The rotations are specifically selected to benefit future Head and Neck training. They are required to take the Surgery annual in-service exam, and are expected to have passed Part III of the National Boards, and so qualify for a California medical license.
Residents attend various departmental and division conferences on a regular basis.
They make daily inpatient staff rounds, assist in major surgical operations and perform minor procedures under supervision. A mentor from the Division of Head and Neck Surgery is assigned to each student to monitor progress through the program and to assist the student should any problems arise. The latter is important to emphasize since the Residency Review Committee requires that 4 year programs allocate up to 6 months of research only which we don't think is sufficient. These two and a half years are devoted to the acquisition of a good foundation in the basic principles of otolaryngology. Residents develop the ability to use the tools of the field under close supervision of the faculty.