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Welcome to the UCSF Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Residency Program page. Our Department’s priorities are to provide the highest quality patient care, to deliver to our residents an unsurpassed education program, and to advance biomedical research in Otolaryngology.
In addition to the exceptional resources and opportunities afforded by 140 years of University of California tradition, students, residents, and fellows at the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery enjoy the guidance and expertise of our internationally renowned clinical and research faculty, as well as, opportunities to train using state-of-the-art facilities and technology. The department includes specialists in every subspecialty of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery including head and neck surgical oncology, laryngology, rhinology, otology, neurotology, skull base surgery, pediatric otolaryngology, head and neck endocrine surgery, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, sleep surgery and audiology.
Program Details
The residency program in Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery is a five year program in which trainees are exposed to all subspecialty areas within Otolaryngology and presented with the opportunity to work in multiple training environments. The Department is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and is nationally recognized as one of the premier centers for research and clinical care in Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.
Academic Program
Our top notch academic program consists of multiple conferences at all of our training sites through a structured didactic program of one hour of formal lecture and one to two hours of specialty lectures on Monday mornings. During this time, instruction is given in:
- Audiology
- Head and neck oncology and anatomic dissection
- Endoscopic and external sinus surgery
- Micro dissection and histology of the temporal bone
- Facial plastic and reconstructive surgery
- Head and neck pathology
The department also holds daily rounds, weekly grand rounds, and weekly clinical walk rounds. Our residents also participate in the continuing education programs of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery including attendance at national and regional meetings. Other benefits for residents include a liberal resident travel program which helps to underwrite a significant portion of the travel costs of attending national meetings and an annual educational materials fund. Participation in the Academy’s Home Study Course is expected. Our residents are sent to the American Academy of Otolaryngologic Allergy (AAOA) Basic Course to receive high quality didactic education in this field.
Special Resident Only Courses Offerings
The courses above are accompanied by multiple dissection opportunities which are designed to enhance surgical skills. The Robert A. Schindler Surgical Skills classroom at Mission Center is dedicated to the full gamut of surgical education in Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. Our program is proud to annually offer our residents multiple dissection courses featuring the temporal bone; the sinuses; a facial plastic soft tissue course; as well as a microvascular anastomosis course.
It is the goal of the Department to provide our trainees with the very best educational opportunities in all aspects of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery. It is the responsibility of the resident to take advantage of all of the resources that the department has to offer. It is also the goal of the Department to provide our graduates with all of the background necessary to pass the American Board of Otolaryngology Board Certification Examination. Our graduates have a test pass rate of over 98% on the first attempt over the past 20 years.
Global Health Opportunities
Multiple Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery faculty are involved in global health initiatives that create opportunities for resident involvement. Dr. Lia Jacobson is co-director of UCSF's Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia (CHESA) Fellowship program, which supports physicians and surgeons committed to a career in global health equity in the perioperative space. There are two global surgery fellowship pathways available in OHNS at UCSF - a funded clinical/research fellowship for US-based surgeons and a remote research fellowship available to ENTs from all over the world. Dr. Jacobson also works directly with ENT training programs in Tanzania and Cambodia.
Dr. JoAnn Czechowicz is OHNS co-representative on the leadership council of the Center for Health Equity in Surgery and Anesthesia. Her global health work is focused on pediatric hearing outcomes and the impact of infectious disease on hearing. Dr. Czechowicz's most recent research explores congenital hearing loss and factors affecting access to newborn hearing screening at Hospital San Bartolome, a major birthing hospital in Lima. There are opportunities to become involved in projects with partners at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru.
Dr. Mary Jue Xu has collaborated through the UCSF Global Cancer Program working on ongoing projects in Tanzania assessing head and neck cancer outcomes, HPV-associated head and neck malignancies, and tracheostomy care. Working with her collaborator Dr. Aslam Nkya in Tanzania, they are developing opportunities for multidisciplinary clinical capacity building and education. Dr. Xu is also a co-founder of the Global Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Initiative, an international research collaborative, which has worked on projects including research equity guidelines, global OHNS in national policy plans, and a global OHNS workforce survey. There are numerous and growing opportunities for trainees to become involved in ongoing collaborations in research and capacity building.
Chief Resident Gaelen Stanford-Moore, MD received an AAO-HNSF travel grant that supported study at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali, Rwanda that resulted in a publication on the impact of delayed care on facial trauma patients. Resident Michael Lindborg, MD has worked with collaborators through the Global Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Initiative on a study to assess race and ethnicity in otolaryngology publications. He along with Dr. Gaelen Stanford-Moore and Dr. Mary Jue Xu are supporting development of the ENT medical school curriculum at the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda.