Residency  >  Educational Program

Educational Program

The residency educational program is multifaceted and comprehensive in nature with the principle goals of clinical competence and success on the Otolaryngology Board Examination.

Wednesday mornings are dedicated to resident education. The morning begins with Grand Rounds on selected topics in Otolaryngology. Residents are responsible for one Grant Rounds presentation yearly. The second hour is on a revolving monthly schedule of Journal Club, Mock Oral Boards, Research Review, Morbidity and Mortality Report and Service Management meetings. Following this, residents attend weekly multidisciplinary Tumor Board attended by members of the Departments of Otolaryngology, Radiation Oncology, Medical Oncology, Neuroradiology and Pathology. The morning is rounded out by a faculty-run didactic curriculum covering all aspects of Otolaryngology. Two hours of lecture time are designated every week, and the course curriculum is designed so that each resident will be exposed to the entire educational program on two occasions during residency. Resident feedback ensures continuous improvement in the didactic program.

In addition to weekly educational meetings, a series of yearly courses are provided. Every winter, PGY-2 residents participate in a weekly head and neck anatomy review course given over a six- week period. The course is instructed by the School of Medicine's Department of Anatomy and consists of lectures followed by cadaver dissections. During the PGY-3 year, residents are relieved of daytime clinical responsibilities for a one week temporal bone anatomy course directed by Drs. Robert Sataloff and Thomas Willcox. Didactic sessions are followed by faculty-instructed dissection in our temporal bone lab. PGY-4's participate in a yearly didactic rhinoplasty or aging face course given through the University of Tennessee. In addition, Dr. Pribitkin directs a yearly rhinoplasty and rhytidectomy cadaveric dissection in which residents of all levels participate. Every winter, the Academic Chief Resident organizes an Otolaryngology In-Training Examination review course in the weeks leading up to the exam.

The Department also sponsors the Home Study Course offered by the American Academy of Otolaryngology as well as travel to local and national meetings for presentation of original research.