Podiatric Medicine and Surgery

Thank you for your interest in the Podiatric Medicine & Surgery Residency Program of Mount Sinai Medical Center.

As the largest private, independent, not-for-profit teaching hospital in South Florida, our 959-bed facility delivers the most advanced and highest quality care in the region. Our attending physicians share a passion for academic podiatric medicine and podiatric surgery. We provide a strong academic foundation for resident training in a supportive learning environment. Our residents’ experiences are supplemented by a strong community base of subspecialty physicians. These physicians further augment residency training at Mount Sinai Medical Center through electives, hospital-based clinics, consultations and research mentorship.

As an academic training site, there are numerous opportunities for our residents to develop their teaching skills. Medical students from the Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine, the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, the Nova Southeastern University School of Osteopathic Medicine and the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine rotate through the hospital every month for their third year clerkships and fourth year externships.

At Mount Sinai Medical Center, we are committed to providing excellence in patient care, physician training and education. Our goal is to provide you with the best possible environment to allow you to grow as an individual and to acquire the information necessary to become an exemplary physician.

You are about to begin one of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of your career as a physician. We believe that Mount Sinai Medical Center is the ideal environment to allow you to become the best you can be, and we look forward to helping you achieve your professional goals.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jacob Silverstone, DPM
Program Director, Podiatric Medicine & Surgery Residency
Chief, Section of Podiatry

Teaching Philosophy

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

Our program maintains an atmosphere that is supportive and conducive to learning, ensuring that each resident has the opportunity to develop the skills to achieve his or her individual career goals. Residents are expected to take an active role in planning their schedules so that their individual needs and interests are met. Our excellent ancillary support services in the hospital ensure that residents may focus their time on patient care and formal learning activities. Our commitment to hands-on surgical training and informative instruction is reflected in our excellent American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery (ABFAS) Part III examination pass rate of 100 percent for the past twelve years.

Residency Management Team

The Residency Management Team (RMT) meets monthly to address all aspects of the program. Members include the Program Director, the Associate Program Director, the Designated Institutional Officer (DIO), the Program Coordinator, chief resident and core faculty teaching members. Any active problems or issues are discussed, and plans for resolution and/or implementation are developed. A Clinical Competency Committee composed of select faculty members meets monthly to review the progress of house staff and to identify any resident performance issues or unmet needs.

House Staff Benefits

Residents are provided with:

• Professional liability insurance
• Parking
• On-call rooms for every service
• White lab coats and scrubs
• House staff lounge with TV, refrigerator, coffee maker and computer station
• $500 book allowance per academic year
• On-call compensation
• 21 paid vacation days (1st year), 28 paid vacation days (2nd & 3rd year)
• 14 paid sick days

Residents are eligible for:

• Health insurance for resident and dependents
• Dental insurance
• Life insurance
• Long-term disability insurance
• 401k retirement

Education and Teaching Conferences

A comprehensive series of weekly conferences and didactics are designed to review the multiple facets of podiatric medicine and surgery. Resident participation in these activities is required. Podiatry department grand rounds are held every Tuesday at 6:45a.m.  The grand rounds are led by our faculty attending physicians and residents. Podiatric grand rounds feature case presentations, journal club, image review with the radiology department, in-depth discussion of complications and guest lecturers from infectious disease, orthopedics, plastics, rheumatology and anesthesia. Vascular conference is held each month with the interventional radiology and surgery departments. Internal medicine, general surgery and infectious disease all have weekly academic conferences. These interdisciplinary conferences provide in-depth analyses of cases, disease processes and medical/surgical management.

Weekly grand rounds occur at 8:30 a.m. on Fridays. This program is designed to provide participants with clinical updates and state-of-the-art discussions of the pathophysiology of disease, as well as an appreciation of the medical and surgical management of diseases from a contemporary perspective. Visiting faculty from other medical institutions frequently contribute to grand rounds.

Monthly interdisciplinary Morbidity & Mortality (M&M) conferences are devoted to the discussion of differential diagnosis, pathophysiology and ethical aspects of medical care, as well as the findings on autopsy.

Publications and Presentations

Publications

1. Brill J, et al. “Perioperative ICG Fluorescence Angiography and its Applications in Podiatric Surgery.” Foot and Ankle Quarterly. 2016 Summer; Vol 2, Number 2.
2. Lopez R, Asencio B, Brill J. “Novel Surgical Approach to Reducible Hammertoe Repair: Plantar Incision PIPJ Arthroplasty.” Clinics in Surgery. (Accepted and Pending Publication)
3. Zaias N, Frankel D. “Hereditary Yellow Nail Syndrome without a Syndrome.” SKINmed. (Accepted and Pending Publication)

Presentations

1. Hembre C & Houseworth J. “Vascular Grand Rounds: Case Presentation.” October 2016.

Posters

1. Phillingane J, Harlis M. “Perioperative ICG Fluorescence Angiography and its Applications in Podiatric Surgery.” Poster presentation for the Resident Reseach Seminar at MSMC 2017.

