Message from Program Director
Should a residency program be focused on producing can-do clinicians, whose training and experience prepares them to work with unpredictable patients and ever-changing diagnostic assessments? Or does the ideal residency produce young scientists, who contribute to the academic community through meeting attendance and literature, and incorporate current scientific research into daily practice?
If we place clinical practice as our paramount goal, then do we mean psychopharmacology, cognitive behavior therapy, family therapy, group psychotherapy – or any of the hundred permutations of these techniques? If, on the other hand, we place science first, then what kind of science: genomics, biomolecular neuroscience, fMRI imaging of neural networks, bundled and unbundled comparisons of DBT against alternative manualized psychotherapies, longitudinal studies of defense mechanisms?
Yet, perhaps there’s something beyond science and clinical practice that is the defining factor in the training of a psychiatrist: a tradition of disciplined humanistic thought and practice that begins with Charcot and extends through the greats of the 19th and early 20th centuries: Freud, Kreapelin, Bleuler, Jaspers, to name a few giants of independent thought who defined the problems we still engage today. Surely any training program that does not place its graduates in this procession is incomplete?
And yet, isn’t there something more to the making of a psychiatrist than clinical, scientific and intellectual development? Isn’t it the case that psychiatrists – unique among physicians – face a special challenge to both understand mental illness, to establish intimate relationships with their patients, and to simultaneously maintain a professional and intellectual position of independence from them? Isn’t it the case that almost every psychiatrist must – to one extent or another – inevitably confront themselves, and develop personally and morally, if they are to find their way in what some have called “the impossible profession?”
The answer to each of these questions, as surely you surmise, is “yes.” Modern psychiatric training is deficient if it does not include awareness of all of these domains of knowledge, and likely many others I’ve failed to mention.
The problem of integrating diverse data and theoretical concepts, represents one more aspect of the challenge psychiatrists face on a daily basis – and one of the reasons psychiatry remains the most fascinating branch of medicine.
The goal of our training program is to begin a process of lifelong learning. In addition to our four-year adult psychiatric residency training program, we also have fellowships in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine. Our yearlong Outpatient Department (OPD) rotation includes training in a broad range of psychotherapies. Psychoanalytic courses taken by residents trained in either adult or child may be integrated into a separate advanced psychoanalytic training program or a selective during the PGY4 year. We are building our curriculum in biological psychiatry and psychopharmacology, and building a department-wide commitment to education and research.
Under the leadership of Dr. Stephen Ferrando, our Chairman, we are committed to the mentorship of our residents as leaders, scholars and clinicians. We welcome your interest in our program, and hope that you will consider building the next stage of your career with us.
Sincerely,
Alexander Lerman, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry
Vice Chairman for Education and Residency Training Director
New York Medical College at Westchester Medical Center
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Behavioral Health Center 3rd floor
Valhalla, New York 10595
Program Overview
While on this service, the resident functions as an integral member of the treatment team. Clinical responsibilities include psychiatric intake, evaluation, management and disposition planning of specifically assigned patients under the close supervision of an attending psychiatrist and psychiatry residents. The resident gains skills in psychiatric examination and evaluation, interviewing techniques, psychopharmacology and is offered some beginning experience in psychotherapeutic techniques.
During the inpatient rotation, PGY-1 residents will also receive weekly off-unit supervision from the Program Director and/or members of the voluntary faculty.
We take training residents as educators very seriously. PGY-1 residents supervise and instruct medical students, and receive guidance and support from senior resident staff. We work to provide useful assessment and feedback to guide residents’ professional development, and to create a learning environment that is constructive, exciting, and physically and emotionally safe.
Most inpatient rotations occur at Westchester Medical Center. We are planning to expand our residency training at MidHudson Regional Hospital.
There are many learning opportunities for residents including lectures and weekly Grand Rounds (September – May). In addition, residents have opportunities to be involved with teaching, including supervising third year medical students, giving lectures, and participating in the education for psychiatry residents and medical students.
Program Curriculum
How to Apply
The following are general guidelines for applying to our program. The information provided should answer most of your questions.
Thank you for your interest in the Westchester Medical Center/New York Medical College Psychiatry Residency Training Program. Together, they comprise a major academic medical center. Our program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
For all applicants:
- USMLE or COMLEX Steps 1 and 2 are required.
- High scores on these exams (minimum of 205 for USMLE, 480 for COMLEX), with each part taken only once are strongly preferred. Candidates with lower scores may be considered if the rest of their application is very strong, however, those with failures on more than one step will not be considered.
