what's so cool abt ENT?

[HiddenTruth]

Why is ENT such a hot thing these days. Pay? Medicine/Surg Both? Lifestyle? What's the deal. I mean it's not that cool saying "yo im an ear nose throat doc"..lol 😀 vs. "yo im a cardio-thoracic surgeon"...so whats the hidden recipe?

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[shigaT]

1. ENT is not just "hot these days"- unlike some other specialties (e.g. rads), ENT has always been competitive.

2.Yes the pay is great, the surgeries are cool and if you saw the recent post re. AMA's survey on average work hours, ENT docs work only slightly more than family docs (@ 2-3x the salary!) and the least of the surgical subspecialties.

3. It may not sound as cool as cardio-thoracic surgeon but as ENT surgeons we're having the last laugh because we're not spending our nights and weekends in the hospital taking care of critical patients.

It sounds like you have not been exposed to the many types of cases otolaryngologists perform - I'm sure if you did you would have a different opinion and respect for ENT docs as does most of the medical profession.

Shiga (recently matched into ENT)

 

[HiddenTruth]

Yea I am sorry, I haven't been exposed to any of them , and that is why I submitted a post to find out more about it. So, maybe you can elaborate a bit and let me know on some of those procedures and what is so interesting abt them. Thanks.

P.s where did you match...congrats!

 

[HiddenTruth]

Also can you provide me a link to this
"AMA's survey on average work hours" that you are referring to. thanks.

 

[trex92499]

I don't know what ENT program you've been around, but at my school the ENT residents work VERY long hours....As for the not working nights and weekends, you must live in some magical land where acute airways come in M-F 9-5 and not the random 2 am epiglottitis I've seen. Plus face trauma, which always seem to occur just around closing time at the bar.

Not to say that ENT is the best speciality out there, and the hours can be awesome (and lucrative) once you are out in private practice, but the training program is anything but a cake walk.

As for awesome surgeries, there is no comparison to ENT (which is completely my opinion, for all the other subspecialties out there who disagree)

 

[neutropeniaboy]

Originally posted by trex92499
As for the not working nights and weekends, you must live in some magical land where acute airways come in M-F 9-5 and not the random 2 am epiglottitis I've seen. Plus face trauma, which always seem to occur just around closing time at the bar.

You must have had it pretty rough.

Please. Let's not be so melodramatic.

 

[neutropeniaboy]

Originally posted by HiddenTruth
Yea I am sorry, I haven't been exposed to any of them , and that is why I submitted a post to find out more about it. So, maybe you can elaborate a bit and let me know on some of those procedures and what is so interesting abt them. Thanks.

P.s where did you match...congrats!

I suggest going to www.otomatch.com to get a general overview of ENT and what people think about it. If you want specific information about matching into ENT, go to www.sfmatch.org.

ENT physicians enjoy a wide range of clinical and academic practices. Like many others, you can make the most or least of the profession. Unlike other fields, as an ENT physican you can practice nothing but ENT-related medicine (i.e., no surgery), or spend most of your days doing nothing but surgery, or balancing the two. You have the options of being academic or private.

As an ENT, you can enjoy the pleasure (and pain) of being a specialist. This generally means you'll see everything from the routine to the complex in your field. This also means that you (if you set yourself up for this) will see everyone's screw-ups.

You can be a generalist, or further specialize in just ears, just sinuses/nose, just voice, just cancer, or whatever suits your fancy in head and neck disease. I know an ENT physician who does just allergies and asthma; no surgery, and he makes a bundle and works about 6 hours per day, no nights, no weekends. On the other hand, some of my attendings work almost as long as we do, come in at night, handle airway disasters, bleeding cancer patients, and people with really screwed up ears.

The field has a lot of diversity and potential. We keep the residencies limited, thus ensuring the quality of its applicants and a steady demand for physicians in the field.

Our malpractice is relatively low compared to other surgeons, and our patient population is generally healthy -- the exception being those patients with cancer and airway problems.

ENT can be incredibly exciting and incredibly boring. (I challenge you to hold hook for 10 hours.)

Overall, it's a great field. If you're interested, I encourage you to pursue it, regardless of your qualifications. Just be sure you have back-up plans if you think your record is below par.

 

[Icewoman]

ENT is really cool. This is exactly why I'm going to try applying for it next year. The only thing that I don't like about it is that some of the surgeries are too long.

BTW, does ENT have any overlap with Ophthalmology? And why is ENT that much more competitive than Ophthalmology beside the average board scores?

 

[shigaT]

Hiddentruth - here's a link to the post on physician work hours http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=101722&highlight=physician+work+hours
I don't know what year you are but if you have an interest in ENT and have a good department at your school try and check out some cases in as many of the ENT subspecialties - they are:
1.Head & Neck - usually long cancer resections where you will be able to get a surgical appreciation for the intricate anatomy of the head and neck
2. Otology - lots of surgery using the operative microscope - tympanoplasty, mastoidectomy, ossiculoplasty, cochlear implants, Acoustic neuroma resection, etc.
3. Sinus/Rhinology - very cool endoscopic sinus surgery with fun toys (microdebrider, backbiter, etc.)
4.Laryngology - voice procedures, laser polyp removals, etc.
5.Pediatrics - lots of airway management
6.Facial Plastics - cosmetic or reconstructive
I would also shadow in the clinic as this will be a large part of your practice as an otolaryngologist - Good luck, this is a very cool field!!

Trex - I was referring to life after residency. ENT, like all surgical residencies is demanding and the hours are long. However, unlike general surgery, life as an attending can be good, especially if you practice in an area where there is resident coverage at the hospitals. The attendings rarely have to come in on call and because most of the cases are on an outpatient basis or overnight hospital stays there is rarely weekend rounding. Of course this may all change in an academic otolaryngology practice where the patients tend to be sicker cases more complicated .

Ice Woman - if you didn't match in ophtho, you may have a tough time matching in ENT. I believe ENT is slightly more competitive because there are less positions each year (you'll have to confirm this). Also, there are more than enough qualified applicants each year so PD's can afford to be very selective. That is way you don't see many FMG's, DO's, or applicants who have not gotten residencies in other specialties (such as yourself) match in ENT. As far as overlap with Ophtho, the only similarity is that they both are concerned with diseases above the neck. In my opinion Ophtho is more of a pseudo-surgical specialty. There is no surgical prelim year required and the bread and butter ophtho "surgeries" are more like simple procedures. One exception is oculoplastics. The only overlapping surgeries that come to mind are orbital blowout fractures (which ENT repairs at my institution) and blepharoplasty (ENT facial plastics vs. oculoplastics). If you really want to do ENT I would follow the previous advice and do a research year at a lower or middle teir program (if they exist!). Good luck!!

 

[VCMM414]

Originally posted by shigaT
I don't know what year you are but if you have an interest in ENT and have a good department at your school try and check out some cases in as many of the ENT subspecialties

What if my school doesn't have a particularly prominent ENT department (that I know of)? I am still really early in my med training, but I would like to explore otolaryngology to see what it's about.

Also, I've heard that having a strong department can help in the match in that one may be able to get a letter from the head of department. Again, what can I do to compensate for the lack of a strong ENT program at my school?

Thanks in advance.

 

[entpa]

ENT surgeons are really lucky when they have a PA that handles the "dizzy" patients for them!