Program Overview

Introduction to the Medical Education Fellowship

The Columbia University Irving Medical Center Emergency Medicine Medical Education Fellowship is designed to produce leaders in all facets of medical education, innovating approaches to educating current and future generations of healthcare providers. The program offers both one-year and two-year, non-ACGME accredited options through the Department of Emergency Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Program Overview

Fellows will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to design, implement, and evaluate educational content, developing a specific expertise within medical education. Those pursuing two-year fellowships will have the opportunity to earn advanced training through a master’s degree.

Program Leadership

• Jonathan Giordano, DO, MEd: Fellowship Director
• Mary McGoldrick, MD, MA: Associate Fellowship Director

Current Fellows

• Daniel Bernard, MD: Medical Education Fellow
  • Earned his medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
  • Completed residency with the NewYork Presbyterian Cornell-Columbia Emergency Medicine Residency Program
  • Interests include curricular development for graduate medical education, emergency radiology, and social emergency medicine
• Michelle Kikel, MD: Medical Education Fellow
  • Completed medical school at the New York Institute of Technology School of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Completed a Master of Science in Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine
  • Completed residency in emergency medicine at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center
  • Academic interests include curriculum development, undergraduate and graduate medical education, and pain management education
• Michael DiGaetano, MD: Medical Education Fellow
  • Earned his medical degree at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
  • Completed residency at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
  • Academic interests include procedural education, gamification in medical education, and simulation

Program Highlights

• Block curriculum with focused learning experiences in adult learning theory, curriculum development, teaching strategies, feedback & assessment, and more
• Longitudinal curriculum with focused learning experiences in equity, leadership, and professional development
• Opportunities to focus experiences within undergraduate medical education, graduate medical education, simulation, narrative medicine, and/or education research
• Dedicated time to explore and develop specific expertise within medical education
• Mentorship and support from departmental education leadership
• Option to pursue an educational certificate program over a one-year fellowship
• Option to pursue a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Adult Learning and Leadership through Teachers College, Columbia University over a two-year fellowship
• Clinical practice within the #1 ranked hospital system in the NY metro area
• Association with Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, with opportunities for collaboration with medical educators in various disciplines and specialties

Application Process

Applications will open on August 1, 2025, for the academic cycle, with a deadline of September 15, 2025. Decision notifications will follow in October 2025. To apply, please submit two letters of reference, a letter of interest, and an updated Curriculum Vitae. Interviews are conducted on a rolling basis. Successful applicants must possess an MD or DO, have completed Emergency Medicine Residency by the beginning of the Fellowship, and be board certified/eligible in Emergency Medicine. The program seeks applicants who embrace and reflect diversity in the broadest sense. Columbia University is an Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer.