Information scarcity among otolaryngology applicants: A review of the largest database of programs.

Objective: Otolaryngology residency applicants face challenges finding accurate information about training programs. Social media platforms are not verified, and official training program websites are not standardized. Currently, the American Medical Association's Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FREIDA) is the most comprehensive sanctioned and verified otolaryngology residency program database. However, the exact amount of information shared by individual programs included is not presently known. Methods: Herein, we analyzed the available data on all 124 otolaryngology residency programs in FREIDA to assess the completeness of the database. Results: While every program listed an address, contact email, and the name of the program director, more than half of programs (n = 65, 52.4%) did not provide additional information. Most programs (70.2%) did not include a one-paragraph program description. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that while FREIDA is the only sanctioned online database for residency programs, it is inadequately populated with detailed program information. Level of Evidence: N/A.

Improving empathy and relational skills in otolaryngology residents: a pilot study.

Physician empathy and relational skills are critical factors predicting quality of care, patient safety, patient satisfaction, and decreasing malpractice claims. Studies indicate that physician empathy declines throughout medical training, yet little is published about methods to enhance empathy, especially in surgical residency training. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires competencies in 6 areas, including interpersonal skills and communication. To address this important problem, the first author developed an innovative empathy-relational skills training protocol focusing on the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of empathy and the interpersonal processes that positively affect the patient-doctor relationship. The authors tested the effectiveness of this protocol in a pilot study with 11 otolaryngology residents. Results showed that a brief series of 3 empathy training sessions can significantly improve physicians' knowledge of the neurobiology and physiology of empathy, as well as their self-reported capacity to empathize with patients. A trend toward increased patient satisfaction was observed.

Efficacy of Proton Beam Therapy in the Treatment of Ewing's Sarcoma of the Paranasal Sinuses and Anterior Skull Base.

Ewing's sarcoma involving the sinonasal cavity and anterior skull base is very rare. The purpose of this article is to present our experience with two such cases, which were both treated with combined chemotherapy and proton beam radiation therapy. The patients were selected from a retrospective medical record analysis that was conducted of all patients who were diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma of the sinonasal cavity at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary/Massachusetts General Hospital Cranial Base Center from 2004 to 2008. One of the patients underwent pretreatment endoscopic subtotal resection to facilitate proton beam radiation therapy. Response to treatment was assessed, post-treatment endoscopic biopsies were performed to assure eradication of disease, and treatment complications were recorded. Both patients completed chemotherapy and proton beam radiation therapy without complication. One patient completed treatment in December 2006 and remains disease free. The second patient completed treatment in March 2007 and remains disease free. Both patients developed headaches accompanied by frontal sinus opacification after treatment that required endoscopic drainage. After endoscopic drainage, the opacification and symptoms resolved.