In May, Marcelo Antunes, MD, chief resident of otorhinolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, was able to practice bilobed flaps on pig’s feet at an ORL Rising Chief Boot Camp held at Penn Medicine Clinical Simulation Center in Philadelphia. While he had previously experienced medical simulation during his otolaryngology residency, the boot camp put the methodology in proper context for Dr. Antunes, who is particularly interested in facial plastics.
Among the issues highlighted here last month at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, was the effect of inadequate sleep on both the health of the individual and on society at large. Two studies presented at the meeting, for example, looked at the effects of inadequate sleep on health care providers and the risks posed to their health and the health of their patients. Another study put into context just how underreported inadequate sleep and sleep disorders are and elaborated on the challenge this poses to otolaryngologists and others who are on the frontlines managing these disorders.
New limits on doctors in training in the United Kingdom (U.K.) have drastically reduced the amount of training they receive and may put patients in peril, a renowned retired British surgeon told listeners here on April 29 at the Annual Meeting of the Triological Society, held as part of the Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings.
Triological Society President Gerald Berke, MD, turned to the words of science greats in his President’s Address, delivering an inspirational talk on scientific research at the society’s Annual Meeting, held here on April 29 as part of the Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings.
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.
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.
As America grows and evolves, its face necessarily changes. Our country rests solidly on the idea that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should be available to all. Our collective understanding that access to health care and healthy living are essential to that ideal happiness continues to mature. But while the population becomes more diverse and blended, cultural disparities in health care not only persist, they do not appear to be diminishing. Collectively, African-Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Americans comprise over one-quarter of our population. Yet, in the year 2000, they made up less than 10 percent of the physician workforce. These numbers dwindle even more when we consider surgical subspecialties.
ACGME RRC—this litany of letters means little to most otolaryngologists. However, whether you are a private practitioner or an academician, a resident in training or a program director, you should have a basic understanding of the work done by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Residency Review Committee (ACGME RRC).
Diana C. Ponsky, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology-facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, went to medical school wanting to be a pediatrician. She happened upon otolaryngology “by accident, by scrubbing into a very fascinating cancer case. I was hooked,” she now recalls.
How do you plan to deal with workforce shortages? If you are like 55 percent of the audience at an interactive mini-seminar held during the October American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Foundation annual meeting, you intend to hire additional otolaryngologists to help with practice overload.