While resident education represents the top priority of most otolaryngology departments, few attending surgeons receive formal training on teaching. In this episode of the BackTable ENT podcast, host Dr. Gopi Shah covers surgical education with Dr. Oswaldo Henriquez, rhinologist at Wellstar Health and adjunct associate professor at Emory School of Medicine.

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Medtronic ENT
https://www.medtronic.com/us-en/healthcare-professionals/medical-specialties/ear-nose-throat.html?cmpid=Vanity_URL_MIX_medtronicent-com_202212_US_EN_NS_ENT_FY23

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SYNPOSIS

First, Dr. Henriquez shares his passion for teaching and learning. In his view, surgeons are career-long learners: even established otolaryngologists benefit from surgical coaching. Then, he describes the unique needs of adult learners. When teaching technical skills, Dr. Henriquez emphasizes providing realistic goals, actionable feedback, and opportunities for supervised practice. When teaching “soft skills,” Dr. Henriquez focuses on modeling the professionalism and compassion he expects of his trainees. Finally, the episode concludes with Dr. Henriquez’s thoughts on teaching as a skill all academic surgeons should hone.

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Introduction
03:29 - Dr. Enriquez’s Journey as a Surgical Educator
07:26 - Teaching Adult Learners
24:14 - Challenges in Modern Surgical Education
31:39 - Setting Goals & Expectations
36:40 - The Importance of Feedback in Surgical Education
43:25 - Modeling & Teaching Surgical “Soft Skills”
53:01 - Learning How to Teach: Lessons From a Surgical Educator

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RESOURCES

Dr. Oswaldo Henriquez’s Wellstar Profile:
https://www.wellstar.org/physicians/oswaldo-henriquez-md

Medtronic ENT
https://www.medtronic.com/us-en/healthcare-professionals/products/ear-nose-throat.html