Chief residents reflect on experience at USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology before graduating

As chief residents at the USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology, these four residents have spent the last five years treating and operating on patients. This summer, they are all heading on in new directions for fellowships and to continue their medical professional journeys having gained the skills and hands on experience to succeed.

“It is undeniably a mixed feeling,” said Dr. Alison Yu. “I am excited to go out and apply what I have learned and gained from my experiences in residency to my career, but also sad to be leaving USC and the people here.”

The USC Caruso Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery residency program is five years. Each year, their responsibilities gradually increased in accordance with their level of training, but always under direct supervision. The residents divide their first year between otolaryngology rotations and general surgery rotations. Their next three years focus on progressive otolaryngology education at Los Angeles General Medical Center, Keck Hospital of USC, USC Verdugo Hills Hospital and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. This year, during their fifth and final year of education, the residents act at the capacity of a chief resident at Los Angeles General Medical Center, running their own clinic and guiding junior residents.

Like many freshly graduated medical students, at the start of her residency, Dr. Yu said she felt her experience and knowledge in the field was lacking, and so she was eager to learn.

“Now with the incredible training that I have received at USC, I feel confident and capable of being able to take care of the various otolaryngology needs of my patients across all subspecialties in the field,” she said.

Her fellow resident, Dr. James Kim, had similar sentiments, adding that he’s excited to go out on his own and start working as an otolaryngologist this year.

“It is stressful at times taking care of complex patients, but there have always been other people (both residents and attendings) to support our clinical decisions,” he said, adding that Dr. Tamara Chambers always went above and beyond to support the residents on a professional and personal level.

“All of the faculty during my time in residency have been super supportive, and I feel lucky to have worked with them all,” he said. Dr. Sheng Zhou, another graduating resident, also said he felt lucky to have been supported by the faculty, and that shadowing Dr. Chambers as a first-year medical student actually sparked his interest in otolaryngology. Dr. Chambers served as the Residency Program Associate Director, working with Program Director Dr. Niels Kokot.

“Throughout residency, [Dr. Chambers and Dr. Kevin Hur], in addition to so many of the faculty, spent countless hours teaching me and helping me through difficult patient cases,” Zhou said.

From students to teachers

When the group first entered the USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, they had a lot to learn from the faculty and senior residents.

“At the beginning of residency, I felt a sense of admiration toward my senior residents and attendings,” Zhou said. “I really was amazed by how skilled they were in the clinic and operating room and looked up to them as examples of people I aspired to be. Looking back now, I feel a tremendous amount of gratitude toward how much time my seniors and attendings spent teaching me and feel fortunate to be where I am now.”

He said the hardest part of residency was taking call for the first time.

“The hardest part of [being on] call is the uncertainty of what you may be facing during the 24 hours you are on,” he said. “I don’t know that it’s possible to overcome the discomfort of the uncertainty of [being on] call, but it really helps to have great colleagues and teachers that you can depend on and run things by.”

He now feels excited to build on his skills during his pediatric otolaryngology fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

“I still have so much more to learn and a long way to go, but my mentors around me help build a strong foundation I can rely on,” he said.

One of the goals of the residency program is to produce independent thinkers who thrive when working autonomously from an early stage in their training and who excel within an interdisciplinary healthcare model. And when it comes to this, all four graduating residents feel ready for what’s to come in their futures.

“I feel like our residency prepared us very well, and I am excited to take what I learned to the next level of my training,” said Dr. Marta Kulich.

2024 Graduating Chief Residents

James Kim

Undergraduate: UCLA

Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of USC

Favorite part of residency: “The camaraderie with my co-residents.”

Where he’s headed next: Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center to work as an attending specializing in General Otolaryngology

Marta Kulich

Undergraduate: Northwestern University

Medical School: Northwestern University

Favorite part of residency: “Getting to know and to work with my co-residents and the faculty. They make the program special.”

Where she’s headed next: The University of Colorado for a Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellowship

Alison Yu

Undergraduate: USC

Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of USC

Favorite part of residency: “My favorite part of residency is working with awesome co-residents, providing mentorship and seeing patients get better with the care that we provide for them.”

Where she’s headed next: The University of Pennsylvania for a Rhinology and Anterior Skull Base Fellowship

Sheng Zhou

Undergraduate: Princeton University

Medical School: Keck School of Medicine of USC

Favorite part of residency: “The camaraderie with the other residents and the way in which we all help each other out.”

Where he’s headed next: Seattle Children’s Hospital for a Pediatric Otolaryngology Fellowship