeons and fellows who offer expertise in the acute assessment and management of the most severely injured adults and adolescents. A variety of elective rotations are available, such as burn surgery, orthopedics, sports medicine, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, oral surgery, plastic surgery, emergency radiology and obstetrics/gynecology.

Competency-based goals and objectives are outlined for each rotation and reviewed with the resident prior to and after the completion of each rotation. Resident evaluations of a rotation offer critical feedback and serve as a basis for programmatic modifications, enabling continuous curriculum improvement.

How to Apply

Applications are received via the ERAS system.
ERAS website: www.aamc.org/students/erasfellow/start.htm

Applicants must complete an application to be considered for an interview.
Acceptance into the subspecialty residency program requires a current New York State Medical License or limited permit.

ERAS Application Requirements

General Application
Three or four letters of recommendation (one must be from the Program Director)
Recent Photo
Personal Statement (single page)

Application Deadlines

The PEM application deadline is September 15, 2008

MyERAS opens to applicants: July 1, 2008
NRMP match registration opens: August 13, 2008
PEM application deadline: September 15, 2008
Interviews: September 1 - November 1, 2008
NRMP rank order list opens: October 8, 2008
NRMP rank order list closes: November 12, 2008
NRMP match results: December 3, 2008
Fellowship training begins: July 1, 2009

Shari L. Platt, M.D.
Director, PEM Subspecialty Residency Program
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital – Weill Cornell Medical Center
525 East 68th Street, M-133
New York, NY 10065

Office: 212-746-3431
Fax: 212-746-4883
Email: slp9001@med.cornell.edu

Anne Hoffmann
Manager
Office: 212-746-0892
E-mail: anh9015@nyp.org