Objective As the population of the United States becomes increasingly racially and ethnically diverse, it is important that the medical profession reflect these changes. Otolaryngology has previously been identified as one of the surgical subspecialties with the smallest presence of those underrepresented in medicine. In the context of this study, the term underrepresented in medicine is defined as blacks, Latinos, Native American, and Native Hawaiians. The purpose of this study was to describe the current state of otolaryngology residency programs in terms of diversity of resident and faculty cohort, explore general interviewing practices, and investigate recruitment of underrepresented in medicine applicants. Study Design Survey via electronic questionnaire. Setting Academic otolaryngology residency programs. Subjects and Methods A 14-item survey was distributed to 105 program directors asking them to consider their program's past 15 years of existence. Results With a response rate of roughly 30%, we found that over one-third of responding programs had matriculated 1 or fewer underrepresented in medicine residents. There was a statistically significant association between the number of underrepresented in medicine faculty and the number of underrepresented in medicine residents matriculated ( P = .02). Conclusion The authors stress the importance of underrepresented in medicine faculty mentorship. Although not statistically significant in this study, increasing the number of underrepresented in medicine applicants interviewed, as well as recommending outreach programs, may help to improve underrepresented minority matriculation into residency programs as demonstrated in the literature.
Objectives 1) Identify factors that influence African American physicians to choose a career in otolaryngology; 2) determine the predominant practice setting for African American otolaryngologists who can be role models; and 3) determine if the presence of an African American otolaryngologist in academic setting influences career choice. Methods Survey methodology included a 15‐item survey to determine trends in practice and factors that influenced choice of specialty. Results The results were reviewed for trends influencing career choice and practice location and stratified by age group. Most African American otolaryngologists are in academic practice and have subspecialty fellowship training. Enjoying medical student clerkship was the most frequently cited reason why African Americans chose otolaryngology as a career regardless of age. Early exposure was a driving factor in those 30 to 40 years old. Receiving mentorship was less influential in career choice for all age groups, but there was a positive association between those who were mentored in training and those who mentor faculty. Conclusion The findings suggest the continued need for initiatives to increase African Americans in our specialty. Encouraging early exposure, intentional mentoring of students, and development of African American role models who can be mentors may help increase the number of African American otolaryngologist faculty. This can help our specialty achieve racial parity in a percentage that matches the number of African Americans in the United States workforce. Level of Evidence 5 Laryngoscope, 130:2336–2342, 2020
Background Nasal air conditioning (ie, heating and humidification of inspired air) is an important function of the nasal cavity. This function may be reduced in cases of aggressive nasal surgery. Future virtual surgery planning tools may be used to design surgical approaches that preserve the nasal air conditioning capacity while decreasing airflow resistance. However, it is unclear whether there is a threshold below which impaired nasal air conditioning is associated with negative health consequences. Objective This study aims to review the literature on the clinical impact of reduced nasal air conditioning and its implications for nasal surgery outcomes. Methods A literature search was performed on PubMed and Scopus databases for articles that investigated the effect of air temperature and humidity on mucociliary clearance, respiratory epithelial structure, and the prevalence and severity of respiratory diseases. Results Inspiration of cold, dry air has direct effects on the respiratory epithelium, such as reduced mucociliary clearance and loss of cilia. Nasal surgeries do inflict some changes to the nasal mucosa and geometry that may result in decreased heating and humidification, but it is unclear how long these effects last. Laryngectomy patients serve as a human model for the absence of nasal air conditioning. The heat and moisture exchangers that many laryngectomy patients wear have been shown to improve lung function and reduce pulmonary symptoms associated with breathing unconditioned air, such as increased coughing and thickened mucus. Conclusion Nasal air conditioning is an important mechanism to maintain mucociliary clearance and prevent infection by inhaled pathogens. Preservation of nasal air conditioning capacity should be considered in the implementation of future virtual surgery planning tools. However, a threshold for the onset of negative health consequences due to impaired nasal air conditioning is not yet available.
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