
A Message About Our Program
The St. John’s Episcopal Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program is a three-year training program aimed at developing competent, autonomous physicians that can practice in any facet of Family Medicine. Our program combines academics and education with hands-on, direct patient care. We are committed to providing the best possible educational experience for our residents, while providing a warm and supportive educational environment. Our program provides access to quality health care for our community with compassion and respect for all.
Our program fosters an environment conducive to education and excellent patient care so that each person excels in medical knowledge, clinical practice, professionalism, commitment to life-long learning, and leadership in their communities.
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Our Program Team
Richard Steward III, DO
Family Medicine Program Director
Tessy Peter, MD, FCCP
Family Medicine Department Chairperson
Yating Lee, DO, FAAFP
Family Medicine Assistant Program Director
Vladislav Chernyshenko, DO
Family Medicine Assistant Program Director
Dionnedra Rodrigues
Program Coordinator
Email: drodrigues@ehs.org
Marcella Fulton
Program Coordinator
Email: mfulton@ehs.org
Program Highlights:
ACGME Accreditation
Our Family Medicine Residency Program has been ACGME Accredited since 2018, and has the status of Continued Accreditation since 2024.
Board Pass Rate
Our program pass rate for American Board of Family Medicine is 97%.
Diverse Patient Population
Our community includes a wide variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds along with various medical conditions/pathologies.
Didactics
Our program offers didactics that focus on many specialty and subspecialty areas. Didactics include: Journal Club, board review sessions, specialty-specific lectures provided by residents and attendings, morbidity and mortality conferences, training sessions for procedures provided by device representatives, and insights on new medications and updated indications for drug utilization provided by pharmaceutical company representatives. Didactics are usually held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We also have monthly Joint Comprehensive Grand Rounds.
Clinical Experience
Family Medicine Practice
- The Walsh Ambulatory Pavilion, 19-20 Brookhaven Avenue, Far Rockaway, NY 11691 (across the street from the Hospital)
- EHS Primary and Specialty Care at Rockaway Beach, 105-38 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Rockaway Park, NY 11694
Sports Medicine
- 214 East Sunrise Highway, Valley Stream, NY 11580
- Total Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, 1789 Sheepshead Bay Road, Brooklyn, NY 11235
Gynecology Procedure Clinic and Breast Surgery
- The Margaret O. Carpenter Women’s Health Center, 105-38 Rockaway Beach Boulevard, 3rd Floor, Rockaway Park, NY 11694
Inpatient Pediatrics
- 1 Healthy Way, Oceanside, NY 11572
Dermatology
- 11 Irving Place, Woodmere, NY 11598
Ophthalmology
- 123 Grove Avenue, Suite 214, Cedarhurst, NY 11516
Curriculum PGY1-PGY3
Post Graduate Year 1
- Family Medicine Practice (4 weeks)
- Half day of outpatient Family Medicine weekly throughout the year
- Inpatient Medicine (12 weeks)
- 2 months will involve a 2-week night float assignment
- General Surgery (2 weeks)
- Obstetrics/Gynecology (4 weeks)
- Outpatient Pediatrics (4 weeks)
- Emergency Medicine (4 weeks)
- Sports Medicine (4 weeks)
- Critical Care Elective (2 weeks)
- Medical Elective (8 weeks)
- Dermatology (2 weeks)
- Ophthalmology (2 weeks)
- Vacation (4 weeks)
Post Graduate Year 2
- Outpatient Family Medicine (8 weeks)
- One and a half days of Ambulatory Medicine weekly throughout the year
- Year long continuity care at Nursing Home
- Inpatient Medicine (8 weeks)
- Outpatient Pediatrics (4 weeks)
- Inpatient Pediatrics (4 weeks)
- Obstetrics/Gynecology (4 weeks)
- Emergency Medicine (4 weeks)
- Neurology (4 weeks)
- Geriatrics (4 weeks)
- Elective (8 weeks)
- Vacation (4 weeks)
Post Graduate Year 3
- Outpatient Family Medicine (12 weeks)
- One and a half days of Ambulatory Medicine weekly throughout the year
- Year long continuity care at Nursing Home
- Inpatient Medicine (4 weeks)
- Obstetrics/Gynecology (4 weeks)
- Outpatient Pediatrics (4 weeks)
- Emergency Medicine (2 weeks)
- Orthopedics (2 weeks)
- Sports Medicine (4 weeks)
- Population Health (2 weeks)
- Integrative Medicine (2 weeks)
- Behavioral Health (4 weeks)
- Electives (8 weeks)
- Vacation (4 weeks)
Electives
Medical Electives
- Cardiology
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology
- Gastroenterology
- Gynecology
- Hematology
- Infectious Disease
- Integrative Medicine
- Lifestyle Medicine
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Palliative Care
- Pediatrics
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
- Psychiatry
- Pulmonology
- Wound Care
Surgical Electives
- Anesthesia
- Breast Surgery
- ENT
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopedics
- Urology
On-Call Schedule
PGY1
- 2 24-hour Inpatient Medicine calls
- 1 24-hour OB/GYN call each month
- 1-2 General Surgery
PGY2
- 3-5 24-hour Inpatient Medicine calls each month
- 2-3 Inpatient Pediatrics
PGY3
- 2-3 24-hour Inpatient Medicine calls each month
Current Residents
Chief Residents
Desiree Marquez-Santos, MD
Hometown: Manila, Philippines
Medical School: Far Eastern University Institute of Medicine – Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation
Interests: Primary Care, Lifestyle Medicine, Medical Informatics
Amna Muneer, MD
Hometown: Karachi, Pakistan
Medical School: Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi
