The society’s mission is to encourage and assist otolaryngologists–head and neck surgeons “to develop and maintain and enhance their knowledge and skills and their pursuit of improved patient care through education, research, and fellowship,” Dr. Beatty said. “Fellowship is both professional and social. This is where you develop a lot of your mentors and a lot of your colleagues and trust their advice.”
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March 2017While he said that the society continues to attract the “best and brightest,” he added that “we need to do more to encourage membership among scholars and leaders in private practice.”
Thomas Collins is a freelance medical writer based in Florida.
A Brief History of the Trio
- 1895: The Triological Society is created when 11 physicians meet to explore the formation of a medical society that would bring together different disciplines within the head and neck region; the organization is known officially as the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.
- 1897: Vice presidents are selected to represent different sections of the country.
- 1900: A “suitable” thesis is added as a membership requirement to join the society.
- 1963: The abbreviated name “Triological Society” is legalized in the organization’s constitution.
- 1985: The Trio acquires The Laryngoscope, the leading academic journal in the field of otolaryngology, which has been published since 1896.
- 2006: The inaugural issue of ENTtoday is published.
- 2015: The society launches the online journal Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology.
- 2016: Approximately $190,000 in travel grants and $600,000 in scholarships, awards, and research grants are given out by the society.
Charles Luetje, MD, Honored with Patrick E. Brookhouser, MD, Award of Excellence
Dr. Luetje receives the Brookhouser Award from Trio President Dr. Beatty
This year’s Patrick E. Brookhouser, MD, Award of Excellence was presented to retired otologist and neurotologist Charles Luetje, MD, from Olathe, Kansas.
Dr. Luetje is a former vice president of the Middle Section of the Triological Society and a past president of the American Otological Society and American Neurotology Society. He also founded the Midwest Ear Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring hearing in deaf adults and children, and started the cochlear implant program at New Delhi Ear Hospital.
Triological Society president Charles Beatty, MD, called him a “tireless advocate for the deaf and hard of hearing.” He added that “many of you in this society are beneficiaries of his single-mindedness in proactively advocating for the transformation of the Triological Society to a more diverse organization, and he continues to be a quiet—yet forceful—supporter of young otolaryngologists.”