Message from the Chair
Our department’s brand is one of family and being one of the greatest otolaryngology programs in the country. I am proud to say that we have some of the greatest faculty, surgeons, residents, nurses and staff in the country. Everyone who comes to visit our family walks away with an understanding of how much we truly care about each other and how deep the department’s talents run. While I may be at the helm steering this ship, it is the people within that make our ship one of the best in the country.
Our department has always focused on providing our patients with the highest quality care, providing our residents with unparalleled education, and advancing our field through clinical and translational research. We have built this success on a strong positive culture of support and well-being amongst a close-knit family. As our family has grown over the years, our bonds have as well. With numerous faculty in each subspecialty, we are poised for both great patient care and great education. We have purposefully omitted fellows from our program because we believe residents should have the full benefit of every opportunity. This truly has made our program the “Fellowship of Residencies”.
Our residents see and do cases often taken by fellows and come out with an unparalleled training experience. This has been proven to us repeatedly as our residents graduate and move to their next career step. We support our residents in all aspects of life, both professionally and personally. We support all career choices made by our family members and simply want our residents to choose the path that is best for them.
While COVID hit Chicago hard, our department persevered with delivering care and surgeries to all patients. Here in the Loyola Department of Otolaryngology, we take pride in the fact that we do the most complex cases in the state and care for the sickest patients in the region. Difficult times, such as what our country has gone through recently, have only strengthened our commitment to the community and our ability to train those that join our family.
Prior to becoming chair of the department, I served as the program director for many years. This has provided me with a unique insight and ability to better integrate the education, research and patient care aspects of the department. My intimate knowledge and experience has allowed for a much more comprehensive program for the trainees as well as patients seeking care here.
Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit us realizes how close the people are and how important they are to each other. This has built the foundation of who we are as people and partners, as a team in the medical community, as doctors to our patients and as a training program for our future. This foundation runs deeper than any other program in the country and I am proud to be a part of it. The future for our department is bright and full of opportunities. We truly believe that good people make great doctors. We believe that doing the right thing for each other and those we care for leads to greater outcomes and opportunities going forward.
I appreciate you taking the time to come visit our site and hope you understand how important this family is to me and to all of its members. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or would like any more information.
Eric Thorpe, MD, MBA, FACS
Chairman
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
Loyola University Medical Center
Program Overview
Superior ENT Training Program
Loyola’s Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residency is known as one of the best in the United States. We are proud of our reputation for providing a rigorous, comprehensive training program, designed to provide participants with all of the skills and knowledge needed to offer excellent medical and surgical care to patients with diseases and disorders of the ears, nose, throat, head and neck.
Loyola's ENT residency is five years in duration. Three residency appointments are made each year from a large pool of applicants from across the country. Loyola’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery residency is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for the Graduate Medical Education.
About the Area
Loyola University Medical Center is located in Maywood, IL, just a few miles outside the city limits of Chicago.
Downtown Chicago bustles with activity year-round. Famous landmarks include Millennium Park, Museum Campus, Magnificent Mile, Willis Tower, many shops, restaurants, sporting events and entertainment venues, as well as hundreds of local festivals and celebrations in different Chicago neighborhoods.
The health system campus is also surrounded by vibrant suburban communities, each with their own cultures and attractions.
Program Schedule
PGY-1
The first year (PGY-1) includes month-long clinical rotations in general surgery, trauma, anesthesia, pediatric surgery, surgical oncology and oral surgery. The remaining six months of PGY-1 are spent exclusively on the Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Service. The general purpose of PGY-1 is to provide an adequate foundation for proper care of the surgical patient by exposure to the various surgical disciplines and related specialties.
PGY-2 – PGY-4
The PGY-2 through PGY-5 years are devoted to otolaryngology, and include rotations in all seven facets of the specialty: head and neck/reconstructive, rhinology/sinus, facial plastics, otology/neurotology/skull base, pediatric otolaryngology, and general otolaryngology. Ample exposure to facial trauma is provided, as the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery covers facial trauma call during the last 10 days of each month at Loyola University Medical Center, a Level I trauma center.
