Residency Rotations

Intern Year

Internship training is comprised of twelve one-month rotations. ENT interns spend six months with the Otolaryngology – HNS service. Interns rotate through the following fields of general surgery: pediatric surgery, endocrine surgery, and critical care (ICU) medicine. First-year residents also receive experience in oral surgery and radiation oncology. Internship training is primarily directed at achieving proficiency in pre- and post-operative surgical care. Additionally, interns receive basic operative and clinical training. Time in the operating room typically consists of primary surgeon for less-complex cases and assisting in more-complex cases. Interns take primary floor call during daytime hours; weekend call is rotation-dependent. The internship year also serves to provide invaluable knowledge about the inner-workings of the hospital, and fosters the formation of relationships with colleagues within the A.B. Chandler Medical Center and Veterans Administration Hospital.

Sample UK Otolaryngology Resident Schedule

PGY2 - PGY5 Rotations

The residency program is designed to ensure all residents receive excellent, well-rounded clinical and surgical training in all aspects of Otolaryngology – HNS. Clinical training occurs at multiple sites, including the Ear, Nose, and Throat – Hearing and Balance Clinic, the state-of-the-art Markey Cancer Center Clinic, and the Veterans Affairs Hospital. Operative training occurs within the A.B. Chandler Medical Center, the Center for Advanced Surgery, the Veterans Affairs Hospital, and Good Samaritan Hospital. Additionally, residents spend time in a community-practice setting at St. Claire regional hospital.  A multidisciplinary approach exists in all locations, and residents interact extensively with both in-clinic audiologists and speech-language pathologists.

Residents spend time assigned to one of three teams. Each team is comprised of one Chief Resident and one or more mid- or junior-level residents. The team system permits one-on-one interaction between residents and attending physicians in both clinical and operative settings.

Team A

Team A focuses on otology, neurotology, and pediatric otolaryngology. During their time on Team A, residents are supervised by Dr. Jones, Dr. Bush, Dr. Iverson, Dr. Azbell, Dr. Fiorillo, and Dr. McNulty. Time on Team A is also spent at a community clinic in Morehead, Kentucky. 

Team B

Team B provides training in general otolaryngology, rhinology and endoscopic skull base surgery, laryngology, and facial plastic surgery. Team B supervising physicians include Dr. Archer, Dr. Patel, Dr. Comer, Dr. Sani, Dr. Fritz, and Dr. Gupta. Team C is dedicated to management of patients with benign and malignant neoplasms of the head and neck. Faculty members include Dr. Valentino, Dr. Gal, Dr. Aouad, and Dr. Kejner.

Team C

Team C provides intensive training in extirpative and local reconstructive techniques, microvascular reconstructive surgery, transoral robotic surgery (TORS), laryngology and airway reconstruction, sialoendoscopy, and laser surgery. 

The team system promotes several goals as related to patient care and medical education. First, senior residents are typically on a team for multiple months in a row, promoting continuity of patient care as well as training in team leadership. Secondly, the team system promotes development of teamwork, as the team unit functions for at least one month together at a time before changing services. Finally, the team system allows ancillary staff and patients to have familiar names and faces on a consistent basis, and this, we believe, improves patient satisfaction and outcomes.