Lenox Hill

dude, im bumping this shizzle-anybody have any info? I hear Ranawat may be stepping down soon, any truth to that rumor?

I think everyone knows that the sports and joints divisions at Lenox Hill are amazing. From what I've learned, you get farmed out to world-class facilities for peds (Boston Children's), tumor (Sloan-Kettering), and trauma(Shock).

If anyone knows, I've had trouble getting in contact with people at Lenox Hill to know how their chiefs have placed in fellowships over the past couple years. If anyone knows, please PM me. Thanks.

Hey man, I wouldn't sweat the fellowship placement thing. A place like Lennox Hill should set you up for whatever you want to do. I'd put that factor at the bottom of your considerations.

99% of residencies should you get you into close to any fellowship you want. Obviously bigger, academic residencies will probably have more connections for bigger, academic fellowships. That's the name of the game for fellowships...connections.

I am a resident to whom Lenox Hill has been very good. Rank lists are in, but the questions posed will come up again for the next crop of applicants and you may still be curious...

Lenox Hill is a small program (2 residents/year) with a very large operative volume, mostly Total Joints, Sports and Spine. Several of our surgeons have national name recognition (Dr. Ranawat is obviously internationally known) and the surgical training – especially in Joints and Sports - is phenomenal.

The ER is level III, so our Trauma is mostly geriatric and athletic, but we do get cold trauma referrals. We also have a good Hand experience and one excellent Foot/Ankle attending. Excellent away rotations (Shock Trauma in Baltimore, Children's Hospital Boston, Memorial-Sloan Kettering for Tumor - just a mile from Lenox Hill) round out the experience and enhance the academic flavor of the residency.

The large number of cases and small number of residents and fellows means that it is rare for two trainees to scrub the same case (case volume/resident is far greater than any other program in New York). Residents often get to choose between cases, with less desirable cases going uncovered or covered by a PA. We have help with floor and some ER responsibilities from a number of PAs and NPs. This minimizes scut and maximizes learning/operating. Nevertheless, expect to work very hard.

The residency is very "hands on" from the beginning, which means that your technical skills and comfort in the OR progress rapidly. While many academic PGY2's are doing scut work and preparing for "malignant" conferences, PGY2's at Lenox Hill are busy operating one-on-one with attending surgeons who teach during the case and help you develop technical skills.

Like most orthopedic programs, we are able to brag about the excellent fellowships into which our graduates place. In the past 5 years our residents have placed in the following spots:

Spine - Johns Hopkins

Shoulder & Elbow - Wolf Arthroscopic Fellowship (San Francisco), Frankle Fellowship (Florida), NYU/HJD

Sports Medicine – Miami, Birmingham (with Dr. Andrews), NYU/HJD

Arthroplasty - MGH, HSS

Pediatric Orthopedics - NYU/HJD

There are more fellowship spots than domestic Ortho grad applicants, so most American residents get "prestigious" fellowships. Good residencies help you get the specific fellowship you want in the specific geographic area you want, whereas residents from mediocre programs may have to scramble for the leftovers, sacrificing location and "fit" more often than reputation. Lenox Hill grads have been quite happy with their placements, but there is no objective way to document this or compare it to other programs.

I was very lucky to learn about Lenox Hill and avoid the "trap" of looking only at large academic programs. Whether you match at an academic program or a community program, most orthopedic residencies are very good and you are likely to be happy with and proud of your training. Good luck with the match and your future Ortho training.