The Otolaryngology Program at the University of South Florida began at Tampa General Hospital in 1949. Following the development of the College of Medicine at the University of South Florida and the completion of the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, the Otolaryngology Residency Program was incorporated into the College of Medicine in 1975. Since inception, the program has been at the forefront of otolaryngology training and continues today a pattern of growth and diversification in training the modern otolaryngologist.

The Otolaryngology Residency Program at the University of South Florida consists of four years of specialized training in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the ear, nose, throat, and maxillofacial region and is approved for two residents per year. A resident is eligible to participate in this program following one post graduate year of General Surgery, a year devoted entirely to learning the fundamentals of ward inpatient and outpatient care of the general surgery patient, including basic operative skills. This year of General Surgery may be taken at the USF College of Medicine.

A collaborative program has been developed at the University of South Florida’s affiliated hospitals – James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, Tampa General Hospital, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute and All Children’s Hospital. The four otolaryngologic years of the education program are served on the public and private service of these facilities. This four-year period of education indoctrinates the resident in ward administration and care of patients, service in the outpatient department and all modern otolaryngological surgical techniques. As a level I trauma center, Tampa General Hospital provides a well-rounded experience in maxillofacial trauma.

This schedule, for example, finds the first year otolaryngology resident (PGY-2) performing soft tissue surgery, endoscopies, septoplasties, simple mastoidectomies, antral surgery, minor oncologic surgery, and repairing maxillofacial injuries under supervision of staff and senior residents.

During the second and third year of otolaryngology, the resident acquires a firm foundation of otomicrosurgical skills, fostered during a six-month otology rotation with experience in chronic ear surgery and modern neuro-otologic procedures. During these years the resident has increasing responsibility for the evaluation and management of patients in otology.

During the senior year, the resident performs sinus endoscopy, advanced otology, and head and neck surgery. The senior resident participates in clinical and operating room management, as well as the preparation of formal teaching conferences. Residents gain additional teaching experience with the third and fourth year medical students during their rotations on the Otolaryngology Service. They also participate in the physical diagnosis courses for medical students.

Special resident rotations include: allergy, pediatric otolaryngology, otology, oncology, and facial plastic surgery as a second year otolaryngology resident; oncology, pediatric otolaryngology, otology, and research as a third year otolaryngology resident. Audiology and speech pathology are taught by the full-time Audiology and Speech Pathology staff of the Veterans’ Hospital and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center within a dedicated lecture and learning structure that all residents attend annually.

The University of South Florida Ear Nose and Throat Center has five general otolaryngology clinics each week, which includes a full day otology clinic. The Veterans’ Hospital has four otolaryngology clinics each week. All Children’s Hospital has five clinics each week and H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute has five head and neck clinics each week. Staff rounds are weekly at the Veterans’ Hospital and Tampa General Hospital and twice weekly at H. Lee Moffitt. The residents have their own surgical cases four days per week and one full day each week at All Children’s Hospital.

Otolaryngology residents are required to take the AAO-HNS Continuing Medical Education Home Study Course during all four years of residency training. An intensive, weeklong temporal bone course at which each resident has a microscope and drilling stations is given for all residents annually in the department’s Temporal Bone Lab. Residents also have twenty four-hour access to the lab for drilling if desired, and periodic faculty-supervised drilling sessions take place throughout the year.

Funding is provided and facilities are available for clinical and basic research. During the resident’s third year of otolaryngology residency, a three month block of time is scheduled for a resident research project under the supervision of a committee of basic science and clinical research faculty. There is, on staff, a Ph.D. neuro-physiologist working in basic science ear research. Additionally, a microvascular surgery laboratory is available for training third year otolaryngology residents.

All residents are sent to the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery to attend courses at least once during their residency. They are encouraged to attend and give papers at selected regional and national Otolaryngology meetings and attend national Allergy meetings. In addition, a research paper is given each year at the annual Florida Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Meeting.

There are six full-time, board-certified staff, who, with the assistance of the part-time and clinical Otolaryngology faculty, staff the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital and all resident clinics, surgery, and emergencies at the hospitals. Private patients of the staff at Tampa General Hospital, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, and All Children’s Hospital are utilized for teaching with personal instruction at the bedside and in the operating room to provide a supplemental and full variety of otolaryngology cases. There are over 18,000 outpatient visits each year on our service.
 
 

Conferences, clinics, surgery and staff rounds are scheduled in a coordinated manner to allow for a full educational experience in the residency. The progress and performance of all residents are evaluated four times each year: at mid-year and the end of the each year by all full-time and clinical faculty utilizing The American Board of Otolaryngology Competency Form; the Otolaryngology Training Examination administered through the American Board of Otolaryngology; and "Miniboard" oral examinations administered by the otolaryngology faculty. At the end of the five-year residency program the resident will have fulfilled all of the requirements of the American Board of Otolaryngology.