The Center for Voice, Airway and Swallowing disorders was established in 2006 with the recruitment of Dr. Gregory Postma. The Center works in a multidisciplinary fashion, utilizing the expertise of otolaryngologists, speech and language pathologists, gastroenterologists, neurologists, pulmonologists, and gastrointestinal surgeons.
The use of cutting edge technology such as transnasal esophagoscopy, high-resolution manometry and unsedated in office laser surgery has resulted in an ever-increasing patient volume and a natural extension of this was to establish a laryngology fellowship. We participate in the match system organized via the NRMP.
The laryngology fellowship is a one-year fellowship with a tentative start date of July 1, each year.
Prerequisite Training/Selection Criteria
Fellows will be selected based on their aptitude, knowledge, and academic interests within the field of Laryngology. There is specifically no discrimination on the basis of age, gender, ethnic background, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. Because of the unique and challenging academic opportunities available at MCG, individuals with a proven track record of excellence in scholarly pursuits are particularly encouraged to apply. All applications received by MCG are independently reviewed by at least two faculty members, and decisions regarding interviews are made by consensus.
Interested applicants should contact:
Laryngology Fellowship
Gregory Postma, MD
1120 Fifteenth Street
Augusta, Georgia 30912-4060
706-721-6100
706-721-0112
The objective of this one-year fellowship is to provide a broad experience in all clinical and research aspects of training within the field of Laryngology. This will include professional voice, routine voice care, evaluation and treatment of dysphagia and aspiration, laryngeal dystonia treatment, interpretation of high resolution manometry in office surgical procedures, as well as the full spectrum of surgical laryngology. This includes endoscopic microflap surgery, laryngoplasty and arytenoid adduction, endoscopic and open treatment of airway stenosis, endoscopic cancer surgery and sophisticated dysphagia procedures. The diagnosis and treatment of laryngopharyngeal reflux as well as laryngeal electromyography, specifically, will be emphasized.
It is the intent of the fellowship program to enable the fellows to establish and build a sophisticated laryngology center of their own in the academic or private practice arenas.
For fellows with a strong interest in research, there is ample opportunity to explore independent projects.
Program Certifications
The Laryngology Fellowship is a non-accredited program affiliated with the Department of Otolaryngology at the Medical College of Georgia and its accredited residency program. As of today, there are no ACGME-accredited Laryngology fellowship programs in the United States.
Teaching Staff
Gregory Postma, MD
Stephanie Reyes MS, CCC-SLP
Elizabeth Sekul, MD
Amol Sharma, MD
Facilities
The fellow will spend time in three hospitals:
Augusta University Medical Center
As the teaching hospital of the Medical College of Georgia, the Augusta University Medical Center includes a 520-bed hospital, Ambulatory Care Center with over 80 outpatient clinics in one convenient setting, Specialized Care Center housing a 13-county regional trauma center, Comprehensive Cancer Program, Emergency and Express Care Services.
Children's Hospital of Georgia
The Children's Hospital of Georgia has 149-beds, including one of five Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the state.
Veterans Administration Medical Center
The Augusta VAMC primary service area includes 17 counties in Georgia and seven counties in South Carolina; but as a member of the Atlanta Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN7), veterans who live as far away as Alabama may be cared for in the Augusta VAMC. The Downtown Division adjacent to the Medical College of Georgia has 155 beds (52 medicine, 37 surgery, six neurology, and 60 spinal cord injury).
Clinical
The fellow will participate in all Laryngology office hours and surgery. For the first three months the Fellow's clinical schedule will mirror that of Dr. Postma's. This will involve two and a half days of clinic and one to one and a half days of surgery in the main operating room. Following the initial three months the Fellow will also run a concurrent Laryngology office hours along with Dr. Postma. The fellows are clinically involved in call from home in the standard faculty call rotation.
Research
The fellowship provides a number of opportunities for both clinical and basic science research. Fellows are encouraged to develop research proposals under the direction of the Faculty with full department funding available to support travel to all the major academic meetings. In addition, the Fellow will participate in various didactic and hands on CME courses.
Fellow Supervision
Close supervision will be provided during the first quarter of the Fellowship. As the Fellow's skills develop, independence in patient care will be expanded but, still remain under the supervision of the Fellowship Director. Upon the completion of the Fellowship, the Fellow will be able to independently evaluate, diagnose and treat patients with laryngology disorders and diseases.
Fellow patient care responsibilities:
Fellow Evaluation
The Fellow will be evaluated on the following items using a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest or very poor performance and 5 being the highest or excellent performance (PDF available as a link):
Faculty Evaluation
The Fellow will provide verbal and/or written meaningful feedback to the Director of the Fellowship regarding ways of improving the quality and effectiveness of the Fellowship.
2007-2008 | Neil Chheda, MD | University of Florida, Gainesville, FL |
2008-2009 | Jason McChesney, MD | West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV |
2010-2011 | Michele Morrison, MD | Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Portsmouth, VA |
2010-2011 | Paul Weinberger, MD | Louisiana State University, Shreveport, LA |
2011-2012 | Ashli O’Rourke, MD | Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC |
2012-2013 | Nancy Solowski, MD | Private Practice, Bel Air, MD |
2013-2014 | Rebecca Howell, MD | University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH |
2013-2014 | Christopher Johnson, MD | Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, CA |
2015-2016 | Marsha Reuther, MD | Private Practice, San Diego, CA |
2016-2017 | Mark Fritz, MD | University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY |
2017-2018 | Abdulmalik Alsaied, MD | Saudi Arabia |
2018-2019 | Stephanie Teng, MD | Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA |
2019-2020 | Zao Yang, MD | UT Health, San Antonio |
2020-2021 | Stephen Larson, MD | Salt Lake City, UT |
2021-2022 | Justin Ross, MD | Colorado Springs, CO |
2022-2023 | Erika Ho, MD | |
2023-2024 | Evan Comptom, MD |