Ambulatory Experience:

Residents provide outpatient care in the Barry University Foot and Ankle Institute at Mount Sinai or residents may choose to rotate with one of the fifteen staff podiatrists here at Mount Sinai. Residents follow their own panel of outpatients throughout their three years of training. All ambulatory experiences are supervised by on-site attending staff.

Career Guidance:

A priority in our program is to assist residents in choosing the careers they are best suited for and in which they will be happy. Flexibility in elective scheduling permits residents to gain exposure to subspecialties of potential interest during their PGY-3 year. Program leadership makes every effort to help residents with the pursuit of their career goals, directing them towards appropriate faculty members to serve as mentors and fellowship advocates. Mentors may be reassigned, as needed, to accommodate residents’ interests if they evolve during the course of training.

PGY – 1

Rene Deras, DPM
Undergrad: University of Texas at Dallas
Medical School: California School of Podiatric Medicine

Joon H. Kim, DPM
Undergrad: University of Florida  
Medical School: Ken State University

PGY – 2

Holly Seigle, DPM
Undergrad: Florida Atlantic University
Medical School: Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine 

Thanh C. Van, DPM
Undergrad: University of Central Florida
Medical School: Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine  

PGY – 3

Samuel Kettinger, DPM
Undergrad: Bowling Green State University
Medical School: Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine

Meleca Salvatore, DPM
Undergrad: Spring Arbor University
Medical School: New York College of Podiatric Medicin

Chief Residents

Each year, the Department of Podiatry selects one house officer to serve as third year chief resident. The chief resident serves as a junior faculty member; plays an integral role in the planning and administration of the program; and is an additional source of support and guidance for house staff.

Weekly Resident Meetings

The Program Director, Associate Program Director and the chief resident meet weekly with all teams on duty to discuss systems issues and any concerns about the training program. Free discussion is encouraged, plans of action to resolve problems are developed and follow-up is given. This involvement by house staff is considered essential to the success of the program and is an important part of the performance improvement process for the hospital. Additionally, program leadership maintains an “open door policy” at all times, welcoming impromptu meetings with individual residents to discuss any concerns in a congenial, non-threatening atmosphere.

Alumni

Class of 2017

Dr. Cole M. Hembre
Miami Orthopedics & Sports Medicine Institute
Coral Gables, FL
Fellow

Dr. DeeVa Frankel
Advanced Foot Care
Aventura, FL
Associate

Class of 2016

Dr. Natalia Batista
Neuhaus Foot & Ankle
Brentwood TN
Associate

Dr. Nicole Rodriguez
The Sole Authority
Tamarac, FL
Associate

Eligibility:

All applicants accepted into this program must be graduates of a college of podiatric medicine accredited by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medicine Association (APMA).

Application Process:

The Mount Sinai Medical Center residency will participate with the Centralized Application Service for Podiatric Residencies (CASPR) of the American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM).

Application packets, detailing the protocol and schedules are available to all senior students at the colleges of podiatric medicine. It is the intention of the residency training committee to be present at the CRIP sites to facilitate the application process for students.

An application fee of $30.00 is required by Mount Sinai Medical Center. The fee is utilized to cover the costs associated with the interview process. Deadlines for the receipt of this fee will be published in CPME 300. No application fees will be refunded.

Applicants will be notified via postcard as to our receipt and completeness of their application. Any omissions in the application will be sited on this postcard. Applicants will then be notified whether he/she has or has not been granted a program interview.

Interview Process:

Applicants to the residency will be interviewed and evaluated by the Residency Training Committee members. No applicant shall be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, sex or nation of origin. The interviews will be conducted in a professional and ethical manner and contain both didactic and social questions.

At the time of the interview, applicants will be given a copy of the residency curriculum to ensure that he/she possesses a full understanding of the educational requirements of the program.

Following the interview process, the Residency Training Committee will make recommendations regarding each applicant. Applicants will be ranked by the program and these rankings submitted to CASPR in the appropriate manner and time-frame as designated by AACPM. No binding commitment will be obtained from the applicant prior to the CASPR match results.

Time frames and deadlines for application, interview, etc.

Application deadline in 10/15/2006, Applicants will have option to interview at the East CRIP location as posted on the CASPR webpage or they may interview at the hospital, date to be announced. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and 3 letters of recommendation provided with their application.