PROGRAM FACILITIES

The Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery's outpatient clinic facility is located in the Physicians' Pavilion adjacent to OHSU Hospital. The clinic consists of 18 examining rooms, six treatment rooms, three audiometric testing booths and a vestibular laboratory. The department has its own library and conference room. The department's administrative offices and secretarial staff are located adjacent to the clinic.

The Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery admits patients to OHSU Hospital, Doernbecher Children's Hospital, and the Portland VAMC. The health care system includes nearly 1,000 beds -- OHSU Hospital is licensed for 509 beds and the VA Medical Center is licensed for 490 beds.

Doernbecher Children's Hospital includes an extensive outpatient facility as well as 120 inpatient beds. The Department of Otolaryngology will be intimately associated with this hospital, utilizing clinic space. The audiology division is integrated closely into the children's hospital for speech pathology and audiologic care.

The Oregon Hearing Research Center is a division of the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and participates closely with the residency training program. The lab occupies 17,000 square feet of the Mark Hatfield Research Center adjacent to the hospital, as well as 4,000 square feet in the Medical Research Building.

Alfred L. Nuttall, Ph.D. is the director of the center, which includes eight Ph.D's, two M.D.'s and one M.D./Ph.D. The lab is dedicated to hearing research, including vascular diseases of the ear and hair cell regeneration.

There is a temporal bone lab complete with eight fully equipped positions. Formal temporal bone courses are offered during the second year of training. The lab is accessible to all residents as well.

The audiology department is under the direction of Donald Plapinger, Ed.D. It consists of seven audiologists. The department provides basic and advanced evaluations, including ABR, ECOG, otoacoustic emissions, intraoperative monitoring, cochlear implant evaluations and rehabilitation, vestibular assessments, and hearing aid dispensing. Don Plapinger, Ed.D. also is director of the cochlear implant program.

The department's affiliations include the Hearing and Speech Institute, which is proximate to the university and provides speech therapy, particularly for pediatric patients. In addition, the department is affiliated with Tucker-Maxon Oral School, which is an oral training school for the profoundly hard of hearing. Many of the cochlear implant patients are enrolled in this school.

The department has a specific Tinnitus Clinic under the direction of William Martin, Ph.D. This clinic provides care for patients with severe tinnitus and is a comprehensive program including extensive research.

The department has a voice disorders clinic (the Northwest Center for Voice and Swallowing) under the direction of Leigh Anne Dew, M.D., James I. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. and Donna Graville, Ph.D., CCC-SP. This clinic is involved in the management of difficult voice and speech problems, including management of the professional voice. The department offers laryngeal physiology (for research and treatment), as well as newer treatments of voice disorders including botox injection and implants. Speech pathologists and voice teachers are involved in the service.

DIDACTIC INSTRUCTION

A journal club, special lecture series, grand rounds and special surgical rounds are held weekly throughout the year. An oral quiz session for all residents is conducted one evening each week, ten months of the year.

Residents attend special courses, including soft tissue surgery, microanatomy and dissection of the temporal bone, laryngeal dissection, sinus surgery, and head and neck surgery. Additional training is provided when individuals with special expertise are available.

Each resident is required to present a paper at a regional or national meeting. Regional meeting registration expenses are provided for first- and second-year residents. Third- and fourth-year residents are funded for national meetings.

EXAMINATIONS

All residents take the Otolaryngologic Home Study Course each year during their four-year program and also take the inservice training examination each year.

AUDIOLOGY AND VESTIBULAR TESTING

The audiologic staff provide an in-depth course with basic and advanced audiology for residents and medical students. Although the resident is expected to know how to perform audiometric testing and audiologic assessment, generally this is provided by the audiologists. Residents will receive training in ABR and cochlear implants.

The audiologic department fits and services hearing aids. It provides full pediatric assessment.

A vestibular lab, which is housed in the clinic, consists of an ENG, rotary chair, platform and optokinetic visual testing lab. The lab is staffed by Jeffrey J. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., an otoneurologist who has a joint appointment with the department.

An active cochlear implant program is part of the otologic/audiologic service.

SURGICAL EXPERIENCE

A heavy surgical load provides experience in all areas of the specialty. Residents gain experience as a responsible operating surgeon in all types of temporal bone and middle-ear operations, rhinoplasties, maxillofacial trauma, sinus surgical procedures, partial and total laryngectomies, neck dissections, other head and neck tumors, plastic and reconstructive procedures, pediatric airway problems and endoscopy.

CALL SCHEDULE

The PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents share in-house call. The PGY-4 and PGY-5 residents take second call at home. Call is every fourth night the first two years.