Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center Program

Program Identity & Fit

Penn State Hershey's Otolaryngology residency is a university-based, academic program built around a single tertiary/quaternary hub (Hershey Medical Center and Golisano Children's Hospital) that generates over 33,000 outpatient visits and nearly 2,700 surgical cases annually across a full subspecialty spectrum, including head and neck oncology with microvascular reconstruction, pediatric otolaryngology, otology/neurotology, facial plastics, laryngology, and rhinology. Research is structurally embedded rather than incidental, with residents averaging roughly 25 publications and 40 regional/national presentations per year, and the department houses its own Facial Plastics and Head and Neck Endocrine/Oncology fellowships, signaling a subspecialization and fellowship-track orientation. The three-per-year, five-year structure emphasizes graduated autonomy and self-directed learning within a single-institution model, supplemented by structured internal and external technical courses (temporal bone dissection, facial plating, airway courses) rather than multi-site rotation diversity. The program's stated goals frame residents as future independent surgical specialists who are expected to contribute to evidence-based and academic otolaryngology as part of training, not as an optional add-on.