Message from Program Director
Welcome to the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at Westchester Medical Center, the flagship of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth). Our highly competitive academic program is unique in that it involves faculty and residents providing clinical care at both Westchester Medical Center and New York City Health and Hospitals/Metropolitan. The program seeks to provide residents with comprehensive clinical experience in Obstetrics and Gynecology in urban, suburban, and rural settings.
We provide extensive clinical experiences in general obstetrics and gynecology as well as subspecialty services such a gynecologic oncology, urogynecology, maternal fetal medicine, minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and pelvic pain, family planning, and reproductive endocrinology and infertility. It is our mission that a large component of the residents’ clinical training is focused on the care of under-represented minorities and high-risk populations. We are the first hospital system in the area to establish the Center for Women’s Health Equity. Our residents are actively involved in providing care for patients within the center and participate in the fundamental components of this program including educational curricula, research, and advocacy.
Our faculty are diverse, experienced, and deeply committed, with experience and training from all major academic centers in the country. The faculty and residents have worked hard to create a culture of psychological safety and inquiry within the residency program. Using state of the art technology for clinical care and education has helped us continue to keep up with advances in medical education and training. Faculty work closely with residents in research mentorship and career guidance, building professional relationships that last well beyond the four years of residency. Multiple members of our faculty have completed the APGO Surgical Education Scholars Program, and we continue to provide faculty development opportunities to continue to educate our faculty to be physician educators. Additionally, we have faculty who are ABOG board examiners and faculty who are nationally recognized for their research, including NIH funded faculty.
We have regular didactic sessions throughout the week on all services as well as a half day per week of protected didactic time for resident education. The residency didactic schedule includes didactic lectures, journal clubs, colposcopy conference, research meetings, CREOG reviews, and clinical leadership curriculum. There are monthly simulation sessions with the residents to learn gynecologic surgery, obstetric maneuvers, and safety procedures.
Westchester Medical Center is one of the Regional Perinatal Centers for New York State. Pregnant patients are transferred to Labor and Delivery from 10 affiliate hospitals, covering a seven-county region. In addition, Westchester Medical Center’s Institute for Women’s Health and Wellness is devoted to providing comprehensive women’s health to women throughout the Hudson Valley for which Westchester Medical Center is the flagship hospital. We care for some of the highest acuity in obstetrics and gynecology, complemented by lower risk complexity to provide the best overall exposure to our residents.
In summary, we offer unique and comprehensive clinical experience both within New York City and in Westchester County. Our residents graduate as incredible physicians and have found careers in General OB/GYN practices or have continued into fellowship training, many in leadership positions.
Thank you for your interest in our program. Please take some time to explore our website to learn more about what our program has to offer.
Sincerely,
Julia G. Keltz, MD, FACOG
Residency Program Director
Clinical Assistant Professor
Program Overview
The Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at Westchester Medical Center offers a continuously evolving educational curriculum which is heavily influenced by the residents’ valuable input and follows the educational objectives and core competencies established by the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG).
During this 4-year program, our residents divide their time between Westchester Medical Center and Metropolitan Hospital, affording them an incredible breadth and depth of exposure to diverse patient populations, all subspecialties within OB/GYN (gynecologic oncology, maternal fetal medicine, urogynecology, minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, pediatric and adolescent gynecology, family planning, reproductive endocrinology and infertility) and essential exposure to primary care in women’s health.
In addition to the clinical experience, our residents have protected time for an extensive didactics program at both clinical sites. Each week the residents and attendings dedicate two half-days to teaching at Westchester Medical Center and Metropolitan Hospital, with activities including Grand Rounds, Resident Report, Resident Lecture Series, and Simulation training. Our simulation program includes low fidelity trainers as well as advanced technology trainers such as robotic simulation and high-fidelity surgical models. Supplementary to the formal didactics program are daily MFM teaching rounds, weekly perinatal-neonatal conference, biweekly perinatal conference, tumor board, pre-op conference, and CREOG preparation.
Our program is fully supportive of and compliant with the ACGME clinical and educational work hour regulations, and we understand the importance of resident wellness and wellbeing. Our goal is to provide a high-quality educational experience that emphasizes time for adequate rest and out-of-hospital activities. Therefore, all residents have four weeks of vacation, four additional personal days, and all participate in our established clinical leadership curriculum. We prioritize community partnership and volunteerism, and the residents participate in off campus community service projects and wellness programming.
