Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship

The Division of Neonatology (Newborn Medicine) at Weill Cornell Medicine offers a three-year neonatal-perinatal fellowship approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Our multidisciplinary team approach allows us to provide the highest level of care for newborns and their families.  We work closely with experienced nurses and nurse practitioners, as well as a dedicated neonatal nutritionist, pediatric pharmacist, developmental psychologist, mother-baby psychiatrist and music therapist. Respiratory, occupational and speech therapists round out our team

WCM neonatology fellows are involved with the entire spectrum of neonatal care, including prenatal consultation, delivery room resuscitation, intensive care management, convalescent care, discharge and follow-up. Our large follow-up program hosts clinics twice weekly to follow premature infants as well as infants who received selective head cooling. Fellows participate in these clinics throughout their three years. Additionally, our fellowship provides the best clinical program and research experience available in preparation for a successful career in academic neonatology, through structured clinical and educational curricula and a research curriculum tailored to the interest of each fellow.

As a designated New York State Department of Health regional perinatal center, the Division of Neonatology has been recognized as a leader in the field of neonatology. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital ranks among the best in the nation in the annual U.S. News & World Report "Best Children's Hospitals" survey, and is New York's No. 1 children's hospital, according to the New York Daily News based on an analysis of the US News & World Report's rankings. 

Curriculum

We concentrate clinical time in the first and second years to provide third-year fellows with time to focus on research.

First Year
  • NICU - seven months
  • Cross Cover - one month
  • Research - three months
  • Vacation - one month
Second Year
  • NICU - four months
  • CICU - one month
  • Research - six months
  • Vacation - one month
Third Year
  • NICU - two months (including one month as a "pre-attending")
  • Research - eight months
  • Elective - one month
Night Calls

Fellows take in-house night calls throughout the year on a divided rotation and also take transport calls from home. On average, night calls are taken one out of every eight nights in-house, and transport calls are taken three nights per month.

Clinics

All fellows are assigned to one of two high-risk follow-up clinics, and are expected to attend on a weekly basis when not on service in the NICU or post-call.

Daily Conferences

Our educational curriculum is a structured program including lectures, seminars, invited speakers, journal clubs and visiting professors. Over the course of three years, a thorough review of neonatal physiology is completed. Fellows actively participate in our educational series.

Day

Meeting

Time

Monday

Physiology Conference: thorough review of newborn physiology, with different topics covered each month

Research Conference: presentation of fellows' and attendings' ongoing or proposed research.

Journal Club: review of neonatal care literature, with an emphasis on critical reading

3:30-4:30 p.m.

Tuesday

Resuscitation Review (every other week)

8-8:30 a.m.

Tuesday 

Pediatric Grand Rounds

8:30-9:30 a.m.

Tuesday 

Antenatal High-Risk Conference (every other week)

1-1:30 p.m.

Wednesday

OB/NICU Teaching Rounds

8-8:30 a.m.

Wednesday 

Clinical Pathologic Conference: presentation of selected cases of interest, followed by anatomic, clinical or pathologic discussion of findings with a pathologist.

Clinical Case Conference - Morbidity and Mortality: monthly review of activity on the unit, along with a discussion of the more interesting cases and any mortalities that occurred

Multidisciplinary Meeting: monthly meeting with all clinical and ancillary disciplines involved in daily operation of the unit, with an emphasis on quality improvement as well as identifying and solving problems

Neonatal Grand Rounds

1-2 p.m.

Friday

Professor's Rounds

12-1 p.m.

Facilities & Services

Our Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) has 60 beds and 650-700 admissions yearly. In addition, a continuing care nursery is used for treatment of larger premature infants and non-distressed full-term babies requiring antibiotics or phototherapy. The Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine features an active delivery service with 5500 deliveries each year.

Weill Cornell Medical Center NICU staff offer a full range of consultative services including:

  • cardiology

  • pediatric cardiothoracic surgery

  • neurology

  • neurosurgery

  • infectious diseases

  • endocrinology

  • genetics

  • hematology

  • radiology

  • ophthalmology

  • dermatology

  • pediatric surgery

  • pediatric otolaryngology

  • pediatric urology

  • pediatric orthopedic surgery, and

  • plastic surgery

NICU staff are responsible for transport of infants from referring hospitals to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Neonatal fellows accompany a transport team when an infant is acutely ill, and are responsible for management on the transport.

Patient Population

Our patient population includes a diverse mix of infants from every area of the New York metropolitan region and beyond. We care for:

  • premature infants as early as 23 weeks of gestation

  • infants with hypoxic ischemic brain injury

  • infants born with congenital anomalies including complex cardiac disease

  • intestinal and airway anomalies

  • infants requiring surgical and medical subspecialty support

Patients in the NICU are split evenly between two teams. The first team consists of an attending, fellow and neonatal nurse practitioners. The second team consists of an attending, fellow and pediatric residents. A pediatric pharmacist, neonatal nutritionist and social worker attend rounds with the teams.

Programs

Neonatal Resuscitation Program            

Fellows actively participate in our newborn resuscitation program, supervised by Dr. Catherine Chang. Newborn resuscitation simulations are conducted two to four times per week. Each fellow will be involved in at least 15 simulations over their three years of training.

Simulation Program 

Simulations are conducted two to three times per week. Each fellow will be involved in at least 15 simulations over their three years of training. Both high- and low-fidelity mannequins are used for simulation purposes

Neonatal Neurology Program

Our neonatal neurologic program trains neonatal and pediatric neurology fellows in the area of neonatal neurology. Fellows attend weekly, multidisciplinary, clinical neuroradiology rounds and research meetings each Thursday, achieving competency in the area of newborn neurologic examination as well as the review of neuroimaging and EEG data. Weekly research meetings are also conducted each Wednesday.

Our fellows come from a range of different backgrounds, skillsets, and experiences

We are a team of world-class pediatric providers

Contact Information

Lauren Blatt M.D., Director
Weill Cornell Medicine Division of Newborn Medicine 1283 York Avenue, 15th Floor New York, NY 10065
(646) 697-6428
Diane Murray, Program Coordinator
(646) 697-6428
Nazera Pasha, Program Coordinator
(646) 697-6428

Pediatrics Weill Cornell Medicine Appointments & Referrals: (646) 962-KIDS (646) 962-5437 Chair's Office: Weill Cornell Medicine 525 E 68th St.
Box 225
New York, NY 10065 (646) 962-5437