HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL RESIDENCY PROGRAM IN OTOLARYNGOLOGY
The Harvard Otolaryngology Residency Program provides well-balanced, complete otolaryngology training experience at four clinical venues: The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, an ophthalmology and otolaryngology specialty hospital; the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, two general tertiary care hospitals which together comprise the Longwood Rotation; and Children's Hospital Boston, a pediatrics specialty hospital.
Program Overview
The Department of Otology and Laryngology at the Harvard Medical School has a long tradition in clinical care, research and teaching. Formal educational efforts began in 1830 for what would be called "residents" today. The Departments of Otology and Laryngology were combined as a single academic department in 1932. Today, the Department is comprised of faculty at four clinical venues.
Stacey Gray, M.D.
The program director is Stacey Gray, M.D., the assistant program director is Kevin Emerick, M.D., the program site director at Children's Hosiptal Boston is Mark Volk, M.D., the program site director at BIDMC is David Caradonna, M.D., the program site director for BWH is Charles Norris, M.D.
The Department has a significant research commitment with peer-reviewed funding of approximately 12 million dollars. The research focus includes basic translational and clinical research and laboratories in auditory
Kevin Emerick, M.D.
physiology, otopathology, cochlear implantation, neurochemistry, laryngology, vestibular disorders, laser applications, voice disorders, molecular biology of head and neck cancer, image-guided surgery, and cellular biology of the ear, which provide an excellent setting for understanding the scientific basis and future of our specialty.
At the present time there are 74 full-time Faculty members in the Department of Otology and Laryngology. All aspects of contemporary clinical Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, including the subspecialty areas, are represented by the combination at the clinical venues.
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (Sponsoring Institution)
The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is an independent institution devoted to otolaryngic and ophthalmologic specialty care. The Chiefs of Otolaryngology and Ophthalmology at the Mass. Eye and Ear are professors and chairs of their respective departments at the Harvard Medical School.
The otolaryngology clinical services at Mass. Eye and Ear are provided by 35 hospital-based staff and 85 community-based staff. On a yearly basis there are over 51,000 scheduled outpatient visits to the Department of Otolaryngology at the Infirmary, over 7,500 surgical procedures, and another 9,000 emergency visits. Clinical service is provided in eight divisions, listed below.
Inpatient care is provided on dedicated adult and pediatric floors, each of which contains an intermediate care unit. Ambulatory surgery is provided both in the main OR and in a surgicenter as well as in a minor procedure area.
In addition to otolaryngology services, we provide subspecialty care in otoneurology and head and neck pathology. The Audiology Department provides behavioral audiometry, auditory evoked response testing, electroneuronography, VEMP testing, facial nerve monitoring, cochlear implants, and hearing aids.
A full range of vestibular testing is provided in the Jenks Vestibular Laboratory, and our Voice and Speech Laboratory provides a full range of both diagnostic and therapeutic services.
The Norman Knight Center for Hyperbaric Medicine provides advanced treatment for problem wound healing and radiation-induced bone loss.
The Infirmary is physically connected to the Massachusetts General Hospital, and our faculty members comprise the Department of Otolaryngology at both institutions. This allows the two institutions to collaborate on a variety of patient care facilities, including a regional trauma center.
Subspecialties
- Otology/Neurotology
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- Laryngology
- Sinus
- Head and Neck Surgical Oncology/Microvascular Surgery
- General Otolaryngology
- Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery
- Emergency Services
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
The Division of Otolaryngology in the Department of Surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) includes clinical activities in general otolaryngology, rhinology, paranasal sinus medicine and surgery, otology, and head and neck surgery.
Brigham And Women's Hospital
The Division of Otolaryngology is in the Department of Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), a 700-bed tertiary care hospital. The majority of outpatients are seen at the Nesson Ambulatory Care Building where physical examinations of the head and neck, laryngeal videostroboscopy, hearing tests, electronystagmograms, auditory evoked response testing, microscopic examinations of the head and neck, radio frequency procedures, laryngeal botox injections, biopsies, and other minor procedures under local anesthesia are performed primarily on adults.
Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital
The faculty conducts research in all areas of otolaryngology, including chronic rhinosinusitis, vocal cord paralysis, sleep apnea, head and neck cancer, and cricopharyngeal dysfunction.
Another ambulatory venue is at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in the Head and Neck Oncology clinic, which is a multidisciplinary clinic whose surgical director is a member of the Otolaryngology Division. All of the divisional faculty operate at BWH where for both ambulatory as well as inpatient procedures.
The Division developed and maintains the newborn hearing screening program for BWH as mandated by the Department of Public Health, screening more than 10,000 babies/year.
Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital Boston
Children's Hospital, the nation's largest pediatric medical center, is the major pediatric facility affiliated with Harvard Medical School. The institution has 350 beds and houses the largest pediatric research facility in the world, the John M. Enders Pediatric Research Laboratories. The hospital serves the children of Boston and New England, but also has a worldwide patient referral base.
The Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Disorders is the oldest otolaryngology department at a children's hospital in the United States. The Department was founded in 1930 by Charles Ferguson, M.D., and Carlisle Flake, M.D., pioneers of pediatric otolaryngology. Since that time, the Department has maintained a long and rich tradition of excellence in the diagnosis and management of head and neck disorders in the pediatric population.
The Department of Otolaryngology in Children's Hospital annually cares for about 10,000 ambulatory patients and about 1,000 inpatients, with approximately 1,200 inpatient procedures and another 1,200 procedures done in an ambulatory setting. The Department has a full-time staff in addition to two full-time fellows for a 12-month period. The goal of the Department for the residents is to provide a well-rounded medical and surgical experience of pediatric otolaryngology including the management of pediatric otologic disease, airway problems, nasal and sinus disease, as well as congenital, inflammatory and neoplastic disorders of the head and neck.
Teaching experience is gained through an intense medical student educational program when and if time permits. Residents also find an opportunity to enhance decision-making abilities with routine, complicated and urgent clinical situations.
Research at Children's Hospital
Research is a major focus of the department at Children's. Each staff member has both clinical and basic science research projects, and resident involvement is encouraged. In addition, the Department cooperates closely with the Departments of Speech, Hearing, and Audiology.
