Mission

To train and equip residents to function as comprehensive, independent practitioners of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery prepared to deploy overseas in support of the mission of the Department of Defense. The Military Health System (MHS), which this program is a part of, contributes to the integration of military readiness and health. The NMCP Oto-HNS program supports this mission through excellence in clinical care, research, and education. Our faculty is dedicated to training and educating the future leaders in otolaryngology to provide the most comprehensive and innovative approaches to treating our military health beneficiaries.

Vision

The vision of NMCP’s Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery residency program is to provide diverse, complex, and high-volume clinical experience to develop future Otolaryngologists to serve as consummate surgeons who will lead across the Defense Health Agency, civilian health care systems, and beyond. We seek to provide a breadth of exposure to each subspecialty of Otolaryngology. Our aim is to attract a diverse cohort who will represent all aspects of our American population with a passion for the highest level of clinical care, research, and academic performance.

Aims

1. Surgical volume. The goal will remain to graduate residents whose operative key index cases at or above the national median (50% of national programs). This places our program at NMCP amongst the highest volume across the DHA.
2. American Board of Otolaryngology Board Certification for all Graduating Residents.
3. Medical student recruitment of Top-Performing Applicants, to include Navy and Air Force Officers.
4. Faculty Development/Recognition to ensure top-notch training for our Residents.

The program at NMCP values formal didactic to the highest degree. We have a full-day of dedicated didactics each week that includes a robust Pre-Operative Conference that reviews each of the upcoming surgical cases in the Department. On this day each week there is carefully crafted didactic schedule that includes multi-disciplinary conferences to include Tumor Board, NeuroRadiology Conference, Airway Biologics Utilization, Cochlear Implantation Conference, and others. Each week there is a dedicated didactic session lead by a Core Faculty member to comprehensively review an ENT topic. At least twice a month a BioSkills Lab is attended by all residents to allow advancement of surgical skills in a stress-free environment.

We pride ourselves in being a true FTOS and FTIS Hybrid program that has all of the benefits of a military program whose core faculty truly own the development of their residents, but also benefit from the high volume and complex care of valued periodic rotations at Head and Neck Surgery outside rotations.

*FTOS – Full Time Out-Service; FTIS – Full Time In-Service

Call is divided evenly across the ten residents. ENT call is “Home Call” meaning that you carry a pager at home and respond to any phone calls or Emergency situations as needed from anywhere within 30-minutes of the hospital.

The residency provides quarterly curriculum on how to advance in the military and on professional development. Some highlights include ‘field trips’ to our nearby military partners to include submarine, ship, and base tours!

We pride ourselves on supplementing the typical clinical curriculum with various courses that are fully funded. Some of these include:

• University of Iowa Basic Science and Anatomy Course
• NMCP Microvascular Surgical Techniques
• American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy Basic Course
• Michigan Ear Institute’s Temporal Bone Dissection Course
• AO Craniomaxillofacial Trauma Course

One of the highlights of each year is our ENT Simulation Boot Camp. This is a comprehensive day dedicated to eight stations of simulated situations otolaryngologists are expected to respond to. This is run at NMCP with our partners at the nearby Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) ENT residency program.

Additionally, our residents engage several times a month in either the hospital’s BioSkills lab or out Temporal Bone dissection lab as a means to develop and advance surgical skills.

As Medical Officers we are dedicated to continuously developing our skills not only as surgeons, but as physician leaders. This is address at regular feedback sessions and routinely discussed as part of the developmental curriculum.

Each resident is given an opportunity to escape the clinical rigor of residency for three months of their five years to focus solely on research and quality improvement projects. The expectation is that each resident present annually at the local Academic Research Competition and the Virginia State Otolaryngology society meeting. Each resident typically publishes multiple manuscripts throughout their residency, with direct support from Faculty and dedicated Associate Program Director for Research.

As part of the monthly Quality Improvement conference, we are constantly feeding back to all-hands lessons learned in patient care. Residents are consistently involved in opportunities for hospital quality improvement. These have included but are not limited to projects to enhance newborn screening for infectious causes of congenital hearing loss, MRI screening protocols for asymmetric hearing, and means to enhance use of the DHA’s medical record system.

The program promotes participation in relevant committees and subcommittees throughout the institution that may enrich the overall professional development of all learners.

Sentara Norfolk General Hospital

600 Gresham Drive
Norfolk, VA 23507

This is a 1-month rotation that provides the PGY-1 with the necessary surgical ICU experience required by the ABOto. The PGY-1 will have responsibility to the burn-, neuro-, and trauma-ICUs at Norfolk General. They will be part of the trauma response team at the hospital as well.

Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters

800 West Olney Road
Norfolk, VA 23507

This is a 3- month clinical assignment devoted solely to the subspecialty of pediatric otolaryngology practiced at a tertiary care children's hospital.

Carilion Medical Center - Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital

1906 Belleview St.
Roanoke, VA 24014

The Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Virginia offers an opportunity for increased surgical volume of key-index procedures in maxillofacial trauma, otology, pediatric otolaryngology and head and neck surgery. During the second half of PGY-3 year, residents rotate to Roanoke for 3, two-month block rotations. The PGY-3/4-year timing allows for increased autonomy for the rising senior resident, having already completed a pediatric and head and neck rotation based on current block schedule. The Carilion clinic is located in Roanoke, Virginia, approximately 285 miles from the primary site (4.5 hours by car). Full funding support for travel including lodging, mileage, per diem for meals and incidental expenses will be provided to the trainees as per military travel regulations. The staff complement includes 6 subspecialists in the following disciplines (two pediatric otolaryngologists, one neuro-otologist, one facial plastic surgeon, two head and neck surgeons) and three comprehensive general otolaryngologists. Furthermore, there is no competition with other resident learners, allowing our residents to have a >1:1 faculty to resident ratio. Lastly, the site director of Carilion clinic is a former program director of a military residency training program with an in depth understanding of the ACGME requirements and the need to optimize the educational and surgical experience for residents.

Nebraska Methodist Hospital

8303 Dodge St
Omaha, NE 68114-4199

This 3-month clinical assignment with the Head and Neck Oncology Service at Nebraska Methodist Hospital. The practice includes six full time faculty, with a >1:1 faculty to resident ratio, with high volume head and neck ablative and reconstructive experiences. Institutional support is comprehensive, including housing, rental car, meals, per diem. The rotation is attended by PGY-3 and PGY-4 residents.

We encourage all who are interested in Otolaryngology to find time to rotate with us!

• We typically have MS-4 students who are interested rotate with us for up to a 4-week rotation. For those who wish to apply for a residency spot, we typically hold an interview at some point during your rotation to allow you to get to know us better and ask questions about the program.
• We regularly have MS-2/3 students rotate with us as well.
• Virtual Interviews are available as well and can be coordinated by emailing the program (see contact us information section).

Our interview is meant to help us get to know you, but also as a means for you to get to know us! We typically complete interviews during a clinical rotation and set aside time during our weekly academic day to have this discussion. However, we have also completed Virtual (Zoom, Teams, etc.) and Telephone Interviews if the situation dictates this.

The Program Director will gather as many Staff Physicians and Chief Residents who are available to meet with you as part of a “Group Interview.” The format is meant to be semi-formal to allow for good discussion and an opportunity for us all to get to know each other better. Relax! You have worked very hard to get to this point and we simply want to give you a chance to show off how great you are and how hard you have worked.

Program graduates take the American Board of Otolaryngology (ABOTO) Written and Oral Certifying Exams to become Board Certified. Each of these are offered annually and one must pass the Written Exam to be eligible to sit for the Oral Certifying Exam. The written exam is typically in the first month or so after residency graduation. The Oral Exam will occur after a 9-month period of Case Collection and then involves a process where examiners will discuss your clinical decision making during these patient cases. To be eligible for board certification through the ABOTO, one must successfully graduate from an American Otolaryngology Residency program and be recommended by their Residency Program Director. The Oral Certifying Exam must be taken after all training is completed, to include any Fellowships that may be done after Residency.

Each of our residents is engaged in teaching as part of their duties. We have many student rotators that look to our residents as their primary teachers.

Each resident can be certified as clinical teachers through the USUHS for unique teaching opportunities we are engaged in with teaching students on their Pediatric Clerkships.

We pride ourselves on maintain each of the ENT subspecialties represented at our Core site at NMCP, but also at our partnered hospitals. We are fortunate to have each subspecialty currently covered at NMCP and as such offer a robust exposure during your residency training.

The NMCP ENT program has a unique Caching and Mentoring Program that involves working in groups of three. The coaching groups include a Junior resident, a Senior resident, and an Attending. This allows for each resident to experience a graduated responsibility in the mentoring role throughout his or her time in residency.

Each ‘Fifth Wednesday’ our programs escapes the confines of the hospital for a Morale and Welfare event. These have include group Yoga, Top Golf Driving Range competitions, parachuting simulations, exercise bungee, go-karting, and taste testing. These events are simply just some of the examples of the true family atmosphere we have within the department!