Head Neck Surgery Residency

Welcome and thank you for your interest in the Houston Methodist Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Residency Program!

As the Program Director, I am thrilled to announce the start of our newly accredited Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery Residency Training Program at the Houston Methodist Academic Institute (HMAI). We gained accreditation in January 2022 from ACGME. Our program is located in the heart of the Texas Medical Center (TMC) in Houston, TX- the largest medical complex in the world! We are a 5-year training program and are looking to accept 2 applicants per year. Even though we are a newly accredited program, our outstanding faculty, hospital facilities, and perioperative service line has been training Otolaryngology residents for decades. Our goal is to develop residents into mature and responsible otolaryngologists capable of providing comprehensive care to both adult and pediatric patients with ear, nose, and throat ailments.

It is not only our institution’s values, but also our department’s cornerstone, that all physicians, trainees, and health care providers should uphold the ICARE values of integrity, compassion, accountability, respect, and excellence. We service the greater Houston metropolitan and Gulf Coast communities with a dedicated passion to provide an academic and scholastic environment which fosters the pursuit of basic and clinical research. Our goal is to create physicians who are life-long learners; who will provide evidence-based quality care; who will display excellent interpersonal skills that relate to the art of medicine; and who will function with utmost professionalism and demonstrate the highest degree of ethical character at every rotation site throughout their residency training.

I am excited to offer our trainees the opportunity to work at the No. 1-ranked hospital in Texas- Houston Methodist Hospital (HMH). HMH has over 85 operating rooms, more than 900 in-patient beds, 7 different ICU’s and a quality and safety record that is among the best in the nation. The hospital continues to expand its patient care capabilities with new in-patient towers scheduled for construction very soon. Our program’s mission is to be the recognized leader in otolaryngologic clinical care, education, and scientific discovery. We strive to provide our residents with the finest comprehensive training in all aspects of the specialty. Emphasis is placed on academic learning and the basic sciences, surgical and clinical competency, and research. Residents will care for inpatients and consult patients, report and round daily with fellowship trained faculty members, perform tertiary and quaternary level surgeries, and lead a service line with a wide range of adult otolaryngologic cases. There is complicated head and neck cancer, neurotology, sinonasal/ skull base pathology, sleep surgery, laryngology, and facial plastic & reconstructive surgery cases. On average, 4000 operative cases are performed by the Otolaryngology service line at HMH. Additionally, Houston Methodist Hospital has the award-winning Houston Methodist Institute for Technology, Innovation, & Education (MITIE). This is an innovative virtual hospital which offers hands-on courses and clinical training for health care professionals seeking to maintain excellent procedural skills and acquire new proficiencies. Methodist has strong affiliations with both Texas A&M College of Medicine and Weill Cornell College of Medicine, and is the primary clinical training hospital for the first of its kind Engineering and Medicine Program (EnMed) with Texas A&M. Houston Methodist Hospital will be the home institution for our residency training, however our trainees will also spend quality rotations at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Texas Children’s Hospital-West Campus, Memorial Hermann Hospital, and the clinical care sites of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. These unique experiences will allow our residents to have an in-depth comprehensive experience for advanced head and neck cancer care, foster longer term relationships with pediatric patients, and rotate through two different level 1 trauma centers with exposure to a variety of ENT/head and neck related injuries, work directly with the patient population of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Houston is not only home to the largest medical complex in the world, but it is also one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. With a metro population of over 7.2 million people, there are on average 250 people a day moving to this great city! With such staggering numbers, we are well positioned in the TMC to offer high quality, cutting edge, compassionate care to our growing and diverse population. Houston is the most populous city in Texas and the 4th largest city in the United States. It was founded in 1836 by General Sam Houston, the former president of the Republic of Texas after Texas won its independence from Mexico. Since then, Houston has become home to a number of multinational companies, caries the title of “Energy Capital of the World,” and is also nicknamed Space City since NASA is just around the corner. We have 2 international airports, countless number of green spaces and parks, major league baseball, basketball, football, and soccer teams, and one of the best and most vibrate food scenes in the country. The warm days in summer are complimented by mild winters and beautiful spring and fall weather. The gulf coast beaches are a short drive from the city center and offer plenty of family-friendly entertainment options. Whether moving to Houston on your own or with loved ones, you will not feel alone as this city welcomes everyone with open arms. With so much excitement happening here in Southeast Texas, you will, without a doubt, fit right in.

I want to create a program at Houston Methodist Hospital where the residents are involved in all aspects of their residency training from chief resident selection, developing our match list for future applicants, implementing our educational curriculum, and constructively working to make their own training experience the best it can be. Fostering a collegial and collaborative work environment between trainees and faculty is imperative. Our goal is not only to create outstanding otolaryngologists who can function as solo practioners or matriculate into top-notch fellowships and become future leaders in the field, but we also want to see that our graduates emphasize their involvement and understanding of the societal, political, and economic forces that directly affect our patients and our specialty. The practice of otolaryngology and the art of medicine is forever evolving. I could not be more optimistic about the strength of our program, the mission of our department, and the opportunities that lay ahead. I welcome your application and hope you can be part of something very unique and special here in the Texas Medical Center. We look forward to meeting you.