OBGYN PGY 1 Residency
Esther Chen
Medical School: SUNY Downstate College of Medicine
Hometown: Long Island, NY
Plans after residency: Achieve acupuncture certification
Hobbies: Ultimate frisbee, music festivals, running, languages, Grey’s Anatomy
Ben Gastevich
Medical School: Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Plans after residency: Potentially Surgical Critical Care fellowship; considering hospitalist or generalist practice in the long term
Hobbies: listening to house music; teaching myself foreign languages; reading science fiction; exploring the NYC food scene; going to the beach.
Maxwell Oberlander
Medical School: New York University Long Island School of Medicine
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Plans after residency: I would love to become a generalist.
Hobbies: running and perfecting new recipes
Emefa Ocansey
Medical School: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Hometown: Somerset, NJ
Plans after residency: Unsure as of now, as long as I am happy serving my patients
Hobbies: Traveling, binge watching tv shows, exploring new restaurants and searching for the best bubble tea
Colleen Stankey
Medical School: Loyola University Chicago | Stritch School of Medicine
Hometown: Jones Valley, CA
Plans after residency: I plan to work as a generalist providing comprehensive, culturally-sensitive, and empathetic care to all of my patients!
Hobbies: classical ballet, modern dance, NBA basketball, and anything Food Network!
Julia Thompson
Medical School: University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia
Hometown: Jamestown, Rhode Island
Plans after residency: interested in pursuing REI, Family Planning or Pediatric Adolescent Gynecology fellowships, or being an OB/GYN generalist in NYC
Hobbies: watching US Women’s Soccer games, exploring restaurants in Brooklyn, going to spin classes with friends, listening to global politics podcasts
Christine Yuan
Medical School: University of Maryland School of Medicine
Hometown: Parsippany, NJ
Plans after residency: Academic Generalist, cat mom
Hobbies: Digital Art, Crocheting, Running, Lifting, Baking
OBGYN PGY 2 Residency
Blessing Ajayi
Medical School: Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Hometown: Ibadan, Nigeria and Union, NJ
Plans after Residency: Still deciding
Hobbies: Marvel & game nights. I’m trying to get back into knitting.
Nicole Goncalves
Medical School: University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Hometown: Worcester, MA
Plans after residency: Hopefully gyn onc fellowship!
Hobbies: Trying new restaurants, going to concerts, dancing, comedy shows, visiting my sisters and nieces/nephews
Sarah Madoff
Medical School: Tufts
Hometown: Boston
Plans after residency: Not sure yet, but definitely involves getting a dog!
Hobbies: Seeing live music, traveling, baking
Nina Nguyen
Medical School: Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine
Colby Rondeau
Medical School: University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine
Thammatat Vorawandthanachai
Medical School: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Hometown: Bangkok, Thailand
Plans after residency: Considering Fellowship or generalist
Hobbies: Scuba Diving, traveling, learning new languages, reading, writing & finding New York’s best dumpling shop!
OBGYN PGY 3 Residency
Natalia Alexandridi
Medical School: University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine
Hometown: Buffalo, NY
Plans after residency: Not sure yet! Interested in immigrant/ refugee health, LGBTQ health, adolescent health.
Hobbies: yoga, swimming, attending live music events, trying new restaurants, creative makeup
Jiahua Chen
Medical School: Touro College
Hometown: Prato, Italy
Plans after residency: Fellowship vs Generalist
Hobbies: Traveling, Trying new restaurants & exploring the city.
Manuela Gil-Cupello
Medical School: Indiana University School of Medicine
Hometown: Caracas/Miami
Plans after residency: hopefully match into PAGs
Hobbies: dog sitting, baking, hanging out with friends
Rohit Iyer
Medical School: University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
Hometown: Tampa, FL
Plans after residency: Work as a generalist attending
Hobbies: Tennis, Brunch, Video games, Dungeons & Dragons
Meghna Ramaswamy
Medical School: University of Maryland School of Medicine
Hometown: Germantown, Maryland
Plans after residency: undecided
Hobbies: knitting, reading, going to plays/musicals
Tiffany Rose
Med school: Frank H. Netter, MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Plans after residency: Generalist Ob/gyn, clinical education, global health
Hobbies: Salsa, Reading, playing with my dog
OBGYN PGY 4 Residency
Alexandra Dadrat
Medical School: Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Hometown: Fort Myers, FL
Plans after residency: MIGS Fellowship hopefully!
