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Objectives/hypothesis: To examine the effects of a learner-centered educational curriculum for Johns Hopkins otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residents in improving their otolaryngology training examination (OTE) scores. We hypothesized that trainees who attend a learner-centered program demonstrate improved performance on OTEs., Study Design: Prospective longitudinal study., Methods: In September 2008, a resident-designed educational curriculum was implemented to better prepare residents for their OTE. These mandatory sessions, led by faculty members, were held for an hour every week, during in which residents were tested on their knowledge of high-yield topics. Residents were expected to be prepared on pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of the selected diseases. In 2011, residents were given responsibility to lead these sessions. OTE scores from 2002 to 2012 were analyzed to see whether there was any improvement after the implementation of this curriculum., Results: Clustered linear regression analysis revealed significant improvement of OTE scores with subsequent interventions. During a 3-year period (2009-2011) after the first intervention, there was a significant increase (P = .01) of 0.69 in mean national and 0.78 in mean group stanine scoring. Similarly, after the second intervention in 2011, a further increment of 1.36 in mean national and 1.58 in mean group stanine scoring was seen (P = .001)., Conclusions: Residents OTE stanines improved significantly after the implementation of a learner-centered educational curriculum. This finding suggests that trainees are able to perform better when involved in planning and implementing the educational curriculum., (© 2014 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Objectives: Oral tongue cancer may have a distinct epidemiological profile from other mucosal neoplasms of the oral cavity. We sought to further define the demographic characteristics associated with oral tongue cancer to determine if unique characteristics exist compared with other oral cavity cancers., Study Design: Cross-sectional analysis using cross-tabulations and multivariate regression modeling., Setting: The Maryland Health Service Cost Review Commission database., Subjects and Methods: Discharge data from a state database were queried to perform a cross-sectional analysis of oral cancer cases treated surgically from 1990 to 2009., Results: A total of 1688 oral cancer cases comprised the study population, with 719 (42.6%) of cases involving the oral tongue. Tongue cancer comprised 31.6% of oral cancers in black patients and 44.1% of oral cancer in white patients (P = .011). Racial disparities in oral tongue cancer were identified for age at diagnosis, with significantly fewer black patients younger than 40 years (3.8%) compared with whites (11.3%; P = .006). After controlling for all other variables, oral tongue cancer patients were significantly less likely to be older than 40 years (odds ratio [OR], 0.40; P < .001), black (OR, 0.53; P = .001), have Medicare payor status (OR, 0.55; P = .002), and advanced comorbidity (OR, 0.22; P < .001), in contrast to other oral cancer subsites., Conclusion: The racial and socioeconomic qualities of oral tongue cancer patients differ significantly from other oral cancers. This younger, healthier subgroup of oral cancer patients demonstrates a distinct population at risk for cancer of the oral tongue.