Rotation Calendars
The following is a representation of the rotation schedules for each PG year.
Program Curriculum
-
Our Simulation program is a comprehensive, hands-on curriculum, aimed at teaching residents the fundamentals of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Our curriculum consists of a four-year rotating schedule of simulation sessions throughout the academic year including both Obstetric simulations and Gynecologic simulations. Our program is constantly evolving to ensure that residents have access to a curriculum that will allow them to grow and improve as physicians.
The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) now requires that all residents graduating after May 31, 2020 must pass the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) exam. The simulation curriculum includes preparing residents for the surgical skills component of this examination.
Post-Match Intern Preparation Curriculum
Before the start of residency, our incoming interns participate in two curricula aimed to prepare the incoming interns for residency on day 1.
Readiness for Residency Curriculum: 4 sessions (3 zoom and 1 in person) to help prepare incoming interns for the new challenges of residency.
Topics included in this curriculum are:
-
- Mission & Values
-
- Resilience & Gratitude
-
- Time Management & Priorities
-
- Evolving Your Learning Skills
Intern Bootcamp: Two days of hands-on simulation training for incoming interns
Topics included in this curriculum are:
- Normal Labor
- Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring
- Introduction to the Operating Room
- Critical Anatomy for Gynecologic Surgeons
- Introduction to Surgical Instruments
- Vaginal Delivery Simulation
- Perineal Repair Simulation
- Cesarean Section Simulation
-
-
The provision of competent, complex care in the high-stakes environment of Obstetrics & Gynecology and its subspecialties requires physician resiliency and attention to life inside and outside of medicine. Emotional and physical exhaustion must never displace the joy in medicine and managing the common stressors encountered during one’s professional career and personal life. Our residency program prioritizes initiatives that assess, promote, and maintain wellness amongst our residents and faculty. The Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency at Westchester Medical Center and Metropolitan Hospital provides patient centered care in a clinical learning environment founded in constructive behaviors of the physician workforce. The residency provides a platform on which residents develop the skills and attitudes needed to advance meaning in their career. This is accomplished through the teaching of skills to promote resiliency, enhance physician well-being, and combat burnout during residency and beyond. In collaboration with Westchester Medical Center as the Sponsoring Institution, the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program has systems in place to monitor resident well-being, by balancing time with patients and personal time, mitigating non-physician obligations, optimizing clinical and administrative support, and the provision of resources for the support of clinician well-being.
Wellness Curriculum
- Readiness for Residency Curriculum
- Clinical Leadership Curriculum
- Community Service & Wellness Curriculum
- ACOG Residency Wellness Week
- Regular Wellness Activities – Organized by our Wellness Residents (resident selected)
-
Our Mentorship & Advisory program is designed to provide each resident with a compatible mentor to serve in an advisory capacity regarding self-assessment and goal development.
Goal: Assist residents in their professional development through the guidance and support of experienced Department of OB/GYN faculty members who serve as role models, advisors, and advocates.
Structure: Faculty meet with their assigned mentee twice annually. This session includes review of their rotation evaluations, updates on their research, exam preparation, and fellowship and/or career planning.
Buddy System: All of the residents are paired with another resident from a different year to function as a mentorship buddy. Maintaining friendships and relationships within the residency program helps our residents work together through challenges and celebrate successes.
How to Apply
Applications accepted through the ResidenyCAS application platform only. We are not participating in Casper.
See timelines and more information below.
Timetables:
ResidencyCAS Applicant Quick Start Guide – Liaison (liaisonedu.com)
NRMP Code: 2157220C0 (Categorical)
Application Process:
| Key Milestones | Date |
| The ResidencyCAS application cycle opens ResidencyCAS | Applicant Login Page (liaisoncas.com) | June 4, 2025 |
| When you can begin requesting USMLE and COMLEX-USA scores | August 25, 2025 |
| When you can submit your ResidencyCAS application | September 3, 2025 |
| Application deadline | September 24, 2025 (you can submit up until 11:59 PM ET) |
| When programs can view your application | October 1, 2025 |
| Interview offers released | October 28, 2025 |
| Interviews begin | November 1, 2025 |
Research
The ACGME requires that all OB/GYN residents engage in “scholarly activity” throughout their residency. According to the ACGME, quality improvement and educational projects can fulfill the scholarship requirement in addition to traditional biomedical research. Residents at WMC are encouraged to pursue a research project but may choose to complete a quality improvement or educational project.
