In response to Qualitative synthesis and systematic review of otolaryngology in undergraduate medical education

We thank Dr. Steven et al. for their comments regarding our article and appreciate their bringing the article by Lloyd et al. to our attention. The use of a modified Delphi technique to focus on the topics most important to otolaryngology undergraduate medical education is one that we strongly support and have used in our survey of medical student topics and procedures presented at the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) meeting in 2014. In our study, we found a need for increased exposure to otolaryngology in undergraduate medical education. Data also suggested that a universal otolaryngology medical student curriculum would be valuable and would aid in resource sharing across institutions. These findings are similar to those reported by Lloyd et al., which includes feedback from 159 physicians, including 81 general practitioners as well as otolaryngologists, emergency room physicians, and pediatric consultants. Its comprehensive scope is impressive and was undoubtedly useful in creating the UK national curriculum. Similar to our counterparts in the United Kingdom, we feel that these data need to be put in the context of the undergraduate educational system in which it will be implemented to be most useful. We also agree with Lloyd et al. that any universal curriculum will need to be tailored to individual programs and systems, as some of the topics deemed most important may be adequately covered in other sections of the medical student curriculum, whereas topics such as sudden sensorineural hearing loss may be underemphasized. Moreover, we concur with Steven et al. that the value of an otolaryngology undergraduate medical curriculum should be useful for all medical students. Toward this end, it is our goal to answer the question: “What should every medical student know about otolaryngology before graduating from medical school?” We are working with the AAOHNS to develop a curriculum that addresses this question and look forward to seeing the continuing research in this area by our colleagues in the United Kingdom. We also welcome further comments and collaboration going forward. STACEY L. ISHMAN, MD, MPH Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Division of Pulmonary Medicine Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Cincinnati, Ohio