About
Welcome! The Internal Medicine Residency Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull offers residents a chance to train with one of the most diverse and medically complicated populations in the United States. We provide the experience of a community-based program but have access to the resources of a large hospital system and the global population that lives in our communities. Our residents graduate well equipped to independently provide quality care to patients of any medical complexity.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull is part of NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public health system in the United States. Our 347-bed hospital is located in North Brooklyn at the literal intersection of three Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs): the Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant and East Williamsburg neighborhoods. We treat over 100,000 patients a year, most of whom are underserved and more than one-third are uninsured. We care for all patients regardless of immigration status or ability to pay. Half of our patients were born outside the United States. Half of our patients are Hispanic, one-third Black, and less than 10% each White and Multiracial. Our patients speak over 100 different languages, with Spanish being the most requested language.
Our Program boasts a friendly and diverse complement of residents with a broad range of medical interests, hobbies, and life experiences. Founded in 1982, we are ACGME accredited with 69 residents and almost 50 faculty dedicated to preparing our residents for any career in Internal Medicine. We are an academic affiliate of the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Most of our residents are International Medical Graduates and hail from around the world. Half of our residents pursue careers as general internists and half match into fellowships in Medicine subspecialties.
Our Program
Our Program is structured in a “4+2” model with almost all rotations being 2 weeks in duration. Rotations in the “4” of the “4+2” include inpatient floors, critical care, elective, night rotations, or other inpatient experiences. Vacation will also occur during this time. Every four weeks residents will return to their primary care practice for the “2” weeks of the “4+2.” During their primary care weeks, a resident will serve as the primary care provider for a panel of patients at our Medical Center or one of our Community Health Centers. This practice continues throughout the three years of residency. Residents also participate in other outpatient medicine subspecialty practices of their choice during their primary care time.
Inpatient Training
Our inpatient floor rotations include rotations in a dedicated telemetry service, a non-telemetry floor service and a dedicated admitting team. Floor teams consist of a senior resident working with two interns or a senior resident functioning as a hospitalist by themselves. After the day shift, floor patients are covered by a night-float service. Attending hospitalists are present in-house 24/7.
Our critical care services include a 12 bed Intensive Care Unit and a 12-bed step-down unit, each staffed with two residents at a time. Care is split into a day shift and a night shift. There is no rotating call schedule.
Outpatient Training
In our medicine clinics, residents serve as the primary care physician for a panel of patients over the course of three years. Each resident is part of a dedicated Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) team, working with the same group of attendings, nurses, staff, and patients throughout the course of their residency. Some of our residents develop their primary care practices at nearby NYC Health + Hospitals community-based practices in the Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods.
Electives
Each resident chooses rotations in medicine subspecialties during their Electives. In addition, residents choose which medicine subspecialty clinics they practice in during their Primary Care rotations, allowing them to develop continuity in an outpatient specialty practice in addition to their general medicine practice during the course of their residency. We offer electives in: Addiction Medicine, Anesthesiology, Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Geriatrics, Hematology & Oncology, Hospitalist Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Palliative Medicine, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Primary Care, Psychiatry, Pulmonology, Research, and Rheumatology. Our residents also pursue electives in other affiliated or nearby Medical Centers.
Academics
- Morning Report: Our Program hosts Morning Report Monday through Thursday. Morning report topics include overnight case presentations, case-based discussions, team-based learning, simulation sessions, and board review.
- Grand Rounds: Each Friday instead of Morning Report, the Department of Medicine hosts Grand Rounds.
- Departmental Conference: Each Wednesday, our residents join the rest of the Department of Medicine for noon conferences which include Morbidity & Mortality conference, Root Cause Analysis, Journal Club, and Quality Improvement conference.
- Academic Half-Day: Each week residents on floors, outpatient rotations, and electives participate in 3 hours of protected teaching time. PGY1 residents have half day on Wednesday afternoon and PGY2 and PGY3 residents on Thursday afternoons. During the academic half day, our faculty lead discussions on three different topics.
- Primary Care Didactic: Residents on Primary Care rotations also participate in a second academic half day each week on Fridays. Led by our Primary Care faculty, these sessions focus on the physical exam and the management of common symptoms and chronic conditions.
Sample Schedule
Each rotation is 2 weeks long. Schedules may vary among residents.
A sample schedule can be viewed by clicking the image below.
Resident Life
What’s life like in Brooklyn?
Amazing! Woodhull is at the intersection of several unique and diverse neighborhoods with many options for cultural food and sights to visit. Manhattan is a short train ride away too for many of the most popular attractions from skyscrapers to Broadway and museums. Public transportation makes it easy to get around the city too or getting to one of several international airports for travel.
Simulation
Our residents participate in simulation in central line placement, cardiac arrest protocols, and other acute care scenarios at Woodhull and with other hospitals within our health systems. Residents are part of a simulation team that run different clinical scenarios and learn point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) skills during regular sessions throughout the year.
