With greater scrutiny of doctors and easier access to information about doctors’ education, the American Board of Otolaryngology’s Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program is more important than ever, said Robert Miller, MD, executive director of the American Board of Otolaryngology (ABOto).
In an address to the 2009 Combined Otolaryngological Spring Meetings in Las Vegas, neurosurgeon Harry Van Loveren, MD, chair of the department of neurosurgery at the University of South Florida, coined the term “fogeyphobia” to describe a tendency among older doctors to become reluctant to speak out against new surgical tools and techniques, out of fear of being viewed as old-fashioned.
A physician who was recently offered a lucrative position with an otolaryngology practice in his community asked me to review his current employment agreement to determine if it contained any prohibitions against accepting the job. His previous employment contract contained a noncompetition clause that, justifiably, caused him and his prospective employer some concern. As it turned out, in his case, and in many others, the noncompetition clause was not as restrictive as it appeared at first glance. The provision was penetrable and my client joined the new practice with a clear conscience that he was not in violation of his previous contract.
With pediatric otolaryngology continuing to evolve, the American Society of Pediatric Otolaryngology (ASPO) is exploring subcertification in the field, saying it is specialized enough that it deserves recognition. The society has approached the American Board of Otolaryngology (ABOto) about the possibility and is working on defining the knowledge base that would be required for a physician to become subcertified as a pediatric otolaryngologist.
ACGME RRC—this litany of letters means little to most otolaryngologists. However, whether you are a private practitioner or an academician, a resident in training or a program director, you should have a basic understanding of the work done by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Residency Review Committee (ACGME RRC).
When Rahul Shah, MD, then a pediatric otolaryngologist at Children’s Hospital in Boston, and several colleagues first undertook a survey of otolaryngologists’ reactions to adverse events in 2004, they provided a blank form for respondents to write about what had happened. In the more than 200 responses they received, Dr. Shah and his colleagues read an outpouring of emotion.
Triological Society members should constantly be assessing their contributions to their profession and working to create meaningful legacies in line with the group’s traditions, said Society President Frank E. Lucente, MD, in his presidential address at the Annual Meeting of the society, part of the Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings held here April 28-May 2.
Performing international surgical outreach missions to help the world’s most disadvantaged patients overcome the disability imposed by disease is an extremely rewarding experience. Missions are challenging, varying in their length, level of working and living conditions and the surgery performed. Despite the rigors of mission work, there has not been a mission where members of the medical team did not find the experience to be life changing.
Diana C. Ponsky, MD, assistant professor of otolaryngology-facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at Case Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio, went to medical school wanting to be a pediatrician. She happened upon otolaryngology “by accident, by scrubbing into a very fascinating cancer case. I was hooked,” she now recalls.
It’s a fact: An increasing number of American women are entering medicine. In the U.S. today, half of matriculating medical students, and 28 percent of all practicing physicians, are women.