This residency program is for 5 years.
Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.
The University of Ottawa training program in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery is a five-year residency program. The program is fully accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and has been in existence for over 25 years.
This Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery program at the University of Ottawa consists of 1 year of Surgical Foundations training followed by 4 years of specialty training at the University of Ottawa teaching hospitals.
The program’s first year consists of introductory rotations in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. During this initial year, residents rotate at all of our Departmental sites. This allows residents to become familiar with all team members and faculty. Our PGY1s complete 9 off service blocks in surgical and nonsurgical disciplines related to our specialty and another 4 in ENT. These rotations comply with the guidelines of the subspecialty committee in Otolaryngology-Head &Neck Surgery at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. These specialties include ICU, General Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Neurosurgery, Anesthesiology, Thoracic, Emergency, and recently added Palliative Care.
The 2nd year is fully on service with ENT, except for two off service rotations. There is a senior rotation in the ICU, which allows the residents to develop independent skills in managing sick patients as they must act as the senior call resident for their unit. There is also another plastic surgery rotation. The remainder of PGY2 includes rotations at all major teaching hospitals in the role of the junior ENT resident. The goal of the year is to allow each resident to develop their basic knowledge and skills relating to the specialty, including early operative exposure.
The 3rd year is marked by the beginning of subspecialty ENT rotations. During this year, the residents also participate in a community rotation in the location of their choosing. This allows our residents to see the full potential of community practice in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery in Canada. The residents also participate in their first elective rotation.
In the 4th year, residents rotate in all otolaryngology subspecialties within the University of Ottawa system. They gain a significant amount of surgical independence throughout this year. The residents also have two more elective rotations within the specialty. The 4th year is also marked as the year residents take on the responsibilities of Chief resident. Near the end of the fourth year of training, residents are removed from the nighttime call schedule to allow them to have increased Royal College exam study time and will resume call duties after their exam.
In the final year of residency training, the residents have three months of training in Head & Neck Oncology, Rhinology and Otology-Neurotology and one month in Facial Plastic surgery and pediatric otolaryngology. The Resident will attend a half-day biweekly longitudinal clinic, where they act as MRP (most responsible physician) for their patient cohort. This will allow the trainee to have exposure to and experience of running a continuity clinic, with a greater opportunity for follow-up of patients seen in initial consultation.
University of Ottawa Otolaryngology residents train in two major academic health science centers affiliated with the University of Ottawa. The Ottawa Hospital is one of Canada's biggest academic health science centers, and all adult patients are seen at one of two main campuses: the General campus and the Civic campus. The residents also go to the Riverside campus, in which daycare procedures are performed. The pediatric teaching center is the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). All aspects of pediatric care in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery are performed at this site. During their residency, residents will spend most of their time in one of the Ottawa Hospital campuses and 8 months at CHEO. In addition, some rotations involve days in the OR at various local community hospitals.
The residency program's academic program consists of a three-year spiral subspecialty curriculum that covers all aspects of training in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. The academic half-day is on Friday afternoons, and the sessions are faculty driven. Block examinations also highlight the program to help residents assess their progress in knowledge acquisition and multiple sessions on non-medical expert topics of importance to residents in Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Half day time also includes local surgical simulations/courses, annual practice oral examinations, protected research time, among other academic activities.
Research is also a significant portion of the residency program. Up to three blocks of research time is offered to all residents to enable them to participate and complete projects. All projects are completed with guidance from a departmental faculty member. Stipends are given to all residents for presentations of projects at meetings.
Residents in the program participate in various outreach programs. The Nunavut outreach program is a Departmental initiative in which services are offered to the residents of Nunavut. Four annual trips to Iqaluit are planned. A resident and 1-2 faculty members travel to Iqaluit for one week to treat patients suffering from issues relating to the specialty. Finally, the department conducts an annual head and neck cancer screening day at Ottawa homeless shelters. Otolaryngology residents and staff travel to the shelters to perform screening head and neck physical exams for this high-risk population with low access to healthcare.
