Department of Otolaryngology

Introduction to Residency Program

Stephen J. Wetmore, MD, MBA
Professor and Chairman

New Information
In September 2006 we learned that our application to increase the number of residents was approved by the Residency Review Committee.  We began transitioning into a three resident per year program beginning with the class that matched in March 2007.  Each year we will match three residents so that by 2011 we will have increased our resident complement to15.
 
Interview dates for the 2008 Match were Friday, December 7, 2007, and Monday, December 17, 2007.

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 ten 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. The eleventh resident is assigned to the Veterans Hospital located in Clarksburg, WV, forty-five minutes from Morgantown. 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 eighteen examination rooms, six 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 new transnasal esophagoscopy equipment. Our audiology and speech areas, which are part of the module, also have modern equipment.

Our full-time staff includes Dr. Stephen J. Wetmore, the department chairman, who has been with the institution since 1988 and specializes in otology and neurotology.

Dr. Hassan Ramadan, vice chairman, 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 our allergy expert.

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.

Dr. Christopher Rassekh, who completed his residency at the University of Iowa and a head and neck fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, joined the faculty in August 1999 after spending six years on the faculty of the University of Texas at Galveston. He is the Director of our Head & Neck division.

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. Paul van der Sloot joined our faculty in July 2003 after completing a head and neck fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Both Drs. van der Sloot and Rassekh have expertise in ablative as well as reconstructive surgery, including free flap reconstruction.

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. 

Ray Hinerman, MD, DDS, joined us as a general otolaryngologist in July 2006 after completing our residency program. One of his main areas of interest is sinus disease and endoscopic sinus surgery.

We are currently recruiting for a laryngologist to take the place of one of our faculty members who moved recently.

George Spirou, PhD, Albert Berrebi, PhD, Peter Mathers, PhD, and Janet Cyr, PhD, are full-time researchers in our Sensory Neuroscience Research Center. The research group recently obtained a five year grant worth 10.5 million dollars. In 2006, the most recent year for which we have data, we were ranked 9th in the country in amount of NIH research funding among otolaryngology departments. Each resident spends four months participating in basic science research.

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 and at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, 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, and a head and neck fellowship at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital.   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 28,000 students, provides the cultural activities for the region. Pittsburgh is located 75 miles north and Washington, DC, is 200 miles east. 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 Website, www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/gme. For those who receive invitations to interview, it is important that you visit that website 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 housestaff 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), Quality Inn (304-292-8401) and Comfort Inn (304-296-9364).

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.