Conferences
Our residents are very active in continued medical education (CME). Our affiliation with New York University makes it easy to participate in conferences in the latest research and clinical practice. In addition, our residents are members of various societies, and present their case presentations and research locally and nationally.
Wellness Events
New York City and the surrounding area is home to activities for all interests. Wellness events take place during and after hours, and are programmed by program leadership and chief residents. Monthly birthday celebrations, access to coffee, and snacks are just part of what is offered throughout the month.
CIR (Committee of Interns and Residents/Service Employees International Union)
All residents are part of CIR house staff union, and provide additional resources for education, medical, and professional needs. Additional information regarding benefits can be found via their website, https://www.cirseiu.org/woodhull-hospital/.
Leadership
Jonna Mercado, MD
Chair, Department of Medicine
jonna.mercado@nychhc.org
Dr. Jonna Mercado completed her Internal medicine residency program at New York Medical College (NYMC)- Metropolitan Hospital, where she also served as chief resident. She has been involved in the education of medical students at NYMC since 2010. She was an Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine program at Metropolitan Hospital from 2011 to 2021 and also served as the Director of Medicine clinic from 2013 to 2021. Given her strong interest in health policy/management and health services administration, Dr. Mercado completed her Master’s in Public Health at NYMC in 2017. Dr. Mercado joined Woodhull in June 2021 as Chief of Ambulatory Care and was later appointed as Chair of Medicine in February 2022. In her role, she leads the department’s administrative, quality of care and clinical activities and its operations. As Chair, she oversees the residency program administration through its program leadership led by Dr. Michael Malone. During her spare time, she enjoys traveling and discovering new places with family and friends. She loves the arts, music and theater and takes pleasure in going to museums, watching Broadway and ballet shows.
Michael Malone, MD
Program Director
malonem2@nychhc.org
Dr. Michael Malone grew up in suburban Chicago and Wisconsin and graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with degrees in Molecular Biology and History-History of Science. He graduated from New York University Grossman School of Medicine in 2013 and completed his training in the NYU Internal Medicine Residency Primary Care Program in 2016. After working at NYC Health + Hospitals/Gouverneur as a primary care physician and Clinician Educator, he joined NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull in 2019 as a primary care physician and Associate Program Director before becoming Program Director in 2021. He sought a career in public health to promote health equity and work with underserved and undocumented populations. He loves to teach and seeks to improve the lives of patients and clinical outcomes through training quality physicians. In his spare time, he loves to draw, travel to new places, SCUBA dive and game with his friends.
Giovanna Rodriguez, MD
Associate Program Director
rodrigug28@nychhc.org
Dr. Giovanna Rodriguez trained in Ponce School of Medicine in Puerto Rico in 2010. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in 2013, followed by a fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at SUNY Downstate Hospital in 2016. Dr. Rodriguez recently became a diplomate of Obesity Medicine. In her role as an attending physician, she cares for a complex and unique population at Woodhull Medical Center and regularly precepts with medical students and residents and endocrine fellows. Her hobbies include interior design and hosting brunch for family and friends.
Nader Ishak Gabra, MD
Associate Program Director
gabran@nychhc.org
Dr. Nader Gabra completed his undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley. After leaving California to attend St. George’s University School of Medicine, he fell in love with New York City during his clerkships. He then completed residency at Mount Sinai Morningside and West in 2018 followed by fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care at Lenox Hill Hospital in 2021. He has a special interest in POCUS and Simulation education and has focused on developing these as integral parts of the program since joining NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull. In his free time, he enjoys trying new restaurants in the city as well as traveling.
Enid Lopez
Program Coordinator
Enid.Lopez@nychhc.org
Enid has worked in the healthcare industry for over 20 years in an array of different positions in both the private and public sector. This has enabled her to understand the challenges that healthcare professionals face on a daily basis from different perspectives. She has managed a large culturally diverse internal medicine program similar to Woodhull’s and a smaller family medicine program and found both experiences very rewarding. Enid joined NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull in 2015 in the quality management department and was fortunate to work closely with many Attendings and Residents from the Department of Medicine, but quickly learned she missed working with Residents. She has lived in this community for most of her life and therefore, has a comprehensive understanding of the social/economic and cultural dynamics that providers have to take into consideration when preparing healthcare plans for their patients. Enid is the proud mother of a daughter who travels the world as an unreal technical artist and of twin boys who are in their senior year of college. She and her husband will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary shortly. Enid enjoys traveling, and spending time with her loving family and friends and serving as a mentor to others.
Cyrilla LeRiche-Jeanty
Program Coordinator
lerichec3@nychhc.org
My name is Cyrilla Leriche-Jeanty, better known as Lilly. I am from St. Lucia. A paradise in the Caribbean surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean. I migrated to the United States approximately twenty-one years ago. I have been in the medical field for twenty years. First started at NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County. I was there for a period of nine years during which time I obtained my Bachelor’s degree.
