Comprehensive International

Fellowship In
Head And Neck Surgery

Education and Academic

training – On Line

Clinical and surgical training

– On site
 BACKGROUND
In 2014, IFHNOS established the Global On Line
Fellowship (GOLF) program to improve the
knowledge, and judgment of Head and Neck
Surgeons internationally. This very successful
program has registered 381 candidates from 48
countries, with 224 candidates having graduated in
the past five years. This program, however, is based
on improving the theoretical knowledge of the
trainees, and tests the depth of their knowledge and
clinical decision-making only. There is no clinical,
hands-on training component. Therefore, IFHNOS is
now launching a comprehensive clinical and
academic program, the International Fellowship in
Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This comprehensive fellowship program, will require
at least one year of hands-on surgical training in an
accredited international training center. In addition to
this, Fellows are also required to register for and
undertake the two-year academic curriculum of the
GOLF program and complete all it's written and oral
examinations.
 ACCREDITATION
For a center to be accredited by the IFHNOS to offer this
fellowship, three components are required.

INSTITUTION
To apply for inclusion in the IFHNS program the
institution must be:
a) A tertiary care center that is equipped and staffed to
provide comprehensive outpatient and inpatient,
diagnostic, therapeutic and supportive care for
patients with head and neck tumors.
b) Multidisciplinary expertise in head and neck surgery,
radiation oncology, medical oncology,
endocrinology, diagnostic and interventional
radiology and nuclear medicine, and head and neck
pathology are required.

c) The center should be capable of performing the full

spectrum of head and neck surgical procedures and
postoperative care of these patients.
d) Adequate funding to support salary of the Fellow, at
a level commensurate with the year of postgraduate
training, prevailing in the region at other institutions.
The arrangement for salary support is directly
negotiated by the institution/program and the
candidate. IFHNOS does not have any financial
involvement or commitment in this regard.
e) Academic affiliation with a University is desirable but
not mandatory.
f) Adequate support for academic activities, including
clinical or laboratory research is desirable.
g) Adequate support staff to assist with
 record-keeping, data entry, electronic medical
records etc. should be available on site.

THE PROGRAM
The Fellowship program may be already
established or may be a new program
To apply for inclusion in the IFHNS program
the program must be:
a) An independent program, or may co-exist with a
Residency program in Otolaryngology, General
Surgery or Plastic Surgery

b) If a residency program is concurrently active,

there should be sufficient clinical volume to
avoid reducing the clinical experience of existing
trainees. The Fellowship program may be of one
or two years in duration.
c) The Fellow must participate in the management
of at least, 300 patients during the year of
Fellowship.
d) The program should have an integrated
multidisciplinary team of Head and Neck Surgery
and Oncology, including Radiation Oncology, Medical
Oncology, Diagnostic Radiology, Nuclear Medicine,
Endocrinology, Pathology, Plastic and Reconstructive
surgery, Dentistry and prosthodontics, rehabilitation
services and all allied supporting services.
e) At least three surgeons devoting more than 50% of
their clinical practice in Head and Neck surgery
should be on the staff, including the Program
Director.
f) Capabilities for microvascular free flap
reconstruction should be available in the program.
g) A minimum of 400 cases of Head and Neck tumors
should be managed by the faculty of the program
annually.

h) The candidate should have access to at least 120

surgical cases as primary surgeon, or operating
surgeon with supervision by faculty member.

i) Multidisciplinary tumor boards should take place at

least twice a month, where the Fellow presents and
participates in the discussion.

j) The program should encourage and facilitate any

clinical or laboratory research activity by the Fellow
and support him/her in presenting such study at
national or international meetings.

Click here to apply for

accreditation of your program
 THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
The Program Director/Department Chair, should
be a well-recognized Head and Neck Surgeon
with the following qualifications:

a) Preferably a Head and Neck Fellowship trained

Surgeon.
b) In the absence of Fellowship training, the
Program Director/Department Chair should have
at least 10 years of clinical experience in Head
and Neck Surgery.
c) The Program Director/Department Chair should
be a recognized Leader in the specialty (i.e. hold
institutional, local, regional, national or
international leadership positions).
d) The Program Director should spend the majority
of their clinical activity in Head and Neck Surgery.
e) A University faculty appointment is desirable.

f) A track record of scholarly activity is required in

addition to clinical expertise, with a list of
publications included and attached together with
a complete CV.
g) The Program Director is required to attest to the
clinical knowledge and surgical capabilities of the
trainee in a letter directly to the IFHNOS.
 CANDIDATES ELIGIBLE
TO APPLY FOR FELLOWSHIP
Candidates wishing to apply for the IFHNS
program must be:

a) Board-certified or its equivalent in the specialty of

Otolaryngology, General Surgery or Plastic
Surgery, in their country.
b) The candidate should have received at least four
years of postgraduate surgical training in one of
the above specialties with increasing clinical
responsibility.
c) The candidates may apply directly to any
approved Fellowship program.
d) The candidate must meet all licensing
requirements to be accepted as a Fellow in the
region/country where the candidate is applying for
Fellowship.

e) The candidate must be familiar and proficient with

the language being used by people and patients
in the region where the Fellowship is hosted.
 REQUIREMENTS FOR
SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
OF THE FELLOWSHIP
a) The candidate must register for the IFHNOS
Global On Line Fellowship (GOLF) program.
b) A one or two-year clinical Fellowship may be
undertaken, in tandem with the GOLF program.
c) The candidate must submit his/her surgical log
of all the cases completed during the
Fellowship, independently or under supervision
of a faculty member (minimum 120 cases). This
log must be certified by the Program Director.
The surgical procedures should be well
distributed between mucosal cancers of the
Upper GI tract, sinuses, salivary glands, thyroid,
parathyroid, skin, soft tissue and bone tumors.

d) The candidate is required to participate in

regular multidisciplinary tumor boards, including
actively presenting cases and participating in
the decision-making process.
e) The candidate must pass all the written and oral
examinations of the GOLF program.

f) Upon completion of the GOLF program and

IFHNS Fellowship, the candidate will receive a
Certificate of “International Fellow in Head and
Neck Surgery” and may use the title “IFHNS”
after their names.
 CORE COMPETENCY
MILESTONES
At the conclusion of this Fellowship program,
including 1-2 years of clinical training and
successful completion of all components of the
GOLF program, the candidate should achieve
the following:
1) Competency in clinical diagnosis, including
endoscopic assessment and interpretation of
diagnostic imaging, to arrive at an accurate
diagnosis and staging of head and neck tumors.

2) Sufficient knowledge and judgement to arrive at

the most appropriate treatment for each patient.

3) Surgical competency to independently conduct

common head and neck procedures, including
neck dissections, parotidectomy, surgery for oral
cancer, thyroid and parathyroid surgery, surgery for
larynx, pharynx and sinus cancers and surgical
procedures for skin, soft tissue and bone tumors.
4) Ability to actively participate and contribute in a
multidisciplinary tumor board, for management of
complex cases.
5) Understanding of the indications and benefits
from non-surgical treatments and adjuvant
treatments.
6) The ability to understand and interpret published
literature, biostatistics, data management and the
importance of record-keeping and data registries.
7) Completion of this Fellowship will prepare the
candidate to participate in local, regional, national
and international academic activities, and provide
opportunities to assume leadership roles.

8) Successful completion of this Fellowship will

allow the candidate to use the title of “IFHNS”
after their name.

For further information, contact

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