Post-Katrina: Study in crisis-related program adaptability
OBJECTIVE: To discuss disaster planning, didactic reorganization, and clinical realignments useful in rebuilding academic otolaryngology residency programs after disaster. SUMMARY: We describe our reorganization and analysis of objective measures in resident education before and after Hurricane Katrina. Post-Katrina, the number of full-time faculty and part-time clinical instructors/gratis faculty has decreased (4 vs 9 and 36 vs 43, respectively), but the number of part-time LSU faculty (private-academic partnership) has increased (0 vs 3) with overall improved resident supervision. Resident complement decreased by 9.3%. Surgical case loads are essentially unchanged. Reorganization of the didactic schedule has increased attendance and maintained examination scores above national averages. Establishment of two new practice sites provided an adequate number of patients for residency training. CONCLUSION: Poststorm reorganization has maintained or exceeded pre-Katrina performance standards. Establishment of communication and data retrieval proved irreplaceable and demand advance preparation.
Telemedicine in Otolaryngology in the COVID‐19 Era: Initial Lessons Learned
The COVID‐19 pandemic has led to unprecedented global changes in the delivery of healthcare over a short period of time. With the implementation of shelter‐in‐place orders, otolaryngology clinic visits at our institution were transitioned to telemedicine. This change enabled the rapid characterization of the patients who accepted and declined telemedicine.
On the road to recovery.
ONE OF the biggest barriers to delivering primary and public health care in sub-Saharan Africa is getting it to where the people live. Transport is the key to success. Many roads in rural areas are no more than tracks and even the most robust forms of transport last only a fraction of the time they would be expected to in Europe.