EVP/CEO Spotlight Series

Otolaryngology Core Curriculum: A Standardized, Unified Curriculum to Support Otolaryngology Residents in Training

Sunday, October 1 | 10:30 – 11:00 am (CT)
Music City Center, 104A

The AAO-HNSF and the otolaryngology academic community have embarked on creating a standardized, unified curriculum to support otolaryngology residents in training. This new education product will be known as the Otolaryngology Core Curriculum (OCC) and will provide 100 modules of education content over a two-year course of study. Set to launch July 1, 2024, James C. Denneny III, MD, AAO-HNS/F Executive Vice President and CEO, Sonya Malekzadeh, MD, and Jeffery P. Simons. MD, MMM, will describe how the OCC will support all otolaryngology residents in the U.S. regardless of other education assets that their individual programs may offer. The consistency afforded by this project will be particularly valuable to residency programs with limited resources and will directly affect patient care downstream. There may also be opportunities available to disseminate this knowledge globally through our International Corresponding Societies and help raise the standard of patient care throughout the world.

ABOHNS Special Session: Upcoming Changes to the Oral Certifying Exam

Sunday, October 1 | 1:00 – 2:00 pm (CT)
Music City Center, Ballroom A2

American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (ABOHNS) President C. Gaelyn Garrett, MD, will moderate a panel that discusses the upcoming changes to the Oral Certifying Exam for initial board certification. The panel consists of ABOHNS Board members—Ronald B. Kuppersmith, MD, MBA, Kathleen C. Sie, MD, and Timothy L. Smith, MD, MPH— and ABOHNS Executive Director Brian Nussenbaum, MD, MHCM. This includes the decision the Board has made to incorporate cases from a candidate’s practice into the content of their exam, beginning with the next OCE administration – which will likely be in 2025.

Crucial Conversations—Examining the Relationship Between Otolaryngology Training and Our Field as a Whole: How Are We Doing?

Monday, October 2 | 9:15 – 10:35 am (CT)
Music City Center, Ballroom B1

The 2022 Otolaryngology Workforce report highlights many areas of growth and strength, but also reveals trends that may impact the career of every otolaryngologist in the United States. Otolaryngology continues to be one of the most competitive residencies to obtain. Subspecialization has continued at unprecedented levels with 75% of current trainees pursuing post-residency subspecialty fellowships. Academic faculty ranks have grown across the country.

While otolaryngology residency training programs are defined by their commitment to training, the academic training programs sit as a gatekeeper to the specialty.

• Are training programs doing right by the specialty in general? Why and why not? What responsibility should our programs have to the field in general?
• What about the research arms race? As otolaryngology-head and neck surgery remains competitive, more students are taking a year off for research to add to their CV. What impact is this having on our specialty?
• Do the desires and preferences of those in academic impact the specialty in ways we can describe? Does this create any intended or unintended disadvantages?
• Is there value to clinical exposure to comprehensive otolaryngology practices? Practices outside of a traditional academic model?
• Should there be alternate pathways for training? Why or why not?
• What happens if we do absolutely nothing about the current trends?

The assembled panel, led by Albert L. Merati, MD, will highlight various areas of these topics and work to foster discussions of all these questions. Audience participation is expected—everyone has opinions and strong feelings.

World Sinus Health Awareness Day: Comprehensive Management of Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps (CRSwNP)

Monday, October 2 | 2:15 – 3:15 pm (CT)
Music City Center, Ballroom A2

World Sinus Health Awareness Day is designed to inform and educate patients around the world about the causes of their nasal and sinus symptoms as well as various treatment options and when they should seek additional specialized care. The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS), in collaboration with corporate partners Medtronic and Optinose, is providing accessible public and patient information that will assist individuals in understanding their own individual journey to better sinus health. Joseph K. Han, MD, will moderate a panel of esteemed expert rhinologists—Seth M. Brown, MD, MBA, Devyani Lal, MD, and Kent K. Lam, MD—who will provide the most current, state-of the-art information about the different treatment options for the comprehensive management of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP).

CPOP: Maximizing Office Hearing Testing and Hearing Aid Product-Line

Tuesday, October 3 | 9:15 – 10:15 am (CT)
Music City Center, 104A

Want to learn how to maximize office hearing testing when you do not have an audiologist? This presentation will help you assess how to get your otolaryngology office personal trained in offering hearing testing to provide timely testing in the office to support patients. Hear from Jeffrey S. Weingarten, MD, who leads the AAO-HNSF Certificate Program for Otolaryngology Personnel (CPOP) at the Michigan Ear Institute twice a year. The CPOP workshop is a three-phase training program designed to teach otolaryngology office personnel basic hearing testing allowing audiologists to focus on complex audiometric testing, advanced hearing, and balance services while increasing otolaryngology office productivity. The session will also cover how to provide an in-office hearing aid product line.