Our residency training program in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery is devoted to the task of educating and training physicians to function independently as specialists in the field. The residency program, which was newly established in July 1993 after meeting the rigorous standards set by the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), is based in SUNY-Stony Brook's Division of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery/Department of Surgery. The institutions participating in the residency program at Stony Brook have a deep and longstanding commitment to resident education, and provide an environment that is well-suited to the training of residents.

The governing philosophy of our residency program is to train physicians to be competent in all aspects of the specialty. This includes learning to diagnose medical problems of the head and neck, acquiring surgical skill in this complex area, mastering the fundamental knowledge of this specialty and related specialties, and gaining first hand experience with basic science. The residency program consists of one year of general surgery followed by four years of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery. The training institutions are the University Medical Center at Stony Brook and the St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in nearby Smithtown. Upon completion of the residency program, we expect our trainees to be ready to enter into clinical practice, into fellowship training, or into basic medical or clinical research.

Ours is a small program, which currently has four residents and five full-time staff members. We expect the program to continue to grow in size. The residents in our program gain a broad-based training in all aspects of the specialty. We are a tertiary referral center, and as such, residents participate in the care of patients with complex problems. Since this is a small program, residents are expected to work hard and to be flexible in their roles and responsibilities. The program is not rigidly hierarchical—residents are expected to work closely as a team. In exchange for this flexibility, residents are introduced early to some of the more advanced areas of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery.

Lastly, applicants to our program should be self-starters, persons who are capable of working independently while being part of a team, and who are able to organize their time and their study habits efficiently.