Upon completion of my bachelor’s degree I moved on to Mount Sinai Hospital. I then later came to the realization that I needed to revisit my plans for the future and decided to resign from my comfort oasis and reapply for a NYC Health + Hospitals position in order to secure my future. I joined the Woodhull Internal Medicine Residency Program family as a Residency Program Coordinator which has always been my dream job. Thus, I look forward to working alongside my superiors and peer to support the residents that I serve and the program to the best of my ability.
Cardiology
Ronny Cohen, MD Ronny.cohen@nychhc.org
Critical Care
Ashvin Butala, MBBS, Chief of Critical Care Ashvin.butala@nychhc.org
Endocrinology
Gul Bahtiyar, MD, Chief of Endocrinology Gul.bahtiyar@nychhc.org
Gastroenterology
Manuel Martinez, MD, Chief of Gastroenterology martinem56@nychhc.org
Geriatrics
Yaw-Ling Chen, MD YawLing.Chen@nychhc.org
Hematology & Oncology
Pouyan Gohari, MD, Chief of Hematology and Oncology Goharip2@nychhc.org
Hospitalist Medicine
Yaw-Ling Chen, MD, Chief of Hospitalist Medicine YawLing.Chen@nychhc.org
Infectious Disease
Maria Maritato, MD Maria.Maritato@nychhc.org
Infectious Diseases/Virology
Yusuf Afacan, MD Yusuf.afacan@nychhc.org
Nephrology
Paul Byssanthe, MD, Chief of Nephrology Paul.Byssainthe@nychhc.org
Neurology
Dimitry Drinshpun, MD Grinshpd@nychhc.org
Palliative Care
Jose DeLeon, MD Deleonj5@nychhc.org
Primary Care
Jillian Diuguid, MD, Director of Primary Care Diuguidj@nychhc.org
Pulmonology
Stephen Kuperberg, MD, Chief of Pulmonology Kuperbes2@nychhc.org
Rheumatology
Konstantin Brodetskiy, MD Brodetsk2@nychhc.org
Primary Care Safety Net for those experiencing homelessness
Michael Shen, MD Michael.Shen@nychhc.org
Applying & Frequently Asked Questions
How to Apply
We participate in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). We only accept residency program applications through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). We require three letters of recommendation. Communications to the program outside of ERAS will not be addressed.
Yes. Our Program sponsors both J1 and H1b visas for qualified applicants.
All IMGs who enter ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship programs must be certified by ECFMG.
A J1 visa is an Exchange Visitor Visa. To be eligible for a J1 visa, applicants must have passed USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, and be ECFMG certified.
A H1b visa is a Temporary Work Visa. To be eligible for a H1b visa, applicants must have passed USMLE Step 1, USMLE Step 2 CK, USMLE Step 3, and be ECFMG certified.
Applicants who qualify for both visas can select either visa. There is no cost to the applicant for either visa and there is no cap on the number of visas offered by the Program. Here is a comparison of both types of visa.
| J1 | H1B | |
| Type of Visa | Exchange Visitor Visa | Temporary Work Visa |
| Requirements | ECFMG Certification USMLE Step 1 USMLE Step 2 CK |
ECFMG Certification USMLE Step 1 USMLE Step 2 CK USMLE Step 3 |
| Cost to Applicant | None. All application costs are covered by Woodhull. | None. All application costs are covered by Woodhull. |
| Quantity Limits | There is no limit to the number of residents in the Program who can be on a J1 visa. | There is no limit to the number of residents in the Program who can be on a H1B visa. |
| Career Goal: General Internist (Hospitalist or Primary Care) | Difficult. An employer must grant a waiver to the residency requirement if you plan to begin work immediately after completing the Program. There are a limited number of jobs that offer a J1 waiver. | Easier. Any employer can continue sponsorship of an H1b visa after you complete the Program. |
| Career Goal: Fellowship | Easier. You can continue in an advanced training Program under the same J1 visa. | Difficult. Many Fellowship Programs do not sponsor H1b. |
| Length of Visa | Can extend up to 7 years | Can extend up to 6 years |
| Transition to Immigrant Visa (Green Card) | No. Only with a waiver. | Yes. |
| Residency Requirement | When the visa expires, you must return to your home country for 2 years unless you are granted a waiver. Waivers are limited. | None. |
| Family | Your spouse and unmarried, minor children can be sponsored under a J2 visa. J2 visa holders may study or work while in the United States. | Your spouse and unmarried, minor children can be sponsored under a H4 visa. H4 visa holders must obtain an EAD to work in the United States. |
No. We evaluate each applicant holistically. US clinical experience is welcome, but we consider the quality of all clinical experiences when considering applicants.
No. We evaluate each applicant holistically. However, most of our residents have graduated medical school within the last 5 years.
No. However all of our current residents passed their USMLE Step 1 and USMLE Step 2 CK on the first attempt. Our current residents have a median score of 231 on USMLE Step 1 and 237 USMLE Step 2 CK.
No. We are glad you want to work with us! However, our Department of Medicine does not host observerships at this time.
No. We would love to meet you and introduce you to our residents and Program! However, to keep our interview process equitable, we do not offer any in-person interviews.