Hobbies: Eating, exploring the city, traveling in general, salsa dancing, scuba diving, charcoal drawing & sleeping!
Lizbeth Grado-Gutierrez, MD
Medical School: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Hometown: Fort Collins
Plans after residency: Urogynecology Fellowship
Hobbies: Long walks, cooking, documentaries
Mona Makhamreh, MD
Medical School: University of Jordan Faculty of Medicine
Hometown: Amman, Jordan
Plans after residency: Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Medical Genetics
Hobbies: Embroidery, reading murder mystery novels, spinning classes
Manjiri Nadkarni, MD
Medical School: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Hometown: Queens, NY
Plans after residency: Generalist OB GYN with interest in female sexual health and awareness, healthcare equity, reproductive justice and prevention of gender based violence.
Hobbies: Traveling, cooking, trying new foods, binging courtroom dramas on Netflix
Natalie Rivera, MD
Medical School: St. George’s University School of Medicine
Hometown: Long Beach, CA
Plans after residency: Transgender medicine and Minimally invasive surgery
Hobbies: swimming, running, climbing, biking
Qi Zhang
Alumni
Class of 2023
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do residents live?
Our residents live all over our incredible Brooklyn such as Borough Park and Sunset Park which is walking distance from the hospital, or in Downtown Brooklyn, Park Slope, or Bensonhurst.
What is the call schedule like?
We use a night float system Sunday night through to Friday morning with calls on the weekends. Calls can be tough as we have a busy clinical service, but they are great learning opportunities. Calls are 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays or 12 hours on Sundays.
Do you have a Wellness Program?
We have many wellness initiatives in residency. In addition to the Maimonides Medical Center GME’s Wellness services including access to a psychologist, we have our own wellness curriculum including informal talks about the practice of medicine and how to address dynamic sleep schedules. We have an incredible wellness chief who helps plan resident activities outside of work. Finally, residents receive Wellness Days throughout the year.
How are residents, faculty, and the program evaluated?
In addition to real-time feedback from the faculty, residents are formally evaluated by the faculty after each surgical case (on-demand surgical evaluations) and at the end of each 4-week block (rotation evaluation). Every 6 months, residents are formally evaluated using 360-degree evaluations (faculty, resident, medical student, patient, and nursing evaluations), in-service exams, case logs, and their research. Residents evaluate the faculty, and the program annually. Residents also have access to an anonymous email for on-demand evaluations regarding any residency program concern. All evaluations are confidential, and residents have access to their evaluations electronically.
What educational supplies are available for residents?
Residents have access to the GA Degenshein Library – which provides access to a huge number of online textbooks, research databases, and UpToDate – which is available directly through our electronic medical record as well. In addition, the department provides physical textbooks available in the resident library, and the hospital has an onsite library of its own, with a certified medical librarian.
All residents have access to one online question bank to help them prepare for their in-service and board exams. In addition, we provide funding for educational activities from textbooks, exams, and conferences by our residency union.
What is the lecture schedule like?
Monday Mornings are our protected didactics time. We have 5 hours dedicated to educational activities including lectures, Chair rounds, M&M conferences, Tumor board, Case-Based presentations, Journal club, and Simulations! Didactic sessions are protected time during which our mid-level providers take over clinical duties. In addition to resident didactics, we have regularly scheduled Departmental Grand Rounds, and an Annual Hospital Research Day.
What are the opportunities for employment after graduation?
Many residents enter our program planning to practice general Ob/GYN while some plan to pursue fellowship training. We are committed to supporting our trainees with whatever post-graduate plans they have. Our robust clinical volume ensures you will be well prepared for general practice. We also have faculty in all the Ob/Gyn subspecialties who can help mentor you through your fellowship application process. We also have our own MFM and MIGS fellowship as well.
Do you have a mentorship program in residency?
The OBGYN Department at Maimonides Medical Center provides excellent exposure to all 7 subspecialties. Based on your interest, an official mentor is assigned to you on the first day of residency.
What research resources are available in your department?
Our department holds multiple meetings to discuss resident research projects lead by faculty attendings and fellows. We have 3 research assistants available to assist in IRB applications, data collection, and patient recruitment. We also have 2 full-time statisticians available for statistical analysis. The OBGYN department grant is available for residents on a rolling basis. Maimonides Research and Development Foundation offers a research grant annually to residents as well.