The New York Bariatric Surgery fellowship program participates in the minimally invasive surgery fellowship council application process.
Bariatric Surgery Fellowship Program
New York

The New York Bariatric Group is the largest bariatric surgery practice in the country, with locations in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The practice is also the highest volume bariatric surgery program in Long Island, New York. The surgeons have a broad range of experience in surgical as well as non-surgical weight loss methods and are recognized nationally as leading bariatric surgeons. The robust volume, diversity of cases, as well as a comprehensive weight loss center makes this an ideal opportunity for training fellows to lead in the field of bariatric surgery.
NYBG Bariatric Surgery Fellowship Program
New York
The Bariatric Surgery Fellowship Program at the New York Bariatric Group is a one-year clinical fellowship that focuses on pre-operative, operative, non-operative, and post-operative treatment of morbid obesity and its related diseases. Due to its high volume and varied clinical practices by the practicing surgeons, the fellow is guaranteed to have a very rich and diverse clinical experience and be able to function as an autonomous attending surgeon immediately after fellowship.
Fellows will get a chance to experience a broad mix of bariatric surgery cases including sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, gastric banding and band removal, biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, single anastomosis duodenal switch, and revisional weight loss surgery. Fellows will have the opportunity to perform laparoscopic, robotic, as well as endoscopic diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. There will be no competition for cases as there is no affiliated general surgery residency program. Approximately 95% of the fellow’s time is spent in clinical activity. The remaining 5% of the time will be spent on research activity. There is ample clinical data available from a proprietary electronic medical record system for the fellow to research and publish. Weekly clinical conferences will be held in conjunction with the fellow of the New Jersey branch of New York Bariatric Group.
This is a one-year salaried position. Fellows will be provided with occurrence base malpractice insurance. Additional funding and support beyond the salary for meeting attendance, research, etc. is available.
There is no dedicated call for the first 6 months of the fellowship. The fellow will be involved in urgent and emergent cases, however. In the second 6 months, the fellow will field calls from the hospitals and staff any consults with the on call attending surgeon. The fellow will take call approximately 1 in every 4 days the second six months of the program.
Our aim is to train our fellow to become compassionate, effective, efficient, and safe in bariatric patient care. Our program is designed to instill a high level of technical skill in the operating room to help the fellow become a confident and competent surgeon, ready to practice in the field of bariatric surgery.
CURRICULUM
The fellow will be involved in bimonthly didactics which follow the ASMBS Core Curriculum. This will involve the fellow, attending faculty, as well as physician assistants. The fellow will present selected topics to the group, and the faculty will present certain didactics according to their area of expertise. There are also opportunities for the fellow to present grand rounds at participating hospitals.
The following topics will be discussed:
Preoperative evaluation of bariatric patients
- Epidemiology of Obesity
- History of Bariatric Surgery
- Physiology and Interactive Mechanisms in Morbid Obesity
- Preoperative Evaluation of the Bariatric Patient
- Psychology of the Morbidly Obese Patient
- Essentials of a Bariatric Program
Operative approaches
- Laparoscopic versus Open versus robotic
- Laparoscopic Adjustable Banding
- Other Restrictive Operations
- Gastric Bypass
- Biliopancreatic Diversion/Duodenal Switch
- Revisional Weight Loss Surgery
Postoperative management of bariatric patients
- Postoperative Management of the Bariatric Patient
- Managing Postoperative Complications
- Nutritional Deficiencies
Miscellaneous
- Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence
- Outcomes of Bariatric Surgery
- Role of Endoscopy in Bariatric Surgery
- Medical Weight Loss
- Applicants must be a US citizen or US Permanent Resident.
- Applicants must have completed a five-year general surgery residency program at a US or Canadian Medical school prior to starting the fellowship. We accept graduates of Foreign Medical Schools only if ECFMG certified.
- Applicants must have passed the USMLE/COMPLEX Step 1,2, & 3 exams
- Applicants must be ABS or Canadian Board eligible or certified
- A full, unrestricted New York State medical license is required. Information regarding the licensure requirements can be found at: http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/med
If you wish to apply to the New York Bariatric Group, New Jersey Branch fellowship program, please review the details here. COMING SOON!
Once all applications have been received, a select group of highly qualified applicants for a visit and interview.
The academic cycle starts August 1 st , 2023.
PARTICIPATING LOCATIONS
New York Bariatric Group
125 Mineola Avenue
Suite 200
Roslyn Heights, NY 11577
Mercy Medical Center
1000 N Village Ave
Rockville Center, NY 11570
ST. Francis Hospital & Heart Center
100 Port Washington Blvd
Roslyn, NY 11576
ST. Catherine of Siena Hospital
50 NY-25A
Smithtown, NY 11787
Faculty
- All of the faculty members are board-certified in the American Board of Surgery and are active members of the American College of Surgeons as well as American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
Shawn Garber MD, FACS, FASMBS
- Founder and CEO of New York Bariatric Group
- Chief of Bariatric Surgery at Catholic Health Services
Jeffrey Chiao MD, FACS, FASMBS
- Program Director & Attending surgeon
- Assistant Chief of Bariatric Surgery at St. Francis Hospital
Pankti Patel MD, FACS, FASMBS
- Assistant Program Director & Attending Surgeon
Spencer Holover MD, FACS, FASMBS
- Attending Surgeon
- Assistant Chief of Bariatric Surgery at Mercy Medical Center
Nirav Desai MD, FACS, FASMBS
- Attending Surgeon
Robert Felte MD
- Attending Surgeon
Paul Enochs MD, FACS, FASMBS
- Attending Surgeon