Departments

Interested in a Policy Career? Four programs to get you into the Beltway and beyond

Otolaryngologists with a desire to broaden their careers beyond traditional medical practice have several options. Programs exist that can open doors into medical leadership, health policy work, clinical and outcomes research and public office. Opportunities are available at all stages of a physician’s career. Here’s a look at a handful of programs that aim to provide physicians with the tools they need to take their careers in a new direction.

New Ventures, New Risks: Review all possibilities before affiliating with a hospital

In my January 2011 column (“A Seller’s Market: How to prepare your practice for sale to a hospital”), I described the growing trend of physicians selling their practices to hospitals and large health systems and then working for the hospital or health system. This trend is expected to continue in full force through 2012. As I noted in my January article, the physician’s post-sale arrangement is the driver for the growth of the physician’s practice within the hospital or health system.

Geriatric Challenges: Age shouldn’t determine treatment, experts say

One of William Dale’s healthiest patients was working out three times a week, regularly walking two miles, lifting weights, maintaining a stable body weight of 120 pounds and not on any medications when she was diagnosed with a stage IV ovarian cancer. Dale, MD, PhD, section chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the University of Chicago, said the patient did fine with both surgery and chemotherapy. The fact that she was 89 years old, he said, shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise.

Resident Tips: Private and academic practitioners offer career advice

For residents embarking on their professional careers or physicians changing a career, navigating the many issues involved in making a decision that will significantly affect both their professional and personal lives can be daunting and challenging. To provide some guidance, practicing physicians with many years of experience in their respective careers discussed these issues during a session held here Sept. 13 at the 2011 American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Annual Meeting.

A Boost for Research: The Triological Society’s grants help physician-scientists launch investigative careers

It can be difficult to launch a career as a physician–scientist, especially when budget cuts are making research funding harder to find—and this is doubly true for a small specialty like otolaryngology. That challenge is the reasoning behind the Triological Society’s grant programs. The society, which has awarded more than $2.5 million in grants since 1994, promotes research into the causes and treatments of ear, nose and throat diseases.

Personalized Care: Study highlights which patients would benefit from a second round of chemoradiation

Balancing the risks and benefits of concurrent reirradiation and chemotherapy for recurrent head and neck cancers is difficult for physicians at even the most experienced centers. Research recently published in Cancer, however, suggests that selection of patients who may benefit from this therapy should be based on the patient’s previous treatment and the amount of time that has elapsed since initial treatment…

Repair Revolution: Surgeons use fat grafts to address extensive facial deformities

Fat grafts have been used to repair the aging face for about two decades, but recently, surgeons have been using grafts to repair more extensive facial deformities caused by injury, illness or congenital abnormalities. Success, they said in interviews with ENT Today, depends on proper patient selection, matching the fat graft to defects that are most amenable to repair with fat injections and an understanding of the biology of the graft and how it reacts with surrounding facial structures.

Chaos Control: Plan ahead to ensure your practice survives a disaster

Ten years have passed since the U.S. was attacked on September 11, 2001 and six since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast. And, while disasters of that magnitude are rare, hundreds of smaller-scale disasters occur every year, including tornadoes, blizzards, fires, earthquakes, airline crashes and chemical spills.