Welcome

Welcome to the TAMC Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Residency Program. Our mission is to provide the best medical care to patients with disorders of the head and neck from the Pacific Region and to train confident, compassionate, exceptional Otolaryngologists. Graduates of our program will be able to pass the American Board of Otolaryngology qualifying examination and function at the highest levels of Otolaryngology.

Scope of the Residency

The program is 5 years in duration: 1 year of internship and 4 years of Otolaryngology residency. There is a centralized match through the military GME system whereby accepted applicants complete all 5 years of training in succession.

The program alternately accepts two residents then one resident per year in a 2-1-2-1 fashion, although the program was recently granted an increase in complement by the Otolaryngology RRC to accept an additional applicant in 2005.  While the vast majority of clinical training is performed at Tripler, rotations are performed at  Kaiser Permanente- Moanalua and the University of California-Davis .

ACGME Accreditation

The Residency Review Committee fully accredited this program in 2004.

The Faculty

The faculty consists of six full-time, board-certified Otolaryngologists with fellowship training in head and neck oncologic surgery, facial plastic surgery, pediatric otolaryngology, and otology/neuro-otology.  All faculty are clinically active and pursue research in their respective fields of interest.

Program Strengths

·  Volume: Tripler has the busiest surgical and outpatient ENT workload in the Army

·  Academic performance: Tripler has finished in the top 10 programs in the country for the past four years on the annual in-service examination. For each of the last five years, Tripler has had more presentations at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology than any program of the three military services.

·  Cultural and Surgical Case Diversity: Patient referral area for Tripler covers half the earth's surface (52%) and includes active duty military, family members, VA patients, and civilians from various islands in the Pacific Basin .

·  The Pacific Island Health Care Project: this federally funded grant brings advanced head and neck cancer cases and a large number of patients with chronic ear disease to Tripler that are not seen in many academic institutions.

·  Fellowship opportunities: 50% of residents in the past 15 years have pursued fellowship training in the subspecialty areas of their choice.

·  Training in humanitarian relief: residents participate in missions to Vietnam , Palau , Mongolia , Sri Lanka , and the Marshall islands .

·  Research opportunities: The Department of Clinical Investigation, adjacent to the hospital, affords staff and residents the opportunity to participate in basic science projects and animal research in a state-of-the-art facility.

·  Surgical experience: Residents graduate with approximately 1700 cases as primary surgeon including a broad mix of facial plastic, neuro-otology, pediatric, and head & neck oncology cases.

Location and Training Facilities 

Established in 1907, Tripler is located atop Moanalua Ridge with commanding views of Honolulu and the Pacific Ocean . Tripler Army Medical Center is a 206-bed hospital offering state-of-the-art patient care with an 800,000 active duty, family members, and retiree population of all four armed services. Spark M. Matsunaga Veterans Affairs Medical & Regional Office Center opened in 2000 on the Tripler campus and uses Tripler as its tertiary referral center. The program also benefits from caring for a diverse patient population from various islands in the Pacific Basin who are funded by the Pacific Island Health Care Program. Tripler Army Medical Center is a leader in medical technology having been recognized as one of the 100 most "wired" hospitals in the nation.

Academic Conferences

Conferences held weekly or biweekly:

·  Neuro-Radiology Conference

·  Head and Neck Tumor Board

·  Morbidity and Mortality Conference

·  Pre-operative and post-operative conference

·  Grand Rounds

·  Resident lectures on academic curriculum

·  Head and Neck Oncology Conference

Conferences held monthly or quarterly

·  Journal Club

·  Hawaii Society of Otolaryngology Meetings

·  Tripler Temporal Bone Lab

Conferences residents attend annually or biannually:

·  Tripler Facial Plastic Surgery Soft Tissue Workshop

·  Tripler Maxillofacial Trauma Course

·  Waikiki Otolaryngology Updates

·  Pan Pacific Surgical Association Meeting

·  Tripler sinus endoscopy course

Residents also attend the following courses during their residency:

·  Armed Forces Institute of Pathology - Otolaryngology/Pathology Course (Washington, D.C.)

·  House Ear Institute Temporal Bone Dissection Course ( Los Angeles , CA )

·  AAOA Basic Allergy Course

·  Iowa Laser/Endoscopy Course ( Iowa City , Iowa )

·  Iowa Head and Neck Oncology Course

·  Tripler Microvascular Course

·  Rhinoplasty Course ( San Francisco , CA )

·  Tripler Audiology Basic Science Course

Student Rotations 

Rotations are highly encouraged for anyone interested in pursuing a career in Otolaryngology or those who wish to get a solid overview of the specialty. What better place than Hawaii ? Students may elect to spend two to six weeks on rotation. They are assigned ward, clinic, and operating room duties, and will be exposed to all facets of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery.

For students interested in the residency, rotations early in the academic year provide the best opportunities for evaluation prior to the September application deadline and match held in November.

To arrange for a rotation please contact:

Ms Gladys Nakamura-DePorto Student Coordinator Medical Education Office Tripler Army Medical Center Hawaii 96859-5000 (808)433-6992 Email: Gladys.Nakamura@amedd.army.mil

To speak to the program director:

LTC Joseph C. Sniezek, MD
Otolaryngology Residency Program Director
Chief, Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery
Attn: MCHK-DSH 1 Jarrett White Road
Tripler Army Medical Center
Tripler AMC , HI 96859-5000

Phone (808) 433-3169/3205 Fax (808) 433-9033

Email: joseph.sniezek@amedd.army.mil