During years two, three and four, residents will rotate at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital. There they will have an opportunity to work on a wide variety of ENT disorders in clinic and in the operating room.
During the PGY-3 year, residents spend four months in a dedicated research block. The residents devise and execute their own basic science studies, under the supervision of a senior physician. Their research experience continues beyond this rotation, as residents are then expected to remain involved in various basic science and clinical projects, through the end of their residency.
PGY-5
The PGY-5 residents serve as chief resident. Chief residents review all complex clinic patients and emergency room consults before presentation to the faculty, and are responsible for developing treatment protocols for each patient (subject to confirmation by a faculty member).
Didactics
Our program incorporates weekly, resident-conducted didactic sessions.
In addition, Loyola residents are expected to continue a year-round program of self-directed education, which includes reading textbooks, self-instruction packages, monographs, scientific and clinical journals, and completing the official Otolaryngology Home Study Course.
ENT Conference Schedule
Much of the material presented at these conferences is selected to reflect in-service and board examinations. Attendance at these conferences in mandatory.
Wednesday is our regular didactic teaching day. It begins at 6:30 AM with a combination of the following:
Grand Rounds
Attendings and residents alternate presentations on the clinical aspects of ENT.
Morbidity & Mortality Conference
Residents present interesting clinical cases and questions moderated by the attending staff. Topics covered include pediatric otolaryngology, otology/neurotology, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, and trauma.
Journal Club
This conference is dedicated to the review of articles in the literature, both recent and historical. It is attended by otolaryngology faculty and residents.
Multidisciplinary Tumor Board
This is a joint conference between the Departments of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Radiation Oncology, and Medical Oncology. Cases are presented prospectively, and an appropriate treatment plan is developed for each patient. On occasion, local guest speakers and visiting professors may offer presentations.
Additional didactic sessions take place throughout the week:
COCLIA
This is our department’s basic science conference, a two-hour series of lectures each Monday on topics within ENT (and related disciplines).
Skull Base/Temporal Bone Dissection Lab
Each Tuesday, this two-hour lab provides an individual workstation for each resident, complete with operating microscopes and updated instrument systems. Sessions are led by otologists/neurotologists Sam Marzo, John Leonetti and Matthew Kircher.
Program Benefits
Salary and Benefits
Information on current stipends, salary and benefits can be found by contacting our residency program coordinator.
Miscellaneous
Parking
Parking is available on campus at a monthly cost.
Meal Allowance
Money for meals is distributed via a debit card system. Funds are added to individual accounts in six month increments.
Call Schedule
PGY-1 residents do not take call. PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents take five days of in-house call each month. PGY-5 chief residents alternate home-call throughout the month.
Upon Graduation
At the completion of residency, each physician will have the solid foundation of basic science education, surgical skills, patient care experience and research proficiency needed to become a well-rounded otolaryngologist. We also believe your time in our ENT residency program will instill in you a desire for ongoing education and skill-building.
How to Apply
We will recruit a total of three PGY-1 candidates for 2020.
If you are interested in applying to the Otolaryngology Residency Program, applications are only accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).
We are registered through the National Resident Matching Program.
The deadline for applicationsfor the PGY-1 residency starting July 2020 is October 11th, 2019.
Program Requirements
Applicants must obtain a medical degree (MD or DO) from an accredited U.S. or foreign medical school prior to marticulation. Foreign medical graduates must have successfully passed the ECFMG certifying examination. All candidates must be eligible for medical licensure in Illinois.
Application Requirements:
- ERAS Application
- Curriculum Vitae
- Personal Statement
- USMLE Step 1 Report
- Medical School Transcript
- Three Letters of Recommendation
ENT Residency Interviews
If selected for an interview, you will be notified by email. Interviews are conducted in January.
Our interview day begins at 7:30 AM and ends at approximately 2:00 PM Interviewees then are invited to attend a social gathering with the program’s current residents at a nearby restaurant.
Contact US
For more detailed information regarding our program, please contact:
Lauren Nagle
ENT Residency Program Coordinator
Phone: 708-216-5120
E-mail: lnagle@lumc.edu
