Otolaryngology
Ear, nose, throat, head and neck. Surgical and medical management.
Otolaryngologists treat hearing and balance disorders, sinus disease, head and neck cancers, sleep apnea (surgical), thyroid and parathyroid disease, facial trauma, and pediatric airway. Combines microsurgical skill with broad anatomic knowledge. Among the most procedurally diverse surgical specialties.
Lifestyle & practice
Resident hours 65 to 75. Attending varies: academic 55 to 65, private practice often less with reasonable call. Comp $450k to $550k.
Common fellowship paths
- Residency length
- 5 years
- Median comp
- $450k to $550k
High-signal external links curated for residents and applicants.
- American Academy of Otolaryngology-HNS ↗
Specialty society. Clinical practice guidelines, AAO meeting.
- Iowa Head and Neck Protocols ↗
Free, comprehensive surgical reference.
- Otolaryngology forum (SDN) ↗
Long-running medical career forum with active specialty subforums.
Positions
382
All applicants
496
Seats / app
0.77
From NRMP Charting Outcomes 2024 (most recent biennial publication). Source PDFs: MD Seniors / DO Seniors / IMG. NRMP publishes Charting Outcomes every other year, so this should refresh in early 2026 with the 2025 cycle data.
| Pool | Step 1 | Step 2 | Pubs | Research | AOA % | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD_seniors | 243 | 256 | 20.0 | 7.1 | 33.6 | 268 |
| DO_seniors | 242 | 248 | 11.3 | 4.5 | — | 20 |
| US_IMG | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Non_US_IMG | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Per-applicant-type match rates and mean Step scores published by NRMP every two years. Each row is one applicant pool in one cycle. Step scores reflect what matched applicants in that cycle achieved, not what programs require today.
| Year | Type | Match rate | Matched (n) | Step 1 | Step 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | MD_Senior | 83.2% | 268 | 243 | 256 |
| 2024 | DO_Senior | 71.4% | 20 | — | 248 |
| 2022 | MD_Senior | 70.4% | 266 | 250 | 257 |
| 2020 | MD_Senior | 75.7% | 299 | 248 | 256 |
| 2020 | DO_Senior | 60.7% | 17 | 240 | 252 |
| 2018 | MD_Senior | 95.8% | 276 | 248 | 254 |
| Pool | Share |
|---|---|
| MD_seniors | 92.9% |
| DO_seniors | 3.3% |
| US_IMG | 1.9% |
| Non_US_IMG | 1.9% |