The Department of Otolaryngology offers a five-year residency program that is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education designed to prepare physician specialists to carry on the Rush tradition of caring, innovation and skill. The training program accepts one resident each year selected from among hundreds of qualified applicants.

The curriculum of the Residency Program is based on repeated review of anatomy, embryology, physiology, morphology, pharmacology, microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, endocrinology and immunology relevant to the head and neck, upper aerodigestive tract, and audiovestibular systems. These reviews occur in a variety of educational settings: clinics, classrooms, bedside and laboratory. Important information is covered by various faculty members with individual teaching techniques, ensuring varied presentation and assimilation opportunities.

All residents, expect when on outside rotations, are required to attend all formal teaching conferences as well as didactic lectures from attending physicians as scheduled. In addition, all otolaryngology (R2-R5) residents are required to take the Annual Otolaryngology Training Examination, which is a closed book, proctored, timed examination conducted by the American Board of Otolaryngology. The results of the examination are reviewed by the program director and the director of resident education to identify strengths and weaknesses in the program. The results are also used to establish a baseline of specialty knowledge at the beginning of training and to monitor changes in that knowledge over the period of the residency training for each individual resident. Additionally, the results of this examination can help the resident prepare for the American Board of Otolaryngology Certifying Examination taken at the completion of the resident training program.