The Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship Program is a three-year fellowship program that complies with all ACGME requirements, in addition to following the guidelines and recommendations of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). Mount Sinai Medical Center is the largest private, independent, non-profit teaching hospital in South Florida. Our 672-bed hospital with 99 ICU designated beds, 12 satellite offices, and three emergency centers provides care to a large local tri-county patient population. Because of our South Florida location, Mount Sinai also serves as a referral center to international patients from the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The educational mission of the Mount Sinai Medical Center Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship (PCCF) Program is to train highly qualified Pulmonary and Critical Care physicians who are

• Able to provide high quality Pulmonary and Critical Care patient care
• Have received specialized training and be qualified in:
  • Patients with the full array and future pulmonary diseases and those requiring critical care.
  • General screening for pulmonary genetic diseases, asthma, inflammatory disease, fibrotic disease, infectious disease, vascular disease, and cancer.
  • Management of acute and chronic pulmonary and critical care problems
• Fellows will learn about aspects of preventive health care, including exams, routine tests, immunizations, and overall evaluations for patients with pulmonary and critical conditions.
• Fellows will learn about aspects of preventive health care, including exams, routine tests, immunizations, and overall evaluations for patients with pulmonary and critical conditions.

The schedule includes rotations in Medical ICU, Surgical ICU, Specialty clinic, Research electives, Cysitc Fibrosis clinic as well as Interventional Pulmonology. We also will be joining our other academic colleagues with Ultrasound didactics and Anesthesia for airway “bootcamp”.

The advantage of our program will be the attention that each fellow receives given a high attending: fellow ratio. Clinical rotations, simulation, didactics, procedures, mentored research and self-directed learning prepares our fellows to be future leaders in the field. Our faculty are outstanding triple threats as clinicians and patient care advocates, teachers, and involved in scholarly activity.

Ari Ciment, MD
Program Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship

Teaching Philosophy

At Mount Sinai Medical Center, we stress the physician’s primary obligation to patient care and patient advocacy. Fellows accept progressive responsibility in an environment that is dedicated to their supervision, progressive learning and responsibility, and wellbeing.

Our program provides superior, “hands on” training for physicians who wish to become highly skilled clinical pulmonary and critical care physicians as well as educators and investigators in pulmonary and critical care problems.

Fellowship Management Team

Any problems or issues are discussed, and plans for resolution and/or implementation are developed. A Clinical Competency Committee composed of select faculty members meets twice a year to review the progress of fellows and to identify any performance issues or unmet needs. Members include the Program Director, the Associate Program Director, the Program Coordinator, and core faculty teaching members.

House Staff Benefits

Fellows are provided with:

• Professional liability insurance
• Parking
• On-call room
• White lab coats
• Shared private offices, lounge with TV, refrigerator, and computer stations
• $2000 academic allowance per academic year.
• 28 paid vacation days
• Long-term disability insurance

Fellows are eligible for:

• Health insurance for resident and dependents
• Dental insurance
• Life insurance
• On-site day care facilities
• Opportunity to contribute to a retirement plan

Education and Teaching Conferences

We are dedicated to teaching comprehensive and compassionate pulmonary and critical care while developing a learning environment that facilitates the achievement of knowledge and life-long learning abilities and providing time, resources, and mentoring to develop research skills. Our Pulmonary/Critical Care fellows spend a minimum of 24 months in clinical training, in the diagnosis and management of a broad spectrum of Pulmonary and Critical Care diseases. Fellows receive skillful training in pulmonary function testing, x- ray and CT scan reading, central and arterial line placement including Pulmonary Artery catheterization, when necessary. We are collaborating with colleagues in Emergency Medicine and Anesthesia to broaden knowledge base on difficult airway scenarios as well as ICU ultrasound. Fellows are strongly encouraged to contribute in scholarly activities that range from clinical, translational, or basic science research to case reports, book chapters, or national presentations. Numerous conferences are held on a continuing basis, including weekly board review topics, ICU conference, Lung Cancer conference, Pulmonary/Critical Care Grand Rounds and Radiology conference.

There are two fellows each year for a total of 6 fellows in the program. We have accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

First Year

Pulmonary Consult Service- 4 Months
Medical Critical Care- 4 Month
Surgical Critical Care including Neuro-ICU- 1 Months
Interventional Pulmonary- 1 Month
Specialty Clinic- 1 Month
CF clinic- 2 weeks
Elective- 2 weeks
Vacation- 1 Month

Second Year

Pulmonary Consult Service- 4 Months
Medical Critical Care- 3 Month
Surgical Critical Care including Neuro-ICU- 1 Months
Interventional Pulmonary- 2 Month
Specialty Clinic- 1 Month
CF clinic- 2 weeks
Elective- 2 weeks
Vacation- 1 Month

Third Year

Pulmonary Consult Service- 4 Months
Medical Critical Care- 3 Month
Surgical Critical Care including Neuro-ICU- 1.5 Months
Interventional Pulmonary- 1.5 Month
Specialty Clinic- 1 Month
Research/Elective- 1 month
Vacation- 1 Month

Ambulatory Experience

Our Division of Pulmonary Medicine has an active outpatient clinic. The patient populations in these clinics provide a diverse experience in terms of gender, socioeconomic status and reason for referral. There will be routine management of common pulmonary diseases such as COPD, asthma, lung cancer, noninfectious pneumonias, Inflammatory Lung Disease and sleep apnea. Each fellow is assigned to at least one half-day per week. Patients who require continued care are followed by the same fellow throughout his/her three-year training period.

