Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship

The Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship at Weill Cornell Medicine is a 12-month, ACGME-accredited program designed to provide advanced clinical training, academic development and leadership preparation in obstetric anesthesiology. The fellowship is based at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center within the Alexandra Cohen Hospital for Women and Newborns, a state-of-the-art tertiary referral center serving a diverse and medically complex obstetric population.

The program is designated as a SOAP Center of Excellence and operates within a highly collaborative, multidisciplinary care model involving obstetrics, maternal–fetal medicine, cardiology, neonatology, transfusion medicine, hematology, interventional radiology and critical care.

With more than 8,500 deliveries annually, a ~95% neuraxial labor analgesia rate, a <2% general anesthesia rate, and established multidisciplinary programs for placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) and cardiac disease in pregnancy, fellows gain extensive exposure to both routine and high-risk obstetric anesthesia.

Fellows are actively involved in the management of high-acuity, medically complex parturients, including those with:

Cardiovascular disease: congenital and acquired heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, cardiomyopathy, and advanced valvular pathology
Neurologic conditions: intracranial pathology, neuromuscular disease, and elevated intracranial pressure requiring nuanced anesthetic planning
Hematologic and coagulation disorders: thrombocytopenia, inherited or acquired coagulopathies, anticoagulation management, sickle cell disease, and patients at high risk for obstetric hemorrhage
Musculoskeletal and spine pathology: severe scoliosis, prior spinal instrumentation or fusion, connective tissue disorders, and other anatomic challenges impacting neuraxial access and anesthetic strategy

The service frequently coordinates care for patients at elevated risk of hemorrhage and coagulopathy, utilizing goal-directed transfusion strategies and point-of-care coagulation testing within well-established multidisciplinary pathways.

Additional clinical exposure includes management of critically ill obstetric patients requiring invasive monitoring, vasoactive infusions, and intensive care support, as well as multidisciplinary coordination for patients undergoing interventional radiology procedures and cardiac interventions during pregnancy and the peripartum period. Fellows also participate in anesthetic planning for non-obstetric surgery in pregnancy and provide longitudinal antenatal consultation for patients with complex medical comorbidities.

Mission Statement
The fellowship prepares graduates for careers in academic obstetric anesthesiology, leadership roles in high-acuity obstetric programs, and advanced clinical practice in maternal care.

The mission of the Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship is to:

Train world-class obstetric anesthesiologists who promote maternal health and well-being
Develop innovative educators and scholars who advance the field
Cultivate leadership in multidisciplinary obstetric care
Deliver excellence through evidence-based, patient-centered practice

Core program values include curiosity, empathy and dedication.

Fellowship Program

Goals and Objectives

Number of Positions: 1
Duration of training: 12 months

By completion of the fellowship, graduates will be able to:

Clinical Excellence

Independently manage anesthetic care for labor, cesarean delivery, and obstetric emergencies
Provide expert anesthetic consultation for patients with complex medical comorbidities
Lead anesthetic planning and intraoperative management for placenta accreta spectrum cases
Apply advanced neuraxial, general anesthesia, and point-of-care ultrasound techniques

Systems-Based Practice and Leadership

Coordinate multidisciplinary care across obstetrics, maternal–fetal medicine, cardiology, neonatology, and transfusion services
Demonstrate effective triage, communication, and decision-making in a high-acuity labor and delivery environment
Serve as a consultant anesthesiologist for obstetric anesthesia services with progressive independence

Education and Scholarship

Teach and supervise anesthesiology residents and medical students in clinical and simulation settings
Design and deliver didactic and simulation-based educational content
Complete scholarly work suitable for national presentation and publication

Curriculum and Rotations

Core Clinical Experience

Labor and Delivery – 32 weeks
Fellows are fully integrated into a busy academic labor and delivery service and progress through a structured model of increasing responsibility.
Progressive Independence Framework
- Early Fellowship: Refinement of neuraxial techniques, mastery of labor and delivery systems, and exposure to high-risk consultations
- Mid-Fellowship: Supervision and teaching of residents, leadership during daytime operations, and increased autonomy in complex cases
- Late Fellowship: Consultant-level practice, service leadership, multidisciplinary coordination, and independent decision-making with faculty oversight

Fellows maintain hands-on procedural expertise through continuous clinical engagement and in-house overnight call.

Fellows take approximately three in-house overnight calls per month:

2x Monday–Thursday: 4:30 PM–7:00 AM
1x Friday–Saturday: 4:30 PM–8:00 AM

Fellows receive guaranteed pre-call and post-call days off and have no weekend daytime obligations outside the monthly Friday evening-Saturday morning call shift. Call responsibilities include clinical care, procedural performance, supervision, and service leadership with attending support.