- A personal statement explaining your interest in psychiatry is very important. Please do not simply reiterate your accomplishments; let us know something about yourself that is not on the application.
- Interviews begin in mid-November and applications should be submitted no later than December 1.
- Interviews are conducted on Wednesdays and Fridays, either 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., or 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., which will be held virtually. Please see aamc.org/eras for information about the application process.
- Four letters of recommendations are preferred, but three are acceptable. Letters must be dated within the current academic year.
- Westchester Medical Center will accept individuals on J1 Visas sponsored by the ECGMG/Intealth.
Contact Us
If you have questions, reach out to:
Patty Williamson
Westchester Medical Center Residency Program Coordinator
Behavioral Health Center, N-314
Phone: 914.493.1939
Fax: 914.493.1015
[email protected]
Current Residents
- Anusha Ansari – New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Adeeb Chowdhury – New York Medical College
- Abhay Dave – Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Ailin Elyasi – Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine
- Sapir Flank – New York Medical College
- Sara Friedman – Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine
- Rab Raza – St. George’s University School of Medicine
- Kira Rynhold – New York Medical College
- Angelika Saribekyan – New York Medical College
- Justin Stein – New York Medical College
- Rose Birnbaum, MD – New York Medical College
- George Fisch, MD – Sackler School of Medicine
- Talya Kapenstein, MD – New York Medical College
- Yanal Matari, MD – New York Medical College
- Maxine Riter, MD – Weill Cornell Medical College
- Miriam Rosen, MD – Stony Brook University School of Medicine
- Aditya Roy, DO – University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Naftali Stern, MD – New York Medical College
- Zachary Weiss, MD – New York Medical College
- Aitan Magence, MD – New York Medical College
- Muaaz Akram, MBBS – Shalamar Medical & Dental College
- Andrew Flatley, MD – New York Medical College
- Ori Florentin, MD – Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine
- Benjamin Gorlin, DO – New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Harumi Harakawa, MD – New York Medical College
- Rida Khan, MBBS – Alfaisal University College of Medicine
- Ryan Kramer, MD – New York Medical College
- Elizabeth Rubio, DO – Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Gabrielle Weinberg, DO – Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Tara Mehrad, MD – Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran
- Steven Ibrahim, MD – American University of Antigua College of Medicine
- Anastasiya Nestsiarovich, MD – Belarussian State Medical University
- Alborz Omidian, MD – New York Medical College
- Wilson Tan, MD – New York Medical College
- Amanda Timek, MD – New York Medical College
- Daniel Vaithilingam, MD – Ross University School of Medicine
- Fatima Chaudhry, MBBS – Services Institute of Medical Sciences
Past Residents
- Sarah El Halabi, MD
- Samina Mahesar, MBBS
- Kate Morant, MD
- Hadassa Cohen, MD
- Anthony Guccione, DO
- Benedetta Imbastaro, MD
- Sormeh Nourbakhsh, MD
- Surbhi Pathania, MBBS
- Fajar Raza, MBBS
- Coby Basal, MD
- Emily Groenendal, MD
- Matthew Lipow, MD
- Ely Fish, MD
- Nissan Frager, MD
- Andres Estela, MD
- Joseph Elfar, MD
- Wajiha Khan, MD
- Rizwan Amin, MBBS
- Ismail Deniz, MD
- Christopher Tang, MD
- Ahsan Farid, MBBS
- Brandon Jacobi, DO
- Asaf Jacobs, MD
- James O’Reilly, DO
- Corey Saperia, MD
- Anna Volkovinskaia, MD
- Faith Consiglio, MD
- Raafay Deen, DO
- Faiza Farooq, MBBS
- Muhammad Farooqi, MBBS
- Ariel Heller, DO
- Alice Jiang, DO
- Anum Khan, MBBS
- Eric Ross, MD
- Adam Schein, MD
- Michael Trobiano, MD
- Hussain Abdullah, MD
- Argyro Athanasiadi, MD
- Matthew Garofalo, MD
- Parul Kumar, MD
- Vishnupriya Samarendra, MD
- Psychosomatic Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Zucker Hillside School of Medicine – Northwell Health, New York
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Zucker Hillside School of Medicine – Northwell Health, New York
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine, Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Boston’s Children Hospital, Harvard School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
- Addiction Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, California
- Addiction Psychiatry, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Zucker Hillside School of Medicine – Northwell Health, New York
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Montefiore Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
- Addiction Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai/St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, The University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Arizona
- Psychosomatic Medicine and Psycho-Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New
- Geriatric Psychiatry, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Westchester Medical Center
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Westchester Medical Center
- Psychosomatic Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
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.
Westchester Medical Center 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 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.