Essential Questions for DO Graduates Pursuing Otolaryngology Residency

Why Your Questions Matter as a DO Applying to Otolaryngology

As a DO graduate entering the highly competitive otolaryngology match, the questions you ask programs can significantly shape both how you are perceived and how well you evaluate each residency. For a DO graduate residency applicant in ENT, smart, targeted questions do three things:

1. Demonstrate that you understand the realities of an otolaryngology residency.
2. Signal that you have done your homework on their specific program.
3. Help you judge where a DO graduate will be supported, respected, and successful.

The otolaryngology match is challenging for all applicants, and DOs often face extra layers of uncertainty: How DO-friendly is the program in reality? Are DO residents thriving there? Do faculty understand osteopathic training and OMM/OMT? Thoughtful questions are one of the most powerful tools you have to get those answers.

This guide focuses on concrete, high-yield questions to ask residency programs—faculty, residents, and program directors—tailored specifically to the DO graduate pursuing ENT. You will also find guidance on what to ask program directors, how to phrase questions respectfully, and how to avoid red flags.

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Strategy First: How to Approach Questions as a DO ENT Applicant

Before diving into specific questions, you need a framework. Not every question is appropriate for every stage of the interview process, and you should never sound like you’re interrogating the program.

Core Principles for Asking Strong Questions

• Be specific, not generic. “What sets your program apart?” is weak. “Can you share how your residents get early exposure to head and neck oncology in PGY-2 and PGY-3?” is better.
• Focus on insight, not information you can Google. Don’t ask about things clearly available on the website or in FREIDA unless you’re asking for clarification or an update.
• Show you’re a DO and proud of it—but not defensive. Frame questions about osteopathic training in a professional, neutral way that assumes good intent.
• Ask about culture through examples. Instead of “Is this a supportive program?” ask, “Can you share an example of how residents are supported during a difficult rotation or personal challenge?”

Where to Use Different Types of Questions

• Program Director or Associate PD: Big-picture vision, training philosophy, DO graduate residency support, research expectations, performance evaluation.
• Faculty interviewers: Education quality, surgical autonomy, subspecialty exposure, mentorship.
• Current residents (especially DOs if present): Reality checks: call, culture, workload, wellness, DO inclusivity, job/fellowship outcomes.
• Program coordinator / staff: Logistics, housing, scheduling, administrative support, day-to-day operations.

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Key Domains: What You Need to Learn from Programs

A strong ENT applicant doesn’t just collect random interview questions for them; instead, they build a structured list around critical domains that will determine fit and success.

Below are the main domains you should cover, followed by curated questions in each category tailored for a DO graduate in otolaryngology.

1. Program Structure, Training, and Surgical Experience
2. Osteopathic-Friendliness and DO Graduate Support
3. Culture, Wellness, and Resident Life
4. Academics, Research, and Career Outcomes
5. Program Leadership, Feedback, and Communication
6. Location, Lifestyle, and Logistics

You will almost never have time to ask everything. Your job is to pick a few questions from each domain that matter most to you and rotate them across different interviews.

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1. Program Structure, Training, and Surgical Experience

For ENT residency, quality of surgical training, graduated responsibility, and subspecialty exposure are essential. Your questions should help you understand what five years really look like there.

Questions to Ask Faculty or Program Leadership

1. Clinical and Surgical Exposure

• “Can you walk me through how operative responsibility evolves for residents from PGY-1 to PGY-5 here?”
• “How do you ensure residents get adequate exposure to all core subspecialties—otology, rhinology, head and neck, laryngology, pediatrics, and facial plastics?”
• “Are there particular procedures or subspecialty areas where your graduates are especially strong or known to excel?”
• “How is resident participation handled when there are fellows in the same cases? Can you give an example of how cases are allocated between fellows and residents?”

2. Curriculum and Education Structure

• “What does a typical week of structured didactics look like for your residents? Are these sessions consistently protected from clinical duties?”
• “How do you incorporate simulation into training—temporal bone lab, airway simulations, microvascular training, or other skills labs?”
• “Have you made any recent changes to your educational curriculum based on resident feedback or milestone performance?”

3. Early Operative Experience and Autonomy

• “At what point in training do residents typically start operating as primary surgeon on common ENT procedures such as tonsillectomies, tympanostomies, and septoplasties?”
• “How do faculty balance supervision with allowing residents to develop true autonomy, especially in the senior years?”
• “Can you share an example of a PGY-5’s typical OR day toward the end of residency?”

Questions to Ask Residents

• “Do you feel you’re getting enough operative experience in the areas you care about most?”
• “Are there any subspecialties where you wish you had more exposure or volume?”
• “How often do you feel like the primary surgeon vs. the assistant in the OR?”

