Stephen J. Wetmore, MD, MBA
Professor and Chairman
Interview dates for the 2012 Match will be Monday, December 5, 2011, and Friday, December 9, 2011.
Description of Program
Beginning with the 2006 match, otolaryngology residency programs throughout the country participated in the NRMP program. The PGY-1 year has now been integrated into the otolaryngology residency training programs throughout the country. At West Virginia University, our PGY-1 residents spend three months on otolaryngology and nine months of the year on other disciplines according to the guidelines of the ACGME. Our program has been fully accredited by the ACGME for many years.
We currently have thirteen residents assigned to Ruby Memorial Hospital, which is a 522 bed facility that was opened in July 1988. A major expansion project was recently completed. One resident is assigned to the Veterans Hospital located in Clarksburg, WV, forty-five minutes from Morgantown. Another resident is assigned to City Hospital in Martinsburg, WV. Our residents are trained in the whole spectrum of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery. We work in a friendly fashion with a small oral surgery department. West Virginia University does not have a plastic surgery residency program.
We moved into a new clinic facility in March 2003. The Otolaryngology module contains nineteen examination rooms, seven of which have microscopes. We are also equipped with all the latest nasal endoscopes, flexible and rigid laryngoscopes, a voice lab, video stroboscopy equipment, and transnasal esophagoscopy equipment. Our audiology and speech areas, which are part of the module, also have modern equipment.
We currently expanded to 10 faculty otolaryngologists, Dr. Stephen J. Wetmore, the department chairman, has been with the institution since 1988 and specializes in otology and neurotology.
Dr. Hassan Ramadan, Vice Chairman and Residency Program Director, has been with our institution since 1990 and he has an international reputation. His interests include pediatric otolaryngology, diseases of the nose and sinuses, and endoscopic sinus surgery.
Dr. Michael Hurst, who has a degree in dentistry as well as medicine, joined the faculty in July 1993 as a general otolaryngologist after completing his residency training at WVU. He is currently Chairman of the Board of our faculty practice plan, as well as the Chief of Staff of University Hospital.
Dr. Mark Armeni, who completed his residency training at Duke University, joined our faculty in July 1994 after finishing his facial plastics fellowship. He has expertise in all areas of facial, cosmetic, and reconstructive surgery, including cleft lip and palate surgery. He is in charge of our cleft clinic.
Dr. Ron Wilkinson, who retired from his general otolaryngology practice in Charleston, joined our faculty in April 2003 on a half-time basis and is currently up to 3/4 time. He is very interested in teaching and helps run our didactic program.
Dr. Charles "Mike" Haislip is a general otolaryngologist who was in private practice in Fairmont, WV, until he joined our full-time faculty in March 2004. He is the Director of the VA Service.
Dr. Jason McChesney joined the faculty in August 2009 as our laryngologist. He received his MD degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and completed a residency in otolaryngology at the Geisinger Medical Center in 2002. He was in private practice in Pennsylvania and Ohio until he decided to pursue a laryngology fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia, which he completed in 2009. He treats patients with voice and swallowing problems.
Dr. Mouwafak Al-Rawi joined our faculty in September 2009 as a head and neck cancer surgeon. He was raised in Iraq where he received his medical degree and completed an otolaryngology residency. He came to the United States in 1991, and completed a full residency in otolaryngology at the Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital and then spent two years completing head and neck fellowships at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and the University of Pennsylvania. He is fully trained in both ablative and reconstructive surgery including free flaps. He is the Director of our Head & Neck division.
Dr. Steven Coutras joined our faculty in September 2010 after 20 years of private practice. His special interests include allergy and sleep medicine. He has received board certification in both otolaryngology and sleep medicine. He was recently appointed as Director of our Allergy Clinic.
Dr. Tanya Fancy joined our faculty in October 2010 after completing a fellowship in head and neck surgical oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina. She is trained in ablative treatment as well as free flap reconstruction. She previously had finished resident training at WVU.
George Spirou, PhD, Albert Berrebi, PhD, and Peter Mathers, PhD, are full-time researchers in our Sensory Neuroscience Research Center. The research group recently obtained a five year grant worth 5 million dollars. In 2008, the most recent year for which we have data, we were ranked 12th in the country in amount of NIH research funding among otolaryngology departments. Each resident spends four months participating in basic science research. In the fall of 2008, our basic science researchers moved into a beautiful new facility, the Biomedical Research Center.
Our residency program has attracted high quality individuals. Our program prepares our residents well for either private practice or an academic career. About a third of our residents go on to fellowships. Over the past few years we have placed our residents in pediatric fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh, at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, and at the University of Kansas, otology fellowships in Nashville under the direction of Dr Gary Jackson, at the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, and at the University of Pittsburgh, a laryngology fellowship sponsored by Vanderbilt University, head and neck fellowships at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital, the Medical University of South Carolina, Ohio State University, and the University of Pennsylvania. We have also placed several graduates as faculty members in academic programs including the University of Colorado, the University of Alabama, Columbus Hospital in New Jersey, the University of Kansas, the University of Oklahoma, and at WVU.
Morgantown is a wholesome college town nestled in the mountains of northern West Virginia. West Virginia University, a land grant college with 29,000 students, provides the cultural activities for the region. With a metro area population of over 115,000, Morgantown is consistently rated as one of the best small cities in the U.S., with affordable housing, excellent schools, a picturesque countryside, many outdoor recreational activities, and close proximity to major cities, such as Pittsburgh, PA, and Washington, DC. Morgantown airport is located five minutes from the medical center.
Due to the large number of applicants, we are unable to offer personal interviews to everyone who applies. Unfortunately, many well-qualified applicants will not have the opportunity to interview with us.
More information about West Virginia University Hospital, as well as Morgantown, is available at the Graduate Medical Education Web site, www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/gme. For those who receive invitations to interview, it is important that you visit that web site and specifically look at the tab entitled "Hiring Information." When you come for your interview, we will have you sign a form stating that you have read the information regarding house staff contracts. The tab entitled "WVUH, Inc." has a variety of maps of the area. In addition, there are a few hotels near the hospital that would make for a convenient stay if you are planning to travel for an interview including Hampton Inn (304-599-1200), Residence Inn(304-599-0237) and Hilton Garden Inn (304-225-9500).
For foreign medical graduates to qualify for a position in our residency program, you must have completed one year of post-graduate training in an accredited medical institution located in the United States. We must have an address and a telephone number in the United States where you can be reached.
Clinical externships can be arranged by interested individuals through the Student Affairs Office, School of Medicine at West Virginia University (304-293-1438) and subsequently approved by the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.