Fellows lead the telemedicine-based antenatal anesthesia consultation clinic:
- One day per week
- Approximately 4–6 complex patients per session
- Focus on multidisciplinary planning and risk mitigation for medically complex pregnancies

Non-Core Clinical Rotations

Maternal–Fetal Medicine – 2 weeks
High-risk obstetric clinics, antenatal rounding, fetal ultrasound exposure, joint case conferences, and cesarean delivery participation.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – 2 weeks
Daily NICU rounds, attendance at high-risk deliveries, neonatal airway and line placement exposure, and interdisciplinary teaching.
Transfusion Medicine – 2 weeks
Exposure to blood bank operations, coagulation testing, transfusion workflows, and ROTEM-guided clinical decision-making.
Simulation Design and Education – 2 weeks
Development and implementation of high-fidelity obstetric anesthesia simulations, structured debriefing, and educational innovation.

Research and Scholarly Time

Approximately 12 weeks (distributed)
Protected time for research, quality improvement, educational scholarship, and academic productivity.

Elective Opportunities

Global Health Elective (optional) coordinated through the Weill Cornell Global Health Initiative.
Alternative elective opportunities may be arranged based on fellow interest, institutional capability, and feasibility.

Didactics, Simulation and Multidisciplinary Conferences

Educational activities are longitudinal and integrated throughout the fellowship.

Core Educational Activities

Weekly faculty-led obstetric anesthesiology didactic sessions
Monthly fellow-led journal club
Daily bedside teaching of residents and medical students
Monthly medical student teaching skills workshop
See Sample Monthly Curriculum

Simulation

Fellows work closely with SAIL and XRAIL, the department’s simulation and extended-reality infrastructures, to:

Participate in and lead high-fidelity obstetric crisis simulations
Design simulation scenarios for resident and medical student education
Conduct structured debriefings to reinforce learning
Contribute to AI-, AR- and XR-enhanced educational initiatives

This experience prepares fellows for careers as educators and curriculum developers in academic anesthesiology.

Multidisciplinary Conferences

Obstetric Cardiology Conference (monthly)
Placenta Accreta Spectrum Conference (monthly)
High-risk obstetric case conferences (ad hoc)
Rotation-Specific Grand Rounds, Simulation and Didactics

Research, Scholarship and Quality Improvement

The fellowship emphasizes academic productivity and scholarly development.

Expectations include:

Completion of at least one scholarly project suitable for presentation at the Society for Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)
Leadership of a division-specific quality improvement initiative
Mentorship of residents and medical students
Submission of scholarly work for publication (strongly encouraged)
Prior Fellow academic works

Support includes:

Protected academic time
Close faculty mentorship
$900 educational stipend
Textbook: Consults in Obstetric Anesthesiology - Suzanne Mankowitz
Textbook: Obstetric Anesthesia: Principles & Practice - Chestnut & Wong
Departmental support for presentation of original work at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP)

Faculty, Mentorship and Evaluation

The fellowship is supported by a dedicated group of obstetric anesthesiology faculty with expertise in clinical care, education and research. Fellows receive individualized mentorship aligned with their career goals.

Evaluation framework includes:

End-of-rotation evaluations
Quarterly meetings with fellowship leadership
Semiannual Clinical Competency Committee review
Multisource (360-degree) feedback

The program emphasizes ongoing formative feedback and professional development.

Salary, Housing and Life in New York City

Salary
The salary for all Fellows in the Anesthesiology Department is $118,000.

Housing
The Cornell campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Out of convenience, many housestaff live nearby on the Upper East Side, however fellows may choose to live elsewhere in New York City and commute. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital does manage several modern apartment buildings within the neighborhood, though many residents secure great, affordable rentals independently.

Learn more: Graduate Staff Housing Packet, including rental rates

The Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship is characterized by a collaborative, supportive culture with strong camaraderie among fellows and faculty. Institutional wellness resources are available through NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine. The fellowship’s cental location provides access to world-class dining, arts, culture and diverse communities.

Learn more: New York City

How to Apply

Interested applicants must submit the Common Application as well as answers to the supplementary questions, both found on the SOAP website.

Application timeline:

Applications accepted: January–March
Interviews: April
Rank list deadline: June
Match results: June
Fellowship start date flexible

Eligibility:

Completion of an ACGME-accredited anesthesiology residency
Board eligibility or certification in anesthesiology

Fellowship Leadership

Klaus Kjaer, MD

Program Director, Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship
Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology

Joe Bryant-Huppert, MD

Associate Program Director, Obstetric Anesthesiology Fellowship
Assistant Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology

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
E-mail: maa2010@med.cornell.edu

Faculty

Sharon E. Abramovitz, MD, Chief, Obstetric Anesthesiology
Jaime Aaronson, MD
Rima Abhyankar, MD
Dorian Batt, MD
Hilary Gallin, MD, MBA
Hebah Ismail, MD, JD
Danielle McCullough, MD
Domenic Pedulla, MD
Jason White, MD
Robert White, MD, MS

Learn more about our faculty

Current Fellow

Catharine Keim, MD

2025-2026

Dr. Keim was born and raised in New Jersey. She completed her undergraduate education at the Johns Hopkins University and her medical training at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. She subsequently completed her residency training in anesthesiology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.