Interests: Primary Care, Hospital Medicine, Preventive Medicine
Post-Graduate Year 3
Eiman Dai, MD
Hometown: Omdurman, Sudan
Medical School: University of Bahri
Interests: Geriatrics, Primary Care, Palliative Care
Jerusha Gudapati, MD
Hometown: Visakhapatnam, India
Medical School: NRI Medical College, India
Interests: Primary Care
Swarna Mani, MD
Hometown: Jersey City, NJ
Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine
Interests: Primary Care, Women’s Health, Lifestyle Medicine, Palliative Medicine, Preventive Medicine
Mahima Master, MD
Hometown: Upland, California
Medical School: Narendra Modi Medical College
Interests: Primary Care, Women’s Health, Lifestyle Medicine
Uchechukwu Nwokoma, MD
Hometown: Azumini-Ndoki, Nigeria
Medical School: College of Medicine, University of Lagos
Interests: Geriatrics, Hospital Medicine, Primary Care
Adedolapo Ojo, MD
Hometown: Iree, Osun State, Nigeria
Medical School: Obafemi Awolowo University College of Health Sciences, Ife, Osun State
Interests: Primary Care, Women’s Health, Reducing Health Disparities, Quality Improvement
Donali Patel, MD
Hometown: Vadodara, India and Fords, NJ
Medical School: Narendra Modi Medical College, India
Interests: Primary Care, Behavioral Health, Sports Medicine, Endocrinology
Sarah Singh, DO
Hometown: Jamaica, Queens, NY
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Interests: Primary Care, Women’s Health
Kerolos Youssef, MD
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt
Medical School: Ain Shams University
Interests: Primary Care, Endocrinology, Hospital Medicine
Post-Graduate Year 2
Urfa Anum, MD
Hometown: Karachi, Pakistan
Medical School: Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi
Interests: Women Health, Primary Care and Hospital Medicine
Arianisa Bajrami, MD
Hometown: Gramsh, Albania
Medical School: University of Medicine, Tirana
Interests: Sports Medicine, Primary Care, Women’s Health, Lifestyle Medicine and Aesthetic Medicine
Gabriela Buniowska, DO
Hometown: Bridgewater, NJ
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Interests: Preventive Medicine, Primary Care, Lifestyle Medicine
Tamta Chkheidze, MD
Hometown: Batumi, Georgia
Medical School: Tbilisi State Medical University
Interests: Hospital Medicine, Primary Care, Lifestyle Medicine
Gayanthi Dissanayake, MD
Hometown: Burbank, California
Medical School: Faculty of Medicine University of Kelaniya Sri Lanka
Interests: Primary Care, Clinical Procedures and Pain Medicine
Daniella Dwarica-Baptiste, MD
Hometown: La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago
Medical School: University of the West Indies; St Augustine
Interests: Primary Care, Geriatric Medicine and Wound Care
Mark Hypolite, MD
Hometown: Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago
Medical School: University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago
Interests: Medical Administration and Leadership, Women’s Health
Renee McEachrane
Hometown: New Jersey
Medical School: American University of Antigua
Interests: Women’s Health, Primary Care and Geriatrics
Obianuju Nwauwa
Hometown: Houston, TX
Medical School: Windsor University School of Medicine, St. Kitts
Interests: Preventive medicine, mental health and primary care
Harish Pobbati, MD
Hometown: Santa Clara, California and Bengaluru, India
Medical School: Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Interests: Primary Care
Diana Serrano-Mass, MD
Hometown: Armenia, Quindío (Colombia)
Medical School: Universidad del Quindío (Armenia, Quindío, Colombia)
Interests: Palliative Care, Primary Care, Population Health
Post-Graduate Year 1
Brian Abbott, MD
Hometown: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Medical School: Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC)
Interests: Obesity Medicine, Preventive Medicine, and Lifestyle medicine
Eman Alamin, MD
Hometown: Omdurman, Sudan
Medical School: University of Medical Sciences and Technology (UMST)
Interests: Geriatrics, Primary Care, Lifestyle Medicine, Sports Medicine, Hospital Medicine, Palliative Care
Ludentz Dorcelus, MD
Hometown: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Medical School: Université Notre Dame d’Haïti
Interests: Outpatient primary care, Obstetrics, Women’s health
Christopher Jean Pierre, MD
Hometown: Baldwin, NY
Medical School: American University of Antigua
Interests: Preventive medicine, Integrative Medicine, Pain Medicine
Edith Kuria, MD
Hometown: Nairobi
Medical School: Kampala International University
Interests: Lifestyle medicine, Hospital medicine.
Leidy Quintero Quintero, MD
Hometown: Cali, Colombia
Medical School: Universidad Libre de Cali
Interests: Primary Care, Lifestyle Medicine, Integrative Medicine
Sunil Rupee, MD
Hometown: Georgetown, Guyana and S. Richmond Hill Queens
Medical School: University of Guyana, School of Medicine
Interests: Primary Care, Lifestyle medicine, Preventive medicine, Sports Medicine, Clinical Informatics
Anthonia Saintilus, MD
Hometown: St. George’s, Grenada
Medical School: St George’s University, Grenada
Interests: Primary Care, Preventive Medicine, Academic Medicine, Women’s Health and Hospice and Palliative Care
Patrica San Pedro, MD
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Medical School: University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center
Interests: Primary Care, Geriatrics, Palliative Care, Women’s Health
Jesal Shah, MD
Hometown: Little Rock, AR
Medical School: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Interests: Everything, especially procedural
Chidimma Uzoh, MD
Hometown: Enugu, Nigeria
Medical School: Vinnytsia National Pirogov Medical University, Ukraine
Interests: Primary Care, Hospital Medicine, Palliative Medicine, Preventive Medicine.