Message from Program Director
The pursuit of surgical excellence starts here at Westchester Medical Center. Our main campus is located at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY. As a tertiary academic center and referral destination serving Westchester County and the greater Hudson Valley, we are the only Level 1 Trauma Center between NYC and Albany, serving both adult and pediatric patients. Also located on the main campus is the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, a Commission on Cancer (CoC) accredited Cancer Center, and an upcoming Transplant Institute. Our case mix index is one of the highest in the United States, reflecting the complex care we provide. The institution has a long-standing academic partnership with New York Medical College, which is also located on the main campus and residents will have the opportunity to participate in the training of medical students.
Our General Surgery Residency program offers 5 Categorical PGY-1 and 5 Preliminary PGY-1 positions. Rotations in Trauma, Acute Care Surgery, Critical Care, Surgical Oncology, Breast, Colorectal, Pediatrics, Plastics, MIS, Vascular, Thoracic, and Transplant provide a comprehensive experience. The average resident graduates with well over 1000+ surgical cases. Most residents match into competitive fellowships. Westchester Medical Center also offers fellowships in Surgical Critical Care, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Vascular Surgery, MIS, Transplant, and Burn. Morbidity and Mortality conferences, Grand Rounds, and protected didactic sessions are held weekly. A funded research track is also available and most residents graduate with multiple peer-reviewed publications. Additionally, the Department of Surgery Clinical Research Unit (DSCRU) will provide assistance on any research projects residents are interested in pursuing.
The Department of Surgery at Westchester Medical Center has a culture defined by the highest standards dedicated to excellence in patient care and outcomes. Within this culture, both faculty and residents are committed to an environment of camaraderie, mutual respect, and teamwork. Residents are mentored by engaged, nationally recognized faculty to become future national leaders. Resident wellness and quality of life are recognized as important for resident education.
Located in suburban New York, Westchester County provides a wonderful quality of life with activities and recreational opportunities for a wide array of interests. Manhattan is approximately 18 miles away from the hospital (35 minutes by car or commuter rail). You’ll have the opportunity to dine at world-class restaurants and attend major sporting events, concerts, Broadway, and more! Close by, the Hudson Valley is home to a rich history, beautiful scenery, hiking trails, multiple ski resorts, breweries and wineries. During the summers, there are several beaches less than an hour away.
In summary, the General Surgery Residency Program at Westchester Medical Center provides surgical training that results in the ability to take care of the most complex patient in general surgery or any subspecialty. Just as important, the culture transforms graduated residents into future national leaders.
Sincerely,
Toan Nguyen, MD
Chief, Section of Breast Surgery
Program Director, General Surgery Residency
Westchester Medical Center Health Network
Program Overview
The program accepts five categorical and five preliminary residents every year through the National Residency Match Program. All surgery residents complete their surgical internship at Westchester Medical Center. Additional dedicated research time is an optional component of general surgery training; however, ongoing scholarly activity during training is a program requirement. As of 2022, two residents from the match are designated for the seven-year research track. Research years typically occur between PGY 2 and 3 years. Every attempt is made to send residents, regardless of training level, to any national conference at which their research data is accepted to. Each resident is paired with a clinical mentor to provide guidance during the course of the residency. This is a fully accredited ACGME General Surgery Residency.
Program Leadership
Kartik Prabhakaran
Chair, Department of Surgery
- Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, Fellowship, Surgical Critical Care, 2014
- Montefiore Medical Center – GME, Doctor of Medicine, Residency, Surgery, 2013
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (Pennsylvania), Doctor of Medicine, Medical Education, Medicine, 2008
Dr. Prabhakaran serves as Chair, Department of Surgery of WMCHealth and the Director of the WMCHealth Trauma Consortium. In addition, Dr. Prabhakaran serves as the Felicien M. Steichen MD Chair and Professor of Surgery at New York Medical College.
A nationally recognized trauma surgeon and academic leader, Dr. Prabhakaran has made extraordinary contributions to WMC and the field of trauma care. In addition to leading the only adult Level I Trauma Center between New York City and Albany, Dr. Prabhakaran has led the development of an institutional Network Trauma Consortium that has grown into an integrated system consistently achieving the highest standards of clinical excellence, academic rigor, and patient-centered innovation. Dr. Prabhakaran serves as chair of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma for the Greater New York region and is a national reviewer for the American College of Surgeons’ Verification Review Committee.
In addition to his clinical leadership, Dr. Prabhakaran has served as program director for the largest Surgical Critical Care Fellowship in New York State at WMCHealth and has been a dedicated mentor to residents and medical students.
He completed his undergraduate education and graduate degree in public health at the Johns Hopkins University. After earning his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Dr. Prabhakaran trained in general surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care at Lincoln Medical Center/Cornell University.
Dr. Prabhakaran is active in the education of fellows, residents and medical students. His clinical interests lie in general surgery, trauma, and surgical critical care. He is the author of over 90 peer-reviewed publications and textbook chapters with research findings cited by local, national and international press outlets. Dr. Prabhakaran actively serves on both regional and national committees in the field of trauma, and has been an invited speaker to many local, regional, national and international meetings to share his expertise in the field of trauma and acute care surgery.
