Educational Programs
The Department of Otolaryngology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University had intensive continuing medical education activities during the academic year of 2020-2021. The mission of our department’s activity is to provide formal education, disseminate new information, provide a forum for presentation and discussion, and to ensure improvements and adjustments based on feedback from attendees.
The department’s continuing education is based mainly on Grand Rounds, a weekly conference that takes place at the SUNY Downstate campus. All Otolaryngology, Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology professionals as well as professionals in related disciplines are invited. The conference is mandatory for the faculty and residents of our department.
The morning conference is divided into four parts. The first half hour from 6:30 to 7:00am is dedicated to the discussion of various residency related topics. During the 7:00 to 8:00 am hour, lectures are delivered by invited guests who are nationally known for their expertise and experience in a variety of topics. In-house speakers and faculty as well as residents present information during the 8:00 to 9:00 am hour. Also, journal club occurs from 8:00 to 9:00 on the second Thursday of each month and morbidity & mortality conference occurs during this time on the fourth Thursday. Biweekly Head and Neck Tumor Board are included in the schedule from 9:00 to 10:00 with the other weeks being dedicated to Comprehensive Otolaryngologic Curriculum Learning through Interactive Approach (COCLIA) Review Sessions. Various aspects of basic sciences as related to the field of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery are presented and discussed from 7:00 to 9:00 am during July and August.
The roster of guest speakers for 2020-2021 is included in this report. In general, all the speakers were knowledgeable and gave excellent lectures with organized information relevant to the practice of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. The overall quality of the presentation was rated highly, as per the anonymous evaluation forms submitted. Practitioners, as well as residents, use the information which is disseminated during these conferences for their day to day clinical practice. The same lectures are used also as a forum for the audience to ask questions and to discuss difficult cases.
The major strength of this program is the diversity of the topics discussed and their relevance to the clinical practice of all attendees. This Grand Rounds Conference format will continue, with three hours dedicated to a single topic which is explored in depth.
Each year residents participate in a temporal bone dissection course run by Dr. Matthew Hanson, anatomy lab surgical dissection sessions taught by the head and neck and rhinology faculty and simulation sessions run by Dr. Ann Plum. The residents also attend an AO North America maxillofacial trauma course during their PGY 3 or PGY 4 year. All residents receive a subscription for the Boards Vital for ENT Review and the AAO-HNS Focused Lifeline Education Xperience (FLEX). Each spring the residents take the ABOTO Otolaryngology Training Examination.