Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Residency Program at UPMC Hamot

Welcome to the UPMC Hamot Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Residency!
The UPMC Hamot Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Residency Program is a five year, ACGME-accredited program offering comprehensive clinical training that prepares physicians for autonomous practice or entrance into a specialty fellowship. As a tertiary hub and the area’s only Level II Trauma Center, UPMC Hamot treats a high volume of patients with a wide variety of conditions.

While the program is based at UPMC Hamot, the otolaryngology service is responsible for 100 percent of the otolaryngologic care for the entire city of Erie and the surrounding region. Therefore, residents and attendings work at three local hospitals, three ambulatory surgery centers, and a state-of-the-art outpatient otolaryngology physician practice. This exposure to the entire otolaryngologic patient population of Erie and the surrounding area allows residents to gain experience with vast pathologies and provides ample operating opportunities. At the end of the training program, residents have typically logged over 3,000 cases. 

The UPMC Hamot Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Residency Program accepts one resident per year and has seven otolaryngology attendings. There are no fellowships associated with the program. Thus, residents enjoy the surgical volume, one-on-one teaching, hands-on experience, and the camaraderie typical of a smaller residency program with an excellent resident-to-faculty ratio.  

The PGY1 year offers a range of clinical experiences including six months of otolaryngology — which incorporates a senior-level shadow call component to provide education and better prepare the intern for PGY2 — plus two months of trauma and acute care surgery, and one month each of plastic surgery, intensive care, anesthesia and neurosurgery. 

During the remaining four years, residents become an integral part of the otolaryngology service. The PGY2-4 residents spend only three months off-service yearly in order to complete the plastic surgery (2 months) and research rotation (1 month). Residents have the option of taking an elective in PGY3. Residents are given increased responsibility and autonomy as they progress through the program, culminating in their final chief resident year, during which they complete an away neurotology rotation in Pittsburgh, where the trainee works on skull base approaches, complex mastoids, and cochlear implants. 

At the outpatient physician office, ENT Specialists of Northwest PA , residents receive a well-rounded clinical and operational education that includes principles of office management, coding, and billing. This practice is a state-of-the-art facility with 18,000 square feet and 22 exam rooms. The unique scribe system allows residents and faculty to see over 50 patients a day with live scribe documentation. As the only otolaryngologists in the city, the practice sees over 33,000 patient visits annually, and there are approximately 7,000 in-office surgical procedures performed each year. 

In addition to the facilities, the program offers a variety of didactic opportunities, including Morbidity and Mortality Conferences, Grand Rounds, Tumor Boards, Resident Lectures/Board Prep, Journal Clubs, Cadaver Labs, PSQI meetings, and multidisciplinary lectures from anesthesia, radiology, and pathology.