Residency Overview

Clinical Experience

Clinical experience in the Division of Otolaryngology is intense, and, as a resident, you must be highly committed to maximize the available learning opportunities. Your initial surgical experience - routine myringotomy, adenoidectomy, tonsillectomy, and tracheotomy - is soon supplemented by participation in endoscopic surgery and an increasing role in major head and neck procedures. An emphasis on "hands-on" instruction will allow you to become an important part of patient care and to begin crafting your surgical skills immediately. You will be challenged to participate in the process of intraoperative decision making, and it will soon be apparent that you are an active member of the treatment team.

During your residency, you'll rotate through the otolaryngology service at:

•   UW Hospital and Clinics,
•   VA Hospital, and
•   Meriter Hospital

Clinical experience varies at different sites, but in general, you will have substantial operative involvement and will be responsible for monitoring pre- and postoperative care. At the UW, you will participate in managing a greater concentration of tertiary-care problems and procedures. You'll also have the opportunity to follow patients over time, thereby seeing the results and assessing the outcomes of various interventions. Clinical activity at the VA Hospital is varied; you will assume considerable responsibility for patient management. The Meriter Hospital rotations will expose you to private-practice otolaryngology in an inpatient and outpatient setting.

Conferences

Weekly didactic teaching sessions address clinically relevant basic science and otolaryngologic pathology. Wet labs and workshops in endoscopic sinus surgery, head and neck anatomy, facial plastic surgical techniques, and temporal bone dissection also supplement the operative experience. You'll also play an active role in clinical conferences.

Three months of dedicated laboratory time are available with the assistance of the division's faculty and research committee. Current laboratory facilities include a world-class voice disorders laboratory, a temporal bone dissection laboratory, a laryngeal physiology facility and microsurgery lab.

Conferences include Head and Neck Tumor Board, Surgical Case Conference, Otolaryngology Faculty Core Curriculum, Basic Science Seminar, Anatomy Dissections, Pathology Review, Research Seminar, Speech and Audiology Grand Rounds, Morbidity and Mortality Conference, Ambulatory Systems Conference, Ear, Sinus and Trauma Case Conferences and Journal Club.