Didactic Teaching
Our program has a strong emphasis on didactic program. This is demonstrated in the many courses and conferences offered to residents in our program. We review all conferences and curriculum on an annual basis in order to keep the conferences contemporary and meeting the needs of our residents in a rapidly changing discipline. A listing of the courses and conferences can be found below.

Clinical Service/Education
Residents participating in our program obtain training covering the full breadth and depth of Otolaryngology as a specialty. We achieve this training through teaching that occurs in clinics, Attending Faculty Practice, and our teaching hospitals. A listing of our clinical sites and hospitals and description of those facilities can be found below.

Research
Our research program is an integral part of our divisional activities and represents an important part of residency education. Dr. Julie L. Goldman is our Research Director and serves to organize and integrate our research efforts. Research in our division involves, medical students, graduate students in Audiology and Speech Pathology, Residents, and Faculty members. We have multidisciplinary relationships with various departments in the Medical Center including: Anatomy, Anesthesiology, Biochemistry, Gastroenterology, Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, and the University of Louisville School of Law to name a few. Research is required with projects taking one to two years in their completion. We strive for national presentation and publication. Faculty mentorship is provided for all resident research projects.

Resident Rotations

Research/Elective/ Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery Rotation/Oral Surgery
These are one month rotations during the PGY 3 and 4 years. The division has maintained a nice working relationship with the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery in the University of Louisville School of Dentistry. Our residents spend one to two weeks on the service at which time they learn important aspects of occlusal relationships and dental disease and management that is pertinent to the Otolaryngologist. This rotation is under the direct supervision of Dr. George Kushner in the Oral Surgery Department. The plastic and craniofacial rotation is a month long rotation as well and is under the direction of Dr. T. Gerald O'Daniel, a Clinical Associate Professor of Otolaryngology and Plastic Surgery at the University of Louisville School of Medicine as well as Dr. Mark E. Chariker. This rotation consists of an office ambulatory experience in the evaluation and preoperative planning of facial cosmetic surgery patients and reconstructive patients. Additionally, the residents receive an operative experience in the Ambulatory Surgical Suite at Dr. O'Daniel and Dr. Chariker's office, Jewish Hospital, and NortonHealthcare while on this rotation.

The research and elective rotation has been crafted to meet the special needs and interest of a particular resident. This rotation has been spent in a myriad of ways including in the performance of research, special externships, as well as in unique areas of interest. This is protected time that totals 4 months during PGY 3 and 4 years.

Education

Goals and Objectives
The general educational goal of the Otolaryngology program at the University of Louisville is to help our residents obtain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to be competent otolaryngologists-head and neck surgeons and to prepare them for practice in the twenty-first century. The specific knowledge and skill objectives that we focus on are those defined in the Special Requirements for Residency Education in Otolaryngology. These include bronchoesophagology, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, head and neck surgery, laryngology, rhinology, otology, Otolaryngologic allergy, immunology, endocrinology, and neurology. In addition to these specialty specific objectives, there are issues and challenges facing residents today as they enter practice that are included in their curriculum. These include competency in providing high quality, cost-efficient care, and a general knowledge of population-based medicine and practice management. The attitudes addressed in the curriculum include communication skills, humanistic skills, and professionalism. Our educational goals are met by a curriculum consisting of instruction and service on clinical rotations, formal didactic conferences, assigned text and journal readings, assigned temporal bone and cadaver dissections, and formal continuing education courses. Residents are exposed to broad based clinical environments and patient populations throughout their residency, spending time at the University Hospital, Veterans Administration Medical Center, a private adult hospital (Norton's Hospital) and Kosair Children's Hospital. Rotations are assigned to provide the residents with a comprehensive inpatient hospital experience, an outpatient clinic experience, and both an inpatient and outpatient operative experience.