Career Guidance

Our faculty members are leading experts within their field who are committed to mentoring Pulmonary fellows. Our faculty provides fellows with access to unique clinical and research opportunities and guidance on career development.

Chief, Pulmonary Division at Mount Sinai Medical Center

Seth Gottlieb, MD FACP
Medical School: SUNY Downstate
Residency: University of Pittsburgh
Pulm/CC Fellowship: Boston University
Specialty: Pulmonary and Critical Care
Focus: Pulmonary Rehab, medical resident teaching, ILD

Program Director

Ari Ciment, MD FACP
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, FIU Medical School
Medical School: Rush University, Chicago, IL
Residency: Robert Wood Johnson University
Pulm/CC Fellowship: Mount Sinai Hospital- New York
Specialty: Pulmonary and Critical Care
Focus: Teaching Pulm/CC, ICU trials

Associate Program Director

Carolina De La Cuesta
Medical School: SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University
Specialty: Infectious Disease and Critical Care
Focus: ICU care and  Infectious diseases

Core Faculty

Hernando Garcia, MD FACP
Medical School: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, School of Medicine, Colombia
Residency: Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach
Pulm/CC Fellowship: Jackson Memorial Hospital. University Of Miami
Specialty: Pulmonary and Critical Care
Focus: ILD and Pulmonary Hypertension

Federico Gorostiaga, MD
Medical School: Universidad Nacional de Asuncion, Paraguay
Residency: Maimonides Medical Center
ID Fellowship: Maimonides Medical Center
Critical Care Fellowship: Cleveland Clinic
Specialty: Critical Care
Focus: Neuro-ICU, SICU

Tahir Ahmed, MD FACP
Medical School: King Edward Medical University, Lahore
Residency: Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach
Pulm/CC Fellowship: Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach
Specialty: Pulmonary and Critical Care
Focus: Director of Pulmonary Research

Steven DeBeer, MD
Medical School: University of Miami
Residency: Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach
Cardio-Thoracic Fellowship: Emory Medical Center, Atlanta
Specialty: Cardiothoracic Surgery, ECMO
Focus: ECMO

Roy Williams, MD
Medical School: SUNY Brooklyn
Residency: SUNY Brooklyn
General Surgery: SUNY Downstate/Kings County
Cardio-Thoracic Fellowship: SUNY Brooklyn and Lutheran Medical Center
Specialty: Chief of Thoracic Surgery
Focus: Lung Cancer

Fernando Safdie, MD
Medical School: University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Residency: Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach and Cleveland Clinic
Cardio-Thoracic Fellowship: University of Pittsburgh
Specialty: Thoracic Surgery
Focus: Lung Cancer

Juan Sabater, MD
Medical School: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Residency: Jacobi Hospital-Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship: University of Miami of Miami School of Medicine, Jackson Memorial Medical Center
Specialty: Mount Sinai Medical Center Director of Research
Focus: Pulmonary Fellowship Research mentoring, Aerosol Research Lab

Kyan Askari, MD
Medical School: University of Miami
Residency: Beth Israel Medical Center
Emergency Medicine/CC Fellowship: University of Miami
Focus: Emergency airways, SICU attending

David J De La Zerda, MD FACP
Medical School: University of California, San Francisco
Residency: University of California, San Diego
Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship: University of California, San Diego
Specialty: Pulmonary Critical Care
Focus: Chief of Fellowship training program at UM/JMH

Fellows

1st Year

David Gruen, MD
Residency: American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine

Kunal Gawri, MD
Residency: Guru Gobind Singh Medical College

2nd Year

Ariana Goldstein, MD
Residency: Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center

Davide Fox, MD
Residency: HCA Florida Aventura Hospital

3rd Year

Adolfo Alvarez, DO
Residency: Mount Sinai Medical Center – Miami Beach

Roshan Shah, MD
Residency: Hackensack University Medical Center

General

Two positions are offered at Mount Sinai Medical Center’s Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship Program each year.

Mount Sinai Medical Center participates and accepts applications only through ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service). In addition, your application will only be considered if you are enrolled in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). You must contact your medical school for delivery of your application, transcripts, Dean’s letter and faculty recommendations to our program via the internet.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DEADLINE FOR APPLYING THROUGH ERAS IS AUGUST 31.

ACGME Program # – 1561114003

NRMP # – 1105156F0

Required Documents for Application

The following supporting documents should be submitted via the ERAS program:

• ERAS Application
• Official Medical School Transcript
• USMLE Transcripts (at least Steps 1&2) and if applicable, ECFMG status report
• Personal Statement
• Three (3) letters of recommendation, including one from your internal medicine program director.

Information for applicants on a Visa:

• J-1 Visas will be sponsored for applicants who are accepted into the program. Foreign medical graduates will need to have completed an ACGME-approved residency program in Internal Medicine in the United States prior to beginning our program. -We are not able to sponsor or accept H-1 or O-1 visas. We will not convert H visas to J visas for individual candidates.
• Your visa status must be certain at the time of application.

Interview Process

Upon receipt of the completed application, our selection committee will review all materials. Invitations for interviews will be offered via e-mail from Ceasar Rivera, Program Coordinator. Selected applicants are interviewed in the month of September. Inquiries may be directed to Ceasar Rivera, Program Coordinator, via e-mail, Ceasar.Rivera@msmc.com, or by phone at 305-674-2251.