Introduction
The American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) maintains as its mission
statement to “advance education, research and quality of care for the
head and neck oncology patient” (Society, 2020). The AHNS is the single
largest organization in North America for the advancement of research
and education in head and neck oncology. Chief among its educational
mission is the certification of advanced head and neck surgery trainees
and accreditation of high-quality head and neck fellowship training
programs.
The pandemic of COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to the
medical community. Providing clinical care and maintaining public health
are the obvious priorities, but other activities such as medical
research and education cannot be neglected. Continuing high quality,
evidence- based education to head and neck surgery trainees is more
important than ever, as they may be required to join the work-force at
an accelerated pace.
Here we provide an update on the current state of head and neck oncology
and reconstructive surgical fellowship training and certification and
how it has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we
provide an overview of approaches used to augment surgical training that
can be implemented even in environments of reduced patient contact.
Lastly, we give perspective from the leadership of the Advanced Training
Council (ATC) and Curriculum Development and Maintenance Service (CDMS),
as well as the fellowship program directors and current trainees, to
gain insight into potential gaps in education and training and outline
current initiatives that are underway to ensure proficiency of those who
will be completing this advanced training and entering the work-force in
this unprecedented time.