My sub-i experience at Mount Sinai:
Positive:
-Good group of residents.
-Very busy endovascular service.
Neutral:
-OK operative experience
-Multiple campuses
-Interview during sub-i
-New York City
Negative:
-Shitty attending culture.
-Neither program director nor chair cares about residents. Bederson is an asshole. Mocco may seam great, but he's among the best snake-charmers there are.
-The residents were frustrated that PD doesn't have time to meet and always away.
-Extremely slow OR turnover because of the inefficient hospital system.
-Very weak in open vascular.
-Minimal involvement in the angio suite because of several endovascular fellows.
-Third or fourth tier program in NYC. It will always live in the shadow of NYU, Columbia and Cornell.
-Located in the worst part of NYC.
Comment: The main role of PD is resident's education. He didn't attend any of the 4 grand rounds during my time there. The way I understand it from residents that PD is heavily involved in industry and always away for his own business. The chair works closely with simulation industry and desperate to make a name for himself after decades of away. After all it was hard to trust their future plan.
In a nutshell, I don't recommend going there for a sub-i or residency.
Thank you for sharing, very helpful and I hope others do the same. Sorry you had a negative experience, good luck on the trail!
"Neither the program director nor the chair cares about residents" It this was true, the resident surveys would be negative and the hospital GME and national RRC will step in. Bederson took a sleepy program and made it a desirable program. Sinai has advantages of having purchased several hospitals and now has a true network to leverage for doing complex cases. Mocco is head of the CV section. If you can't figure out how to learn from Bederson and Mocco then the problem might require self reflection. BTW, recent graduates have good jobs.
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FWIW resident surveys are bogus. There is tremendous pressure from department and hospitals to not air their grievances via that mechanism.
(05-06-2017, 08:40 AM)Guest Wrote: "Neither the program director nor the chair cares about residents" It this was true, the resident surveys would be negative and the hospital GME and national RRC will step in. Bederson took a sleepy program and made it a desirable program. Sinai has advantages of having purchased several hospitals and now has a true network to leverage for doing complex cases. Mocco is head of the CV section. If you can't figure out how to learn from Bederson and Mocco then the problem might require self reflection. BTW, recent graduates have good jobs.
Those surveys are about as valid as our duty hours reporting.
(05-06-2017, 10:42 AM)Guest Wrote: (05-06-2017, 08:40 AM)Guest Wrote: "Neither the program director nor the chair cares about residents" It this was true, the resident surveys would be negative and the hospital GME and national RRC will step in. Bederson took a sleepy program and made it a desirable program. Sinai has advantages of having purchased several hospitals and now has a true network to leverage for doing complex cases. Mocco is head of the CV section. If you can't figure out how to learn from Bederson and Mocco then the problem might require self reflection. BTW, recent graduates have good jobs.
Those surveys are about as valid as our duty hours reporting.
I love how despite the above said validity... my attendings routinely rag on the notion of how soft we residents all are today in the "80 hour" era
(05-06-2017, 10:42 AM)Guest Wrote: (05-06-2017, 08:40 AM)Guest Wrote: "Neither the program director nor the chair cares about residents" It this was true, the resident surveys would be negative and the hospital GME and national RRC will step in. Bederson took a sleepy program and made it a desirable program. Sinai has advantages of having purchased several hospitals and now has a true network to leverage for doing complex cases. Mocco is head of the CV section. If you can't figure out how to learn from Bederson and Mocco then the problem might require self reflection. BTW, recent graduates have good jobs.
Those surveys are about as valid as our duty hours reporting.
Yeah, I air my grievances by anonymously bashing my program online. Thanks @Socrates for allowing us to do so
(05-03-2017, 11:29 PM)Guest Wrote: My sub-i experience at Mount Sinai:
Positive:
-Good group of residents.
-Very busy endovascular service.
Neutral:
-OK operative experience
-Multiple campuses
-Interview during sub-i
-New York City
Negative:
-Shitty attending culture.
