Rating otolaryngology programs

[warpath]

How would you rate the following programs in terms of : top third, middle third, bottom third?

University of Missouri Columbia
Penn State
University of Florida, Gainesville
Miami
Medical college of Wisconsin
Wake Forest
Albany
Kansas
Ohio State
Minnesota
Alabama
Kentucky
Louisville
Alabama
Wayne State

I'm asking because I want to spread my application across all 3 tires. Thanks.

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[TheThroat]

How would you rate the following programs in terms of : top third, middle third, bottom third?

University of Missouri Columbia
Penn State
University of Florida, Gainesville
Miami
Medical college of Wisconsin
Wake Forest
Albany
Kansas
Ohio State
Minnesota
Alabama
Kentucky
Louisville
Alabama
Wayne State

I'm asking because I want to spread my application across all 3 tires. Thanks.

I can't really speak for rankings of Oto programs, bc/ almost all of them will give you a good education going into a private practice position. Getting into fellowships is a nother matter, though. I would shoot for programs ranked highly on the USNWR for help getting into good fellowships. As far as the ones you mentioned, I really liked UAB (ranked it 3rd). I didn't really like UMINN, bc/ you have to get a Master's degree there, which I think is a little redundant for a physician. I didn't interview anywhere else on your list, but have heard good things about Miami and UFla. Wake has a strong laryngology program, and Wackym is a good chairman at Med College Wisc. Schuller is a great H&N surgeon at OSU. Can't help you too much otherwise, other than saying that the interviews can tell you alot about programs.

 

[indytravl]

does anyone have info how the programs at suny buffalo & at uc davis rate?

thanks, [email protected]

 

[TheThroat]

does anyone have info how the programs at suny buffalo & at uc davis rate?

thanks, [email protected]

Our peds oto fellow did his residency at Davis and one of the residents who finished last year went there to do a H&N fellowship. I think that it is a good program based on what they have told me. Good H&N for sure. Paul Donald is a skull base guru. Belafsky is also a well-known laryngologist. I don't know anything about SUNY Buffalo.

 

[Spiff]

Sutwork.com has some decent (albeit somewhat dated) reviews of several programs. Probably the the best source for information about various programs is going to be from your local faculty or any faculty you happen to be with on away rotations. A lot of times you can find someone to sit down with you, talk about your goals and then suggest programs that fit your aspirations and personality. Most importantly, they will often give you a candid assesment about potential negatives which is something you won't be likely to hear on a public messageboard like this one.

Lastly, keep in mind that programs are constantly in flux, so what some resident says who applied to a program 4 years ago may not be the case anymore. Chances are whatever program you end up in will be different when you graduate as well. Throat's suggestion about USNWR is decent, but a lot of their rankings are swayed by past research dollars and "reputation" which may not necessarily be good reasons why you would go to a program.

 

[OtoDoc]

does anyone have info how the programs at suny buffalo & at uc davis rate?

thanks, [email protected]

I wasn't aware that SUNY Buffalo had re-started their residency. I knew that they were looking into it.

 

[Gradenigo]

US News can give you a feeling for tiers, but its not great for individual rankings of programs simply because there are many programs that are composed of several hospitals, but US News is ranking only one of them. Some Hospitals don't have much in the way of childrens or Level I trauma because their sister hospitals in the same city take care of it all. This gets you dinged in the US News rankings even though the residency program is composed of all the local hospitals.... This is just an example of how you need to do your homework when evaluating programs not to rely on a single source.

 

[TheThroat]

US News can give you a feeling for tiers, but its not great for individual rankings of programs simply because there are many programs that are composed of several hospitals, but US News is ranking only one of them. Some Hospitals don't have much in the way of childrens or Level I trauma because their sister hospitals in the same city take care of it all. This gets you dinged in the US News rankings even though the residency program is composed of all the local hospitals.... This is just an example of how you need to do your homework when evaluating programs not to rely on a single source.

I agree completely. UAB is a good example: they train at 3 or 4 different hospitals in Birmingham.

 

[badasshairday]

Where can I find a list of schools with ENT programs? I know there are ~300 spots per year, so I am assuming not every school is going to have an ENT program. Thanks.

 

[Encephalectomy]

http://www.acgme.org/adspublic/

 

[OtoHNS]

Your best source of info about various programs will probably be ENT interns and junior residents who just went through the application cycle within the past 1-2 years.
ENT departments, especially smaller depts with <10 faculty, can change rapidly with the influx or departure of 1 or 2 attendings.
Overall, though, you really can't go wrong because the national Oto RRC has very strict accreditation criteria and will shut down substandard programs. Thus, basically all programs will provide good training.

 

[Leforte]

Agree with OtoHNS.

All programs will train you well in general ENT. Some are stronger in FP, otology, laryngology, etc. More important is where you feel you fit, research opportunities (if you are into that), exposure to subspecialties, etc. There are a lot of great programs out there that may not be in the top 10 US News rankings.