Residents are not expected to enter residency with significant prior research experience. They will receive didactic training and mentorship throughout the four years of residency which will allow them to successfully complete a scholarly product. Our department actively partners with New York Medical College and supports medical students to participate in OB/GYN department research. Our students serve as a great resource to our residents during the summer and throughout the academic year. Medical students contribute greatly to the resident research experience.
We aim for residents to discover the world of clinical or public health research and hope that this will be a positive aspect of their training. We encourage residents to come up with their own research ideas and to initiate their own projects with faculty mentorship. Residents may also participate in research projects that are designed by faculty members but must play an active role in the project to meet the residency scholarship requirement. Residents will learn the foundation of evidence-based medicine and how to apply the evidence into clinical practice. Thus, research experience is not just a requirement but is an important part of their academic career development.
All residents will present their scholarly activity during Resident Research Day, an event which takes place every spring. Residents will present their work in their Program Level 3 year.
-
Guest Speaker: Lisa Nathan, MD, MPH – “Design and Implementation of a Postpartum Hemorrhage Reduction Project Across Eight Hospitals”
Resident Presentations
- Ledoux M, Murthy E, Fruitman H, Bhargava M, Spruill T, Lapointe L, Stifani B. “Baby Friendly:” how much do the moms care?
- Recabo O, Giovinazzo L, Frisse A, Ryntz T, Salcedo J, Stifani Second trimester fetal demise: incidence of abnormal coagulation studies and bleeding complications
- Qian S, Frisse A, Salcedo J, Ryntz T, Stifani B. To Rhogam or not to Rhogam? Rh testing and immunoglobulin administration in early pregnancy among US family planning providers
-
Guest Speaker: Veronica Lerner, MD – Director of simulation, Lenox Hill Hospital
Resident Presentations
- Brewer, A, Soltani, B. Stifani. “Are the residents all right?” A review of wellness content on US OB-GYN residency websites
- Coots C, Mesa A, Gallardo R, Vicens J, Stifani B. Telemedicine for reproductive health: a qualitative study examining the perspectives of Spanish-speaking immigrant women
- Passarelli E, Grimes C, Siddique M. A national survey of hospital protocols for the management of postpartum urinary retention
- Zeuner R, Keltz J, Stifani B. What does it take to become a leader in OB/GYN? A national survey of residency program directors and department chairs
Current Residents
-
Emma Fitzsimmons, MD – Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
-
Madison Hurst, MD – Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
-
Samantha Mauser, MD – Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
-
Eunice Nam, MD – Tufts University School of Medicine
-
Martinique Ogle, MD – Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
- Eva Chorna Sherman, MD – McGill University Montreal, Canada; New York Medical College
- Tiffany Fanning, MD – Columbia University, New York, NY, Columbia University; Mailman School of Public Health New York, NY; Zucker School of Medicine Hofstra/Northwell
- Colleen Livingston, MD – Texas A&M University College Station; McGovern Medical School at UT Houston
- Dena Phillips, MD – Yeshiva University New York, NY; New York Medical College
- Alyssa Sheedy, MD – Cornell University Ithaca, New York
- Brenda Lubochiner, MD – University of Buenos Aires, Argentina; University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Benjamin Rabinowitz, MD – Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN; New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY
- Ashley Silver, MD – Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
- Melissa Yuce, MD – Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC; Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC
- Alexa Leib, MD – Davidson College, Davidson, NC; Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University Philadelphia, PA
- Emily Passarelli, MD – Brown University, Providence, RI; Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
- Shirley Qian, MD – Macaulay Honors College; CUNY Hunter College, New York, NY; SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, Brooklyn, NY
- Olivia Recabo, MD – Brown University, Providence, RI; Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI
Program Alumni
- Autumn Brewer, MD: MFM Fellowship, Wake Forest University
- Cynthia Coots, MD: CFP Fellowship, UC San Diego
- Mariya Ledoux, MD: General Ob/Gyn, Summit/WestMed
- Rachel Zeuner, MD: MIGS Fellowship, Montefiore Medical Center
