Residency programs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center are being recognized among their peers for consistently high rankings by outlets such as U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) and Doximity, which now ranks VUMC’s Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery residency program No. 1 in the country for reputation.
VUMC has several of its 24 core residency programs consistently ranked by Doximity in the top 20 by reputation and another four programs consistently in the top five.
Otolaryngology is the first VUMC training program to achieve a No. 1 ranking.
“Every program across the nation has a three-tiered mission of clinical care, teaching and research,” said VUMC’s Otolaryngology Residency Program Director Robert Sinard, MD, professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. “I think the difference is in how you execute.
“Right now, we are in this position where we have a great group of faculty members who cover all of the subdisciplines within Otolaryngology in a very thorough way. I have to believe what gets you there is good quality faculty, and it is tough because, when you are on top, a number of other programs are trying to steal away your good faculty,” he said.
In addition to Otolaryngology, two VUMC core residency programs that have consistently ranked in the top five are again ranked near the top with Urology at No. 3 and Medicine/Pediatrics at No. 5.
Also in the Doximity rankings for reputation are Orthopaedics (8), Surgery (8), Anesthesiology (11), Internal Medicine (15), Nuclear Medicine (15), Pediatrics (16), Child Neurology (17), Emergency Medicine (18) and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (19).
Sinard’s program also earned a No. 2 Blueridge NIH Ranking and No. 10 USNWR specialty ranking.
“The Otolaryngology residency is under strong leadership, and this success in many ways can be attributed to what happens when residents themselves become active participants in the visibility of a program, and when the leadership gives them the space and support to do so,” said Kyla Terhune, MD, Vice President for Educational Affairs and associate dean for Graduate Medical Education.
Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery has five residency spots available for the roughly 550 applicants. The department’s mission is to train residents who are going to be thinkers and pursue fellowships as a means of going into the academic centers and becoming teachers of the next generation, Sinard said.
“We have a large and diverse faculty that cover every aspect of the field. Applicants know that they are going to get to see all of the different disciplines, not just rhinology or cancer,” Sinard said. “There is a camaraderie among our residents that is somewhat infectious. The great relationship that our residents have with each other translates down to each new class that comes in, and I truly believe that is from the top down. The faculty have that same great relationship, and so it makes it a fun, pleasant and enjoyable learning environment.”