Toan Thien Nguyen
Program Director, General Surgery Residence
- Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Sciences, Doctor of Medicine, Fellowship, Breast Oncology, 2017
- University at Buffalo, Doctor of Medicine, Residency, General Surgery, 2012
- St. George's University School of Medicine, Doctor of Medicine, Medical Education, Medicine, 2007
Amanda Lynn Carlson
Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency
- UT Southwestern, Doctor of Medicine, Fellowship, Surgical Critical Care, 2020
- Mount Sinai, St. Luke's Roosevelt, Doctor of Medicine, Residency, General Surgery, 2019
- Temple University- Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Doctor of Medicine, Medical Education, Medicine, 2014
Professional Memberships:
- Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma
- American College of Surgeons
- Association of Women Surgeons
Program Curriculum
How to Apply
Westchester Medical Center participates in ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service®) & NRMP (National Residency Match Program).
Registration Period Opens: September 2, 2026
Program Begins Reviewing Applications: September 23, 2026
Applications Accepted Until: October 31, 2026
Rank Order List Due: March 3, 2027
Match Day: March 19, 2027
The program requirements are as follows:
- Passed USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 by Medical School graduation, passing of each step on first attempt
- Although not mandatory, research experience is highly valued
- The candidate must possess strong motivation and commitment to Surgery as evidenced by background education, personal statement, research and letters of recommendation.
- Personality traits: emotional maturity, warmth and compassion as well as good communication skills
Useful Resources and Information:
Current Residents
- Avani Chopra, MD – Penn State University College of Medicine
- Naveed Haroon, MBBS – Khyber Medical College
- Anna Jose, MBBS- Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Wardha
- Aryan Rafieezadeh, MD- Isfahan University of Medical Sciences Ross Rosen, MD – USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
- Danielle Canfield, MD – American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine Sonali Dadoo, MD – New York Medical College
- Adrian Girald-Rodriguez, MD – Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine
- Odinachi Oguguo, MD – New York Medical College
- Raven Richardson, MD – St. George’s University School of Medicine
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Sonali Dadoo, M.D. – New York Medical College
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Ross Rosen, M.D. – USF Health Morsani College of Medicine
- Nolberto Jaramillo, DO – New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Rami Mizher, MD – Georgetown University School of Medicine
- Maria Silena Mosquera, MD – Universidad Nacional del Nordeste Facultad de Medicina
- Jonah Poster, MD – Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- PGY2: Ishani Sharma, M.D., M.B.A. – Indiana University School of Medicine
- Bryan Cabrera Valdes, MD – FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
- Eleni Drivas, MD – Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Khaled El-Qawaqzeh, MD- Mu’tah University Faculty of Medicine
- Sophia Hameedi, MD- Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
- Ayesha Noor, MBBS- Aga Khan University Medical College
- Alexandra Bahn, MD – Virginia Commonwealth University
- Shujera Bhutta, MD – Ross University School of Medicine
- Tyler James D’agostino, MD – New York Medical College
- Salma Khan, MD – Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences
- Muhammad Khurrum, MD – Jinnah Medical & Dental College
- Mekedes Lemma, MD – University of Nevada School of Medicine
- Nicole Lin, MD – University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
- Ilyse Natasha Blazar, DO – Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine
- Mahir Gachabayov, MD, PhD – North-Western State Medical University I. I. Mechnikov
- Inkyu Lee, MD – SUNY Downstate Medical Center
- Katherine Lam, MD – Research Fellow at Mount Sinai Hospital
- Tamara Sharf, MD – Research Fellow at Children’s National Hospital
- Ishani Sharma, MD – Research Fellow at Westchester Medical Center
- Aparna Vancheswaran, MD – Research Fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Avery Wilson, MD – Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital
WMCHealth Launches New York’s First Robotic Acute Care Surgery Program
Program Alumni
- Kamil Hanna, MD – Abdominal Transplant Surgery Fellowship at Stanford University – Palo Alto, CA
- Kira Murphy, MD – Vascular Surgery Fellowship at The Cleveland Clinic – Cleveland, OH
- Thanh-Thanh Nguyen, MD – Colorectal Surgery Fellowship at UTHealth Houston – Houston, T
- Agon Kajmolli, MD – General Surgery Practice at Marshall University, Huntington, WV
- Muhammad Khan, MD – Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship at North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, NY
- Sara Matsumoto, MD – Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Washington University, St. Louis, MO
- Matthew McGuirk, MD – Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery Fellowship at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA
- Kenji Okumura, MD – Transplant Surgery Practice at Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY
- Muhammad Zeeshan, MD – Vascular Surgery Fellowship at Washington University, St. Louis, MO
- James Choi, MD – General Surgery Practice at Signature Healthcare, Brockton, MA
- Faisal Jehan, MD – Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY
- Danny Lascano, MD – Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, Santa Monica, CA
- Clara Angeles, MD – Thoracic Fellowship at University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
- Asad Azim, MD – Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
- Miles Dale, MD – Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship at Hackensack Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ
- Shekhar Gogna, MD – Multi-Abdominal Transplant Fellowship at Georgetown University, Washington, DC
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.