Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery at Oakland

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is it like to do a residency in a non-university setting like Kaiser?
2. Will I learn all facets of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery?
3. What is the volume and diversity of patients?
4. Where do the Kaiser Permanente residents typically come from?
5. Where do Kaiser Permanente residents go after graduation?
6. How do the residents perform on the annual in-service and the ABO board certification examinations?
7. Can I afford to live in the Bay Area on a resident salary?
8. What is the duty schedule like?
9. Is research required?
10. Is the program fully accredited?
11. Are there medical student clerkships?
12. Do we accept applications from foreign medical schools?
13. Do we support volunteer work or international medicine?

1. What is it liked to do a residency in a non-university setting like Kaiser?

The Kaiser Permanente Oakland Program combines the academics, research and tertiary care referral of a university program with the clinical volume of a large community care hospital and the support systems of a first class private hospital. The clinical research opportunities are based on the clinical interests of the attending physicians / attending surgeons practicing in a high-volume, advanced pathology patient referral practice. A comprehensive didactic program is incorporated into the training. Specifically, as a staff model prepaid HMO, medical decisions are physician driven, emphasizing preventive care / health maintenance. Preauthorization for procedures is not necessary or required from health plan administrators. Physicians make medical judgments based on their training and experience.

2. Will I learn all facets of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery?

Our training program provides a varied and comprehensive educational experience based on the diverse patient population and educational opportunities. In particular, our graduating residents complete their training with an average of about 1700 surgical cases as primary surgeon – well above the national average. Our one-on-one proctorship during the PGY-2 and PGY-3 year serves as an excellent apprenticeship introduction to the specialty. Our commitment to a complete didactic program is evident in the 20-25 conferences offered on a monthly basis. During your residency at Kaiser, you will be exposed to the various subspecialty areas and work with attendings who have had otolaryngology fellowship training in facial plastics, laryngology, head and neck oncology, microvascular reconstruction, Mohs chemosurgery, neurotology and pediatrics.

3. What is the volume and diversity of patients?

Unlike many university programs, Kaiser Permanente’s volume of patients is large and growing steadily. Kaiser Permanente serves more than 1/3 of all insured Californians and Northern California Kaiser Permanente now cares for more than three million patients. The Oakland medical facility serves as the major tertiary care hospital within Northern California Kaiser Permanente. Many patients with advanced disease processes, or rare conditions, are referred for evaluation and treatment to our department. There is no differentiation among patients (i.e., no resident patients versus private patients). Every patient is potentially a resident patient and on the teaching service.

4. Where do the Kaiser Permanente residents typically come from?

Applicants are from medical schools across the United States. A roster of current residents and recent graduates can be found under “Our Residents”.

5. Where do Kaiser Permanente residents go after graduation?

The majority of our graduates go on to private clinical practices. Many have found the practice style desirable within the Kaiser system and have taken staff positions at other Kaiser facilities in Northern and Southern California. All of our residents who have elected to pursue a subspecialty fellowship have successfully matched. Former residents from our program have matched and completed fellowships in facial plastic surgery, Mohs chemosurgery, neurotology and pediatric otolaryngology. One completed a plastic surgery residency and is double boarded in OHNS / PS. Specific information regarding our resident graduates can be found under “Our Residents”.

6. How do the residents perform on the annual in-service and the ABO board certification examinations?

Averaged over the past five years, our residents, as a group, have scored in the 95% percentile of all programs taking the Annual Otolaryngology Training Examination. Since the inception of our program in 1976, our graduating residents have maintained a 100% pass rate in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery certifying examination.

7. Can I afford to live in the Bay Area on a resident salary?

Although housing is expensive, all of our residents live comfortably. Many of our residents have been able to purchase a house during their residency. As the Bay Area is a consistently appreciating real estate market, many of our residents have found home purchases to be a rewarding investment. In addition to your salary, the program covers the cost of your medical license and meals when on duty. Educational conferences during the noon hour typically provide a free lunch. Additionally, the GME office provides an educational book and meeting allowance and the Head and Neck Surgery Department helps fund resident conferences and educational experiences. Also, our residents are often offered free attendance to conferences/courses sponsored by other Kaisers or university programs in the Bay Area.

8. What is the duty schedule like?

We strictly adhere to the ACGME work duty hour guidelines. Our residents do not take in-house call and average call duty every third to fourth night, and every third to fourth weekend.

9. Is research required?

Yes. We consider research to be an integral part of the residency education experience. We are proud of the quality of our clinical research program. Each resident is expected to pursue a topic of academic merit each year of training. This results in, at least, one presentation each year for the Bay Area Residents’ Symposium (BARRS). Of the four projects completed for this presentation format, we expect one project will be either a large retrospective or prospective study and at least one other project will be a case report or small case series, both suitable for publication. We have abundant resources available for assistance within the Kaiser system including the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute, the Division of Research, the Multimedia Department and the Department of Medical Editing. Residents are provided with four to five months of dedicated time for research during their residency years. You may refer to the section on research projects and publications for examples of various projects completed by our residents.

10. Is the program fully accredited?

Yes, the program is fully accredited by the ACGME for a period of four years through 2008.

11. Are there medical student clerkships?

Yes, fourth year medical students can apply for externships through our Graduate Medical Education Department. See our Clerkships page for more information.

12. Do we accept applications from foreign medical schools?

We will accept applications from any licensed medical school. In an extremely competitive environment, we select candidates for interview based on the merits of their application.

13. Do we support volunteer work or international medicine?

As a nonprofit HMO, Kaiser has a long tradition of sponsoring volunteer, preventative and medical mission efforts. There are multiple health seminars and health fairs for which you can volunteer. Our organization has supported medical teams for both the Tsunami and Katrina relief. In addition, Kaiser Permanente as an organization, donated $1 million to Tsunami relief and $2 million to Katrina relief. Our department has involved residents in medical missions to Guatemala and the Philippines. We also have donated surgical services to Operation Access, which offers free ambulatory surgical services to the Bay Area’s working poor.