Yeah, I interviewed there and loved the program. I am curious to know if Columbia offers a housing stipend (and if so, how much) for it's residents? Also, the Columbia ortho website suggests that there is earlier exposure to trauma at Columbia now. Other than the rotation at Shock, what might this earlier exposure be? Thanks.

There is a stipend given to all of the residents in the Columbia system twice yearly.

The earlier trauma relates to the complete restructuring of our rotation schedule so that the PG-2 resident on the specific Attending rotation often is the one doing the case. This has been a very favorable change in the program over the last few years and has certainly been appreciated by the junior residents.

William N. Levine, MD
Vice Chairman and Associate Professor
Residency Director
Columbia Orthopaedic Surgery
New York, NY

Anyone with any suggestions as far as which specific rotation to choose for an away at Columbia, especially to get a good overall view of the program. Thanks!

I didn't rotate there, but Dr. Levine is on Sports and they also have particularly strong Peds service (best in the city).

Columbia is obviously a top notch program, and very selective at that.... it seems like many people are bitter b/c they didn't get an interview there. I interviewed at Columbia, HSS, and HJD. Columbia is definitely one of the stronger programs in NYC. Here is my assessment:

Reputation: HSS > Columbia > HJD (it's HSS)

Operative experience: HJD > HSS = Columbia (HSS has more cases, but too many fellows and hands-off attendings; Zuckerman is resident advocate and preaches HJD attendings to let residents do a lot of cases).

Research: Columbia > HSS > HJD (many columbia residents win OREF grant award, slightly higher than HSS residents I think)

Resident coolness: Columbia = HSS > HJD (I'm sure HJD have some good guys, but I thought HSS and Columbia residents carried themselves very well).

General relationship (among attendings and residents) within the program: Columbia = HJD > HSS (all 3 programs have arrogant attendings, but HSS has a lot of inhouse fighting due to great emphasis on financial bottomline, hence competition and politics).

This is only my humble opinion and perhaps better approach to NYC programs evaluation.

loving_ortho

I am currently a resident at Columbia and I feel that it is important to let people hear an opinion from an actual resident who works with Dr Levine. Dr. Levine works hard for the program and does have the best interests of the residents in mind. He is also one of the best teachers you can have as a resident both in conferences and in the OR. He is also available for the residents 24-7. Dr. Levine really cares about the residents and the program.

I rotated at Columbia's program some time ago...rotated with Dr. Levine and can tell you that he was very pleasant to work with. I enjoyed my rotation, felt that Columbia was a great program.

Dr Levine is a huge asset of our program. There is no question he cares about the program and us residents. He is always available by cell phone at any time. He loves to teach and is probably the best educator in our program. On a personal note, Dr Levine operated on my shoulder and called me every day at home the first five days postop to see how I was recovering. To me, that shows he cares about my wellbeing and interests. Dr Levine is a major reason I chose to come to Columbia.

Thanks to all those familiar with the program who posted on this topic; it's good to know how many people have had good experiences. Now I'm even more so looking forward to hopefully doing an away there to form my own impression!