Growing up, one of my favorite year-end joys was listening to the Top 100 songs of the year on the radio. These were the days when we all listened to FM on long drives to relatives’ houses or New Year’s parties and the radio stations were filled with seemingly endless countdowns to the No. 1 song of the year. Hearing the summer songs would bring back memories of beach vacations, and there was always a song or two that we didn’t realize were so popular or influential. As we reflect on 2018 (and as I listen to Internet radio in my office, I thought it would be nice to have our own countdown, ENTtoday style.
Explore this issue:
December 2018We started this year introducing the new editorial board and vision for the journal: Inform, entertain, and amuse. Our goal was to continue the things people love about ENTtoday: Richard Holt’s ethics articles, summaries of recent literature, and Trio Best Practice features, to name a few. We also wanted to make the publication more timely and fun to read and, hopefully, to leave readers with something to think about.
We started the year considering the controversy over MOC. Boy, it seemed like a big deal back then, as stories abounded over internal medicine arguments around the infrastructure and validity of MOC. But, thanks to the leadership of the ABOHNS, our specialty has had a smooth ride as new procedures are implemented in response to the changing demands of our constituents and practitioners.
We talked a lot this year about mentorship, sponsorship, and building a professional network. Physician burnout became the “it” topic for 2018, and we covered it extensively. Our new recurring column on physician wellness that is being led by Julie Wei and Jennifer Villwock will continue in 2019. I think we all agree on the diagnosis, and awareness is widespread. Now, what are the next steps to ensure our wellness? I’m sure we will hear some great ideas in the upcoming year.
In the spring, we highlighted the fantastic scientific presentations at the Triological Society Combined Sections meeting and COSM. One of the highlights of the year for me was Dana Thompson’s inspirational talk at COSM on bias and diversity in otolaryngology. Implicit and explicit bias abound within academic medicine and have a definite presence in otolaryngology. It is an uncomfortable topic to write and talk about, but it is so important to address if we are to become a model specialty and profession. We talked about #MeToo in otolaryngology and, in 2019, we will shine a brighter spotlight on gender, racial, and thought inequities in academic medicine.