Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Residency (Minnesota) - Residencies and Fellowships - Mayo Clinic College of Medicine & Science

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Overview

The Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Residency at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, provides superior surgical and medical training that features a unique mentorship-apprenticeship system. Residents are trained in all areas of otolaryngology during this program.

ENT hospital in the country (U.S. News, 2024-25)

100%

American Board of Otolaryngology pass rate

3,200

surgical cases per year

Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Residency: Program overview

6:02

This five-year residency prepares residents for either private practice or academic medicine by training with a board-certified staff that teaches management concepts in:

Otology
Rhinology
Laryngology
Endoscopy
Pediatric otolaryngology
Head and neck trauma
Facial plastic and reconstructive surgery
Head and neck oncology
Sleep surgery

This residency offers a robust research experience for trainees. With dedicated mentors, protected time, and access to a wide variety of resources, opportunities to tackle projects big and small are at your fingertips.

This residency program is formatted as a unique apprenticeship model in which residents are assigned one-to-one to a staff consultant for 10-week rotations. This system allows the resident graduated responsibility with close supervision and interaction with the consultants. In the final year, trainees become chief resident associates and take on responsibility for their own clinic and operative cases.

The culture here at Mayo Clinic is unique and unmatched. Everyone here is focused on putting the needs of the patient first and collaborates to deliver exceptional care. Within our department specifically, the faculty and staff are welcoming and approachable, and the residents are a supportive group who are there for each other both at work and outside of work.

Kelly Staricha, M.D.
Otolaryngology resident

Dr. Bukowski is seen here working with a Neurosurgery colleague on an anterior skull base dissection.

Your training experience

As a resident at Mayo Clinic, you'll have access to robust clinical, educational, and research resources. You'll find support both inside and outside of the campus to promote physical and mental wellness and ensure your work/life balance.

More about the curriculum

More about life as a resident

Director's welcome

We offer an unparalleled didactic curriculum, plenty of patients to see with common and uncommon head and neck disorders, a strong belief in graduated resident responsibility, and many opportunities to teach and do research.

Accreditation and certification

The Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Residency is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Upon successful completion of the residency, graduates are eligible to take the otolaryngology certification examinations offered by the American Board of Otolaryngology.

Program history

The Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Residency at Mayo Clinic's campus in Rochester, Minnesota, was established in 1908 and approximately 280 residents have completed training in this program. The Otorhinolaryngology Department is proud to have graduated both the first female resident, Margaret Smith, M.D., in 1911, and the first African-American resident, Jack Clark, M.D., in 1978, at Mayo Clinic. Five trainees complete this program annually.

You can learn more about the history of otologic surgery at Mayo Clinic and the history of otorhinolaryngology through historical vignettes by Matthew Carlson, M.D. and Kerry Olsen, M.D.