- Maria Morgan, MD: Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children/University of Toronto
- Amythis Soltani, MD: Complex Family Planning Fellowship at Stanford University Health Care
- Katya Wentzel, MD: Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery Fellowship at Yale New Haven Health
- Helen Zhang, MD: Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at Medstar Healt
- Alborz Borjian, DO: Attending, Facey Medical Group – Providence, California
- Sapphire Holness, MD: Attending, Phelps Hospital Sleepy Hollow, NY
- Bernice Li, MD: Attending, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
- Julia Youssef, MD: Attending, Inspira Medical Center, Mullica Hill, NJ
- Sarah Kwarteng Peprah, MD: Attending, Columbia Doctors NYP – Lawrence Hospital, Bronxville, NY
- Melanie Peters, MD: Attending, Downstate University Hospital, Brooklyn, NY
- Miriam Toaff, MD: Attending, Premium Health, Brooklyn, NY
- Sarah Weingarten, MD: Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship, Weill Cornell, New York, NY
- Itamar Futterman, MD: Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
- Emily Rosenfeld, DO: Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship, Robert Wood Johnson/Rutgers, New Brunswick, NJ
- Nidhi Shah, MD: Attending, Jamaica Hospital Center, Queens, NY
- Rayna Trietsch, MD: Attending, Women’s Health Care Associates, Littleton, CO
Our Clinical Locations
Westchester Medical Center
Westchester Medical Center shares its leafy campus with New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY, approximately 20 miles north of New York City. It is a Level 1 Trauma and Burn Center and a major hub for specialized care referrals. Here, we take care of patients from a very large catchment area stretching from the northern border of New York City to the Catskill Mountains.
WMC has a pediatric hospital (Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital) with eight dedicated pediatric operating rooms as well as many other non-operating room anesthetizing sites, including MRI, radiation and nuclear medicine, and endoscopy. The Ambulatory Care Pavilion, which opened in July 2019, added many anesthetizing locations, both OR and Non-OR.
Construction is underway on the 128-bed state-of-the-art WMC Critical Care Tower, a $220 million project that when completed will span 162,000 square feet over five floors. Our caseload includes a full profile of cardiac, interventional pulmonary and thoracic, complex orthopedic, neurosurgical and solid organ transplant interventions, to name the busiest services. We have a large heart failure and ECMO referral program. Trauma orthopedics and surgery provide our residents a great variety of “open” cases. Residents participate in minimally invasive and robotic interventions in gynecologic-oncology, urology, colorectal, endocrine and thoracic surgery, as well as complex cardiac and neurological endovascular interventions, both pediatric and adult. The Acute and Chronic Pain Management care rotations cover both the pediatric and adult inpatients and outpatients, including complex consultations for patients in the Burn ICU.
Center for Women’s Health Equity
The Center for Women’s Health Equity is the first program of its kind based in New York State’s Hudson Valley region, and has an initial aim of reducing the leading causes of death among pregnant women by integrating specialists in maternal-fetal medicine, whose expertise is the care of complex medical problems affecting pregnant women, with its heart and vascular program clinicians to take a more proactive and holistic view of elevated risk factors among women, particularly those of color.
Regional Perinatal Center
The Regional Perinatal Center (RPC) at Westchester Medical Center (WMC) is one of 18 Regional Perinatal Centers in New York State (NYS). We are committed to working with the NYS Department of Health and our affiliate hospitals to accomplish the goal of improving the health of pregnant women and newborns we serve in the Lower Hudson Valley Region. We partner with our 10 affiliate hospitals covering a seven county region and totaling more than 40,000 births annually.
- RPC (Regional Perinatal Center): “Level IV” Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery
A hospital which provides perinatal clinical services that meet the standards for a level III clinical program but also includes highly specialized services (e.g. ECMO, cardiac surgery, in utero procedures etc.) that may not be available at Level III facilities. The RPC has additional responsibilities for teaching, research, and out-reach as well as database management for its network of hospitals. The RPC is required to formulate an infrastructure to enhance integration of perinatal health care services to accomplish these goals using the tool of a “Regional Perinatal Forum.”