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.