Departments

Response from the editor

Dr. Sims has eloquently identified the value of diversity not only in otolaryngology, but also its contribution to the strength of the U.S. as a nation. Drs. Kuppersmith and Thomas have responded to his editorial indicating steps that the AAO-HNS has taken and is currently taking to increase diversity.

Response from Dr. Sims

My Viewpoint was intended to call attention to a problem and inspire us to act with more alacrity.

Change Is Already Here

We read with great interest Dr. Steven Sim’s recent op-ed, “More of the Same: Why isn’t otolaryngology becoming more diverse?” in ENT Today (Viewpoint, Sept. 2010).

Resident Restructure: Attendings adjust to new work-hour rules

The new duty hour regulation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) that limits first-year residents to 16-hour shifts has drawn a conflicted chorus of reactions from attendings, who have only seven months before the stipulation goes into effect.

Old Problem, New Focus: Otolaryngologists tailor allergy treatments to geriatric patients

Allergic rhinitis among the elderly poses a particularly difficult diagnostic challenge for the otolaryngologist. As people age, they undergo immunosenescence. The thymus, which produces T cells against new invaders, atrophies markedly after adolescence, and this decline results in a less robust immune response to bacteria, viruses and presumably allergens (J Pathol. 2007;211(2):144-156). Consequently, physicians have assumed that allergies should decline as people age.

ENT Today Welcomes New Committee

One of the features weíve added to ENT Today since our new publishing partnership with Wiley-Blackwell has been concise, to-the-point reviews of some of the most important articles in the literature. Our editorial board members have been responsible for the most recent reviews in our ìLiterature Reviewî department, but the Triological Society has established a new committee of outstanding individuals who will scan the literature and write the summaries you read in ENT Today.

New Quality Indicator: MOC promotes better care, ABOto director says

With greater scrutiny of doctors and easier access to information about doctors’ education, the American Board of Otolaryngology’s Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program is more important than ever, said Robert Miller, MD, executive director of the American Board of Otolaryngology (ABOto).