Cornell Versus Columbia Anesthesia CC

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Modanq

Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2005
Messages
311
Reaction score
390
Any reviews or thoughts on Cornell Anesthesiology Critical Care versus Columbia?
Columbia seems like a powerhouse per the website any current residents or past fellows wish to chime in?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Just from my own research and from others, Columbia's CC is well regarded within the anesthesia cc community. Cornell has gone unfilled multiple times based on sfmatches vacancy list
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Thats what I noticed; but any specifics about the two locations? CT ICU heavy? Autonomy versus Scut, Learning, Research etc, Closed versus Open????
 
Just from my own research and from others, Columbia's CC is well regarded within the anesthesia cc community. Cornell has gone unfilled multiple times based on sfmatches vacancy list

Eh, this isn't a reliable indicator as there isn't a ton of demand right now for anesthesiology CC spots - there were 37 total unfilled spots last year (out of 186, that's only 80% of spots filled). Most programs with > 3 or 4 fellows have trouble filling unless they have internal candidates, or are taking 2 year EM graduates.
 
While a longtime SDNer, mostly I’ve lurked in the past, but finally decided to make my 1st post. For some background (and openness), I’m a female anesthesiologist who is a current CCM fellow at Columbia. It’s been an incredible year, and wanted to share a bit about the fellowship.

Pros:

Total support- Our faculty are incredible. The PD and CCM director and chief, Dr. Vivek Moitra is a fantastic leader to work for. He’s kind, passionate about change, listens and cares about his fellows and attendings, and always puts education first. There has never been a time I felt spoken down to or intimidated by him or any other faculty member. They encourage us to explore our own goals for fellowship, and help us get there. They also bought us cool looking Columbia vests as gifts which look pretty cool. They have a wellness program that they take very seriously, and are always checking on our stress level, throwing us ‘decompression’ at the tavern nights, and thanking us for our hard work. I don’t think I’ve ever been thanked so much just for doing my job.

Good team- I was actually very hesitant about coming to NYC for training of any type because we all have heard horror stories of union issues and discord, but none of that exists at Columbia. The nurses and ancillary staff all work hard, put the patient first, and I’ve never had a run in of any significance with anyone. You often hear, “The fellow said…” because fellows are given an incredible amount of respect by all members of the team. Fellows are NOT used for scut. I’m a bit embarrassed to say I’ve only put in about 5-10 orders during my 8m of fellowship this far, and only during emergencies. We work with an absolutely wonderful team: hardworking and seasoned nurses, clever and dedicated residents, and brilliant and experienced PAs and NPs, and no drama exists with anyone.

Education- Our education always comes first, and we have protected time for it. We have weekly journal clubs, attending given lectures, oral board review, a week long TTE course, TEE training by one of the masters of the field (Dr Shanewise), grand rounds, and multidisciplinary meetings. On top of this, Dr. Moitra is very interested in any lecture topics we request. This year, I’ve actively sought out more lectures on ID and renal topics, and they are happy to accommodate.

Career building: First, the obvious: if you do fellowship at Columbia, you are a hot commodity, but much more importantly, they’re interested in putting our graduates all over the place, so the attendings are happy with reaching out to their contacts wherever you want to go. Each of our fellows have had wonderful choices of both academic and private practice jobs this year.

Playing- What can I say, this is NYC. No city plays as hard as New York does.

The schedule- I love our schedule! We work hard while on service, but also spend a good deal of time on electives of our choice and well as rotating through other ICUs. Our 2 main units we cover are the CTICU and SICU, and those are the only units we do call in. In the CTICU, we do Q3 24 hr call for 2 weeks at a time. In SICU, we usually do 1 wk of days, Mon-Fri 7am-7pm, then 1 week of nights, Sun-Thurs, 7pm-7am, with a 3 day weekend afterwards. Then, after the 2 weeks of service (either CTICU or SICU, NOT both!), you generally have 2 or so weeks of electives, with no call. This time is for your education, and is also quite relaxed. We spend this time catching up on papers, working on research, interviewing, going into the OR to shadow any specific case we’d like to do as attendings next year, and learning about whatever we’re interested in. For the adult learner, this is the place to be.

Conferences- The fellowship is very interesting in sending us to conferences, no matter if we present or not. This year, 4 fellows went to Hawaii, and more could have gone if they wanted to. Our stipends are quite generous.

Big program- We are a good-sized program with enough fellows that we are never over worked or stretched thin.

The cases- Columbia patients are sick! Which is awesome for our education- very little makes me nervous anymore. They do crazy cutting edge surgeries, lots of ecmo and cardiac devices, loads of transplants, and amazing saves here every day. The only thing we don’t see much of is trauma, but if you were interested, they find a rotation in the city for you to do. No one from our group has expressed interest this year.

Autonomy- On call, weekend afternoons and nights, the attending is at home unless you need them. This is fantastic for our education! Like I mentioned before, we are very well staffed with residents, NPs, and Pas, even at night, so there is virtually no scut, but you are the decision maker! Our attendings never mind being called, and we run any issues we have by them if we need help, but I’ve never felt babied or over supervised. In the morning, as we sign out, we go through possible treatment options from the night before, but I’ve never felt judged or berated for my care. Again, everything is a learning opportunity, and you have back up if you need it. Of course, surgeons and the OR anesthesia attendings are in house if you need them stat.

Fantastic Coordinator- If you don’t think a good coordinator matters by now, I don’t know what to tell you. Lisa, our coordinator, is fantastic. She takes care of us like we are her little sisters and brothers, bakes for us, makes sure our call and work rooms are cleaned and well stocked, and in general is incredibly sweet and organized. She works incredibly hard to make our lives as smooth as possible, and it makes a huge difference.

Closed unit- both the CTICU and SICU are closed, which is fantastic.

Cons:

I don’t really have a lot to say here, but I think full disclosure is important.

CXR- take a while sometimes for the tech to come and shoot them, and that can be annoying

Bronch- For a routine bronch, there is sometimes a wait for a couple of hours until it’s your turn for the bronch tower. In emergencies, you get priority and it isn’t an issue.

Price- NYC can be pricy, so I’d recommend talking to people that live here, current fellows, or attendings before you move to get advice on the best places to live for your budget. We do have fellows in all walks of life, single, married, with kids. It’s doable with some planning, but the city ain’t cheap.

No trauma at Columbia- If you’re interested, they’ll hook you up with an away rotation in the city which would be a pretty easy commute by subway, but no one in my year wanted to do this. They have had 2 fellows that have done this in the past.

Anyway, you should strongly consider Columbia. This is a fantastic fellowship with great leadership, almost no scut, a strong team, loving environment, and education at it’s focus. I interviewed at 8 different CCM fellowships, put Columbia 1st and couldn’t imagine doing fellowship anywhere else. This place is a powerhouse dedicated to making you amazing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5 users
great review....wish there were more of these types of reviews for fellowships
 
Former Columbia CCM fellow. Agree wholeheartedly with MKTC with nothing much more to add. I consider my CCM year at Columbia to be hands down the best year in training I've had. No offense to Cornell but they simply do not have the same volume as Columbia. Few hospitals will compare with the type of exposure you get at CUMC.
If you survive the amount of work. :)

I 100% concur with the rest, just based on my interview there. A bit too cardiac-heavy and MICU-light for my taste, but otherwise seemed like an outstanding program.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top