Stoneman Family Global Education Program

The Stoneman Family Global Education Program aims to enhance residency, fellowship, graduate and post-doctoral training by funding one of our trainees to participate in an international elective. The studies may be related to learning innovative clinical approaches to caring for patients, learning alternative health care delivery systems, training in novel research techniques, or learning different educational approaches. To become a Stoneman Family Global Education Scholar, there will be an application process and one trainee per year will have the opportunity to spend up to 4 weeks in this educational elective. At the culmination of the experience, each Scholar will give a presentation to the department. Mentorship will be provided by the Stoneman Family Global Education Program Committee and other interested faculty members. There may be a chance to participate in one of several ongoing international partnerships, as well as to forge new opportunities worldwide.

Program committee

The Program Committee consists of USC Department of Otolaryngology clinical and research faculty members and 1 senior resident. The Otolaryngology Resident Program Director or Assistant Program Director will serve as a committee member. The previous year’s grant awardee will sit on the committee for the following year. If the awardee is not a resident, a resident who will be going into their last year of training will be selected by their peers (all other residents). This committee is chaired by Elisabeth Ference, MD. Other members of the committee include Tamara Chambers, MD; Uttam Sinha, MD; Ray Goldsworthy, PhD; and Jeehong (Peter) Kim, MD.

Guidelines:

The Program Committee selects one person per academic year to be a Stoneman Family Global Education Scholar.
- Eligible applicants include residents, clinical fellows, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows within the USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
- Up to $4500/academic year can be allotted; any additional costs must be self-supported by the scholar
- Up to 4 weeks may be taken for the elective. The committee will consider a longer elective if the educational value is well characterized and the time away from USC can be managed in accordance with USC policies.
- If awarded to a medical student, approval must also be obtained through the Dean’s office. If awarded to a resident, the GME office must be notified and time approved. The program committee can help facilitate this. If awarded to a graduate student or post-doctoral fellow in a basic science lab the PI must approve the experience and time away.
The studies may be related to learning innovative clinical approaches to caring for patients, learning alternative health care delivery systems, training in novel research techniques, or learning different educational approaches.
These experiences should take place anywhere in the world outside of the United States.
Upon their return, trainees will write a short report describing their experiences and will be asked to formally present their experiences during Grand Rounds so that they may educate others.

Application requirements

The deadline for applications for the next academic year is April 1, and the awardee will be announced May 1. An application should be submitted electronically to the committee chair. It should consist of a CV, cover letter, project proposal and if the application is for a research experience, should also include a research statement. Clinical fellows, Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows should provide a short statement from their mentor/PI to ensure the experience is supported. Medical students and residents, if awarded, will have to notify the medical school dean’s office and GME office, respectively. The project proposal should be no more than 4 pages and include the following:

Title of the project
Location
Contact information for the mentor/colleague at the international location
Goals of the experience
Significance for the scholar, for USC, and for the international site
- Clinicians i.e. medical students, residents, clinical fellows must include a statement of how the experience will help them in their career in Otolaryngology
Details of how the experience will occur including plans for housing
Timeline for preparation, travel, the various experiences, and follow-up
Explain how the scholars time away from USC will be managed
- Residents are allowed 6 weeks/year total of vacation + sick leave, so some vacation time may be included in this time away depending on the length of the project.
Explain how the scholar’s health and malpractice (if applicable) insurance will be covered during the trip
Potential risks/safety/immunization issues and how they will be managed
Budget

Some possible opportunities (Trainees may select one of these opportunities or design their own experience):

Tuebingen training program (more information from John Oghalai, MD): http://www.cochlea.uni-tuebingen.de/frame_opportunities.htm

Clinical rotation in head and neck oncology surgery in India (Tata Hospital) or China (Mentor and more information from Uttam Sinha, MD)

Clinical rotation in otology with Richard Wagner, MD: Global ENT Outreach:
Global ENT Outreach provides Otology education and humanitarian surgery for the treatment of chronic ear disease and deafness in several countries throughout the developing world. Resident surgeons are able to apply to join GEOutreach missions to gain exposure to low-resource otologic surgery settings, develop research topics and assist with educational initiatives. For more information go to http://geoutreach.org/ or contact info@geoutreach.org

Research + clinical experience with Mending Kids (More information from Lia Jacobson, MD)