Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship

Overview

The Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship is an ACGME-accredited program that incorporates 12 months of extensive clinical expertise in both peripheral and neuraxial blocks, as well as the management of acute pain conditions. Trainees will become adept at a wide range of single shot and continuous regional techniques. Fellows develop independence over a period of months before assuming a broader role supervising junior residents. 

Objectives

Our fellowship adheres to the consensus guidelines for training determined by the directors of Regional Anesthesia Fellowship Group and the PDF icon ACGME requirements for training in regional anesthesiology and acute pain medicine.

Clinical Experience

Our regional anesthesia service performs over 3,000 peripheral and neuraxial blocks per year, both inside and outside the operating rooms. All our regional faculty members have extensive clinical experience or have completed fellowship training in regional anesthesia or pain management. Rotations are organized in 4-week blocks and include the following: 

  • Inpatient regional service at NYP/WCMC: 14 weeks
  • Ambulatory regional service at DHK Ambulatory Center, NYP/WCMC: 10 weeks
  • Regional service at NYP/Columbia: 6 weeks
  • Inpatient acute pain service at NYP/WCMC: 12 weeks
  • Chronic pain service at NYP/WCMC: 2 weeks
  • Orthopedic trauma operating room experience at NYP/WCMC: 4 weeks
  • Elective - Any of the above or regional service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: 4 weeks
  • Vacation: 4 weeks

During their training, our fellows have the unique opportunity to rotate at several world-class institutions, including NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center (NYP/WCMC), the David H. Koch ambulatory surgery center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center (NYP/CUMC) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Fellows can expect to gain expertise in the following procedures: 

  • Upper extremity blocks and catheters - Interscalene, supraclavicular, infraclavicular, costoclavicular, axillary, including distal nerve blocks
  • Lower extremity blocks and catheters - Femoral, lateral femoral cutaneous, sciatic, popliteal, saphenous, iPACK
  • Truncal blocks - Lumbar plexus, paravertebral, TAP, rectus sheath, quadratus lumborum, PEC, serratus anterior, erector spinae, transversus thoracis muscle plane (TTMP) and pecto-intercostal fascial plane
  • Airway blocks for fiberoptic intubation
  • Ultrasound and nerve stimulator techniques
  • Neuraxial blocks, including thoracic epidurals
  • Acute pain management procedures
  • Management of acute pain in the chronic pain patient
  • Exposure to pediatric regional procedures
  • Exposure to chronic pain management procedures

Fellowship Program

Didactics/Scholarly Activities

Didactics

In addition to a formal lecture series and web-based curriculum, fellows participate in:

  • Formal Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) course and training
  • APPLIED exam review course (including OSCEs)
  • Multidisciplinary conferences
  • A monthly journal club and difficult case conference
  • Simulation training in our SAIL lab
  • Formal quality and patient safety training and project

Scholarly Activities

Fellows are required to participate in scholarly activities, which may include clinical research projects, presentations at national meetings, Grand Rounds presentations, dedicated academic time, the potential to participate in a clinical experience abroad with our global health program, or teaching initiatives with the residents and medical students. Individual projects must be approved by the fellowship director and the departmental leadership. At a minimum, 15% of a fellow's scheduled time will be earmarked and protected for academic pursuits.

Medical Student Teaching

Fellows are invited to participate in medical student teaching and outreach. Our division holds quarterly ultrasound anatomy workshops for interested medical students. Our goal is to introduce anesthesiology early in the preclinical years in a way that provides the students with useful information and clinical correlates to their studies.

How to Apply

Application

Accepting RAAPM applications starting: December 15, 2023 via SF Match (see below)
Application deadline: March 15, 2024

To provide more consistency and predictability to the RAAPM fellowship application process, nearly 60 RAAAPM fellowship programs have decided to participate in a common application and match process provided by SF Match for recruitment. The NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship program is proud to be one of the programs participating in this new match process for the upcoming interview season for the 2025-2026 academic year. 

This matching process, provided by SF match, analogous to the current match system for trainees in cardiac, critical care, and obstetric anesthesiology, will allow fellowship applicants an opportunity to visit and evaluate various training programs systematically over a larger window of time. This resulting match system will improve the equity of the process, create a more flexible and comprehensive interview process, and benefit both applicants and individual programs.

Applicants will have to register with and apply to our program through the SF Match website. SF Match will be the central site involved in processing applications, accepting rank lists, processing of the match itself, as well as providing post-match vacancy matching. 

Regional Anesthesiology & Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship with SF Match Portal

 Application Process

1.    Application Portal opens December 15, 2023

2.    Locate program(s) of interest using the ASRA Fellowship Directory

3.    Register as an applicant to Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine (RAAPM) Fellowship on SFMatch.org

4.    Complete the RAAPM application documents within the SF Match system

5.    Locate program(s) of interest using the ASRA Fellowship Directory

6.    Programs will set up interviews once applications are received via SF Match portal

7.    Note all pertinent deadline dates for your application cycle on SF Match or the ASRA RAAPM Fellowship page

8.    Submit rank list before deadline date

9.    In some cases, you may be eligible to commit to a program with an exception agreement, after registration on SF Match. These agreements are initiated by the program director and not the applicant. 