-Neither program director nor chair cares about residents. Bederson is an asshole. Mocco may seam great, but he's among the best snake-charmers there are.
-The residents were frustrated that PD doesn't have time to meet and always away.
-Extremely slow OR turnover because of the inefficient hospital system.
-Very weak in open vascular.
-Minimal involvement in the angio suite because of several endovascular fellows.
-Third or fourth tier program in NYC. It will always live in the shadow of NYU, Columbia and Cornell.
-Located in the worst part of NYC.
Comment: The main role of PD is resident's education. He didn't attend any of the 4 grand rounds during my time there. The way I understand it from residents that PD is heavily involved in industry and always away for his own business. The chair works closely with simulation industry and desperate to make a name for himself after decades of away. After all it was hard to trust their future plan.
In a nutshell, I don't recommend going there for a sub-i or residency.
I did a second look at Sinai and agree with most negative comments here. Despite the hype in the interview, I was not impressed in my second look. I tried to watch different rooms and most residents don't know how to operate. The vascular fellow there didn't know how to do a shunt! Well, I didn't expect that, but it came as no surprise to me after finding out that he trained at Columbia.
Just came accross this. I am not that familiar with Bederson but as a Vandy grad, I can confirm that Mocco is a hopper and doesn't teach or operate much. He was the associate PD at Vandy but didn't do any good for us. The residents were happy with his departure and we actually expected it because he left Florida for Vandy after staying there for 2 years only, not to mention that I expect he will move again for Columbia. The department at Vandy didn't like it because he brought $$ from industry-the only thing he is good at.
Having just recently completed a sub-i at Sinai, I could not disagree more with the opening post. Truly an incredible operative experience, fantastic resident culture and certainly a high-caliber program. No, I don't have a vested interest. And no, I'm not a current resident. My thoughts:
*Pros
-great group of residents- very fun/chill group with a solid work culture and work ethic. we all went out for happy hour and socialized on several occasions.
-truly outstanding operative experience- the variety and complexity of the cases is certainly unique and noteworthy. As a student, you can't possibly ask for better exposure (infrequent double scrubbing, residents do their best to get you involved), very high acuity cases all around in complex spine, open vasc, tumors etc. And as many of us know, Dr. Bederson is a surgical wizard, and someone you will really enjoy watching operate. Seeing his movements, instrumentation, techniques etc. All around great operative experience
-Teaching- I actually learned a tremendous amount on this rotation. Inherently, there was pimping, but it was always constructive. Uniquely, all the residents are fantastic teachers both in and out of the OR. There are no exceptions. Starting with the chiefs, all the way down to junior residents. Also, they have many conferences and teaching sessions throughout the week, which are attending-run and were great as a student to help identify and understand relevant anatomy, as well as pathologies.
-Attendings- like any institution, there is variety in the attending culture. The vast majority were great, fantastic teachers and surgeons. A few were cold, which is no different than any other hospital I've been to. A couple of their attendings, certainly Dr. Bederson, are more traditional in their ways, and as long as you are respectful, polite, and appropriate, there shouldn't be a problem.
*Cons
-This is a very operative experience. If you are looking for a program that rounds all morning, and will send you out on consults everyday, then this is certainly not the right place. That said, you do see patients/consults more when on call (for us q3/q4)
-Yes, it may be difficult to get daily exposure with the Dr. Mocco, the PD, but you certainly get the vibe he always knows whats going on, and always checks in on sub-is. He's developed a national reputation, and it seems inherently his time is limited. Although, during my interview, he did know a tremendous amount about me, and my performance on the service.
*Overall: Students can't possibly ask for a better experience at a high-caliber, high-volume institution. By now, I've been able to compare the quality and ability of residents, and Sinai is absolutely noteworthy in a positive way. The abilities of even the junior residents is unique and impressive, and certainly a reflection of their training. I highly highly encourage y'all to check it out.
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