Residencies and Fellowships
Chairman’s Welcome
Jonas T. Johnson, MD, FACS
Professor and Chairman
Department of Otolaryngology
Director, Otolaryngology Residency Training Program
The past century has seen the evolution of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery. Today, the medical and surgical therapies otolaryngologists provide rely heavily on modern technologies and innovations such as advanced imaging, microsurgery, and endoscopic surgical techniques. Our specialty’s rapid evolution offers endless opportunities, during and after residency training, to explore new diagnostic techniques and therapies.
Expertise in providing otolaryngologic services only can be achieved through a commitment to continuing education. Residency training is not to be an apprenticeship. Our department strives to encourage independent thinking and dedication to lifelong study, qualities that enable our residents to offer outstanding care to their patients in an era of constant technological changes and ever-increasing knowledge.
Our faculty are seasoned and committed educators. The training program is rigorous. Our graduates are superbly trained otolaryngologists who are prepared to enter private practice, or a fellowship preparing for specialty training, or begin a career as a physician-scientist.
The University of Pittsburgh Department of Otolaryngology seeks for its residency program individuals who accept the dual challenge of excellence in patient care and self-improvement in their chosen specialty. We encourage individuals with the energy, talent, and discipline to achieve these goals to apply to our program.
The Residency in Otolaryngology
The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology offers an exceptionally strong training experience for otolaryngology residents. The fundamental principle of the program is that resident responsibility is allocated gradually over the course of the five-year program, commensurate with the resident’s abilities and maturity. The greatest strength of our program is the outstanding and committed teaching staff of full-time faculty, all of whom place the excellence of the residency-training program as their highest priority in their academic endeavors.
The administrative, research, and a portion of the clinical activities of the Department of Otolaryngology are housed in the Eye & Ear Institute, one of very few centers in the United States dedicated solely to the specialties of otolaryngology and ophthalmology.
Additional inpatient as well as outpatient clinical sites are located at UPMC hospitals, including UPMC Presbyterian, UPMC Montefiore, UPMC Shadyside, UPMC South Side, UPMC St. Margaret, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, and the affiliated VA Hospital located a short walk from the Eye and Ear Institute. Today, with 48,000 employees, UPMC comprises 20 hospitals and a network of other care sites: doctors’ offices, cancer centers, outpatient treatment centers, specialized imaging and surgery facilities, in-home care, rehabilitation sites, behavioral health care, and nursing homes.
Residency Training Program
The Otolaryngology Residency Program webpages describe the Residency Training Program in Otolaryngology within the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The program offers the comprehensive five-year residency program with the option for a two-year physician-scientist training program embedded in the residency prior to the final year of training. The seven-year program is intended to provide those residents who decide to pursue a career as a physician-scientist with the skills necessary to successfully compete for funding to support their career.
Otolaryngology residency training programs approved by the residency review committee (RRC) of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) are five years in length, with the first year of otolaryngology training replacing the traditional surgical internship. As a result, postgraduate year (PGY) number now matches the otolaryngology-training year. In other words, a resident in their first year of training (PGY1), would now be designated as an otolaryngology one resident, whereas a resident in the last year of a traditional five-year training program would be designated as an otolaryngology five resident. This change could result in some confusion when one compares programs, as there may yet be variability in training year designations.
The Otolaryngology Residency Training program at the University of Pittsburgh is approved currently for four individuals each year. This number is derived from the number of surgical cases performed. As the clinical experiences continue to increase at UPMC hospitals it is possible that this number will be increased within the next several years. We continuously re-evaluate our program in order to assure excellence in the educational opportunities offered to our residents.
Each year we receive approximately 300 applications. It is impossible for us to interview all 300 applicants, hence the applications are carefully reviewed in order to select approximately six to eight individuals for each open position. In this way, every individual who is selected for an interview has a real chance of being successfully matched into the Otolaryngology Residency Training program.
Our admissions committee consists of a subset of our faculty representing all of the major divisions of our department. Residency selection is based on outstanding medical student performance as well as the personal interview. We are interested in training residents who come from widely diverse backgrounds and those who express an interest in entering a wide range of practice scenarios. In other words, we select candidates who are intending to enter private practice as well as those seeking a full-time academic career.
Applications are available from the central application process. Further details on the application process are available from the National Resident Matching Program (www.nrmp.org).
Contact Information
Michelle Gigliotti
412-647-4789
gigliottim@upmc.edu
Fellowship Programs
Fellowships are available in:
- Otology/Neurotology
- Voice
- Head and Neck Surgery
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Oncologic Cranial Base
- Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery
- Sino-Nasal Disorders and Allergy