10. Obtain match results on date published by SF Match.

Please email ITE scores and any other supporting documents to regional@med.cornell.edu

Other Information

Number of Positions: 2
Call: No in-house call
Salary 2023-2024: $110,700
Book allowance: $900
Conference Reimbursement: $2,000

NYPH Visa Rules for Foreign Applicants
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH) will only accept foreign nationals (FNs) into this GME program who secure J-1 nonimmigrant classification, which is administered by ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Graduates) or are otherwise authorized to work for the program duration without sponsorship by NYPH. NYPH will not sponsor any candidate for an H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 or any other status to participate in this program. In very limited circumstances, the NYPH will support O-1 sponsorship for FNs who qualify based on their extraordinary ability. In these instances, however, the FN will be required to pay for and use the services of an NYPH-approved immigration legal provider who first will provide an opinion to NYPH that you are eligible for the O-1 classification and, if NYPH agrees to support the petition, then prepare and file an O-1 petition on your behalf. 

Fellowship Leadership

Dr. Tiffany Tedore

Tiffany Tedore, MD

Associate Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology
Program Director, Regional Anesthesiology & Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship

Shelby Badani, M.D.

Shelby Badani, MD, MS, MSPH

Assistant Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology
Associate Program Director, Regional Anesthesiology & Acute Pain Medicine Fellowship

Contact:
Marlene Augustine
Fellowship Program Coordinator
Department of Anesthesiology
Weill Cornell Medicine
525 East 68th Street, Box 124
New York, NY 10065

Phone: 212-746-2785
Email: maa2010@med.cornell.edu
Email: regional@med.cornell.edu

Faculty

Tiffany Tedore, MD, Program Director
Shelby Badani, MD, MSPH, MS, Associate Program Director

Eric Brumberger, MD
John Brumm, MD
Justin Chung, MD
Rohan Jotwani, MD, MBA
Deirdre Kelleher, MD
Shona Lee, MD
Matthew Murrell, MD, PhD
Mohammed Piracha, MD, MBA, MSc
Melinda Randall, MD
John Rubin, MD
Zack Turnbull, MD, MBA, MS
Marissa Weber, MD
Robert Wong, MD

 

Current Fellows

Neil Borad

Neil Borad, MD

2023-2024

Dr. Borad was born and raised in Union, New Jersey. He attended The College of New Jersey and graduated with two bachelor's degrees, one in biology and one in economics. He completed his medical education at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, where he served as president of his school’s Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and American Medical Association chapters. He completed his internship and residency in anesthesiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he served as Chief Resident in his final year.

Dr. Salvatierra

Nicolas Salvatierra, MD, MBA

2023-2024

Dr. Salvatierra was born and raised in Carlsbad, CA. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He continued on to medical school at the University of California, Irvine, where he obtained his dual MD/MBA degree. Upon graduation, he decided to move across the country to complete a residency in anesthesiology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he served as Chief Resident during his final year.

Former Fellows 2022-2023

Nikhil Mikkilineni, MD

Nikhil Mikkilineni, MD

2022-2023

Current: Boston Medical Center
Residency: Boston Medical Center

Richa Sharma, MBBS

Richa Sharma, MBBS

2022-2023

Current: Integrated Anesthesia Associates working with Hartford Hospital & Hospital of Central CT
Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center

Former Fellows

Dr. Justin Chung

Justin Chung, MD

2021-2022

Current: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center

Dr. Vanessa Ng

Vanessa Ng, MD

2021-2022

Current: University of Chicago Medicine
Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center 

Dr. Matthew Kauffman

Matt Kauffman, MD

2020-2021

Current: Princeton Anesthesia Services, Penn Medicine
Residency: Brigham & Women's Hospital

Dr. John Rubin

John Rubin, MD

2020-2021

Current: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center

Dr. Ryan Lippell

Ryan Lippell, MD

2019-2020

Current: Stamford Anesthesiology Services, Stamford Hospital; Stamford, CT
Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center

Dr. Hannah Lin

Hannah Lin, MD

2019-2020

Current: Long Island Physicians, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medicine
Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center

Dr. Melvin La

Melvin La, MD

2018-2019

Current: UCSF
Residency: NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center

Dr. Ashley Wells

Ashley Wells, MD

2018-2019

Current: Veterans Affairs New York Harbor; Brooklyn, NY
Residency: Mt. Sinai, New York, NY

Contact Us

Dept. of Anesthesiology
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine
525 East 68th Street, Box 124
New York, NY 10065

Office of the Chair
Phone: (212) 746-2962
E-mail:  Office of the Chair, anesthesiology-chair@med.cornell.edu

Residency and Fellowship Education
Direct all inquiries to:
Phone: (212) 746-2941
E-mail: anes-programs@med.cornell.edu
For trainee verification inquiries: anes-verification@med.cornell.edu

Patient Billing Inquiries
Phone: (646) 962-5700