These questions help you identify programs that truly prioritize resident education over service—and where you will grow into a confident, independent ENT surgeon.

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2. Osteopathic-Friendliness and DO Graduate Support

For a DO graduate residency applicant, one of the most critical areas is understanding how genuinely supportive the environment is for osteopathic physicians. You want to know: Will you be treated as an equal? Are DOs thriving here—or just tolerated?

Questions to Ask Program Directors About DO Friendliness

1. Direct but Professional Questions

• “How many DO residents are currently in the program, and how have they done in terms of fellowship or job placement?”
• “Can you describe your experience training DO residents in otolaryngology? Have you noticed any particular strengths or challenges?”
• “Do you see any differences in how DO and MD applicants are evaluated, either on the interview trail or once they’re here as residents?”

2. COMLEX vs. USMLE and Application Review

• “For DO applicants, how do you view COMLEX compared to USMLE scores when you review applications?”
• “If a DO applicant has COMLEX only, how is that interpreted in your selection process?”
• “Have you ever adjusted your application process specifically to be more inclusive of DO candidates?”

3. Integration of Osteopathic Principles

Even if OMT isn’t central to ENT, your osteopathic background matters.

• “Are there opportunities to incorporate osteopathic principles or OMM/OMT into patient care, especially for complex head and neck or chronic pain patients?”
• “Have any DO residents here used their OMT skills effectively in inpatient or outpatient ENT settings?”

Questions to Ask DO Residents (if present)

• “As a DO graduate, have you ever felt any stigma or differences in expectation compared to MD colleagues?”
• “Was the transition from osteopathic medical school to this allopathic/academic ENT residency smooth for you? What helped or hindered that process?”
• “If you had to choose again as a DO graduate, would you pick this program?”

If there are no current DO residents, that’s not an automatic red flag—but it does warrant careful questioning:

• “I noticed there aren’t currently DO residents in the program. Is that due to applicant pool, historical trends, or other factors?”
• “If a DO resident matched here tomorrow, how would you support their transition, especially if they primarily took COMLEX?”

Their tone, comfort level, and transparency in answering will tell you as much as the words themselves.

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3. Culture, Wellness, and Resident Life

Culture often matters more than prestige. An excellent otolaryngology match for you is one where you feel safe, supported, and able to grow—not just a brand name program.

Questions to Ask Residents About Culture

• “How would you describe the culture among residents—collaborative, competitive, or somewhere in between?”
• “Have you seen residents support each other during difficult cases, boards, or personal emergencies? Can you give an example?”
• “How approachable are faculty when you’re struggling clinically or personally?”
• “If you had a serious concern about mistreatment or burnout, who would you actually feel comfortable going to?”

Questions About Wellness and Workload

• “What does a typical weekly schedule look like on your busiest rotations and on your lighter ones?”
• “How often do you exceed the 80-hour work week, and how is that handled when it happens?”
• “Are there formal wellness initiatives that residents actually find helpful, or are they more ‘checkbox’ activities?”
• “How does the program handle parental leave, major life events, or illness among residents?”
• “What is the call schedule like at different PGY levels? How does home call vs. in-house call work here?”

Questions to Detect Hidden Red Flags

• “What recent feedback have residents given that led to an actual change in the program?”
• “If there were a conflict between a resident and faculty member, how would that typically be addressed here?”
• “What do you think the program could improve, and is leadership open to that feedback?”

Watch for hesitation, rehearsed-sounding answers, or residents exchanging glances. Those can signal issues you won’t see on paper.

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4. Academics, Research, and Career Development

Whether you’re planning community practice or academic ENT, you should understand how the program supports scholarly activity and long-term career goals.

Questions About Research for ENT Applicants

• “What types of research are residents typically involved in—clinical outcomes, basic science, QI, educational research?”
• “Is there protected research time built into the schedule? If so, during which year(s) and how is it structured?”
• “How many presentations or publications do your residents typically graduate with?”
• “Can you give an example of how the program helped a resident with limited prior research experience build a successful project?”
• “Are there opportunities to collaborate with other departments like neurosurgery, oncology, or radiology for combined ENT projects?”

For a DO graduate who may have had limited research exposure in medical school, this is especially important. Ask how they support residents who are starting from scratch.

Questions on Career Outcomes and Mentorship

• “What have your recent graduates gone on to do—fellowships vs. general practice, academic vs. community?”
• “How early do residents start receiving mentorship regarding fellowship or job planning?”
• “Are there structured sessions on contract negotiation, private practice vs. academics, or financial literacy?”
• “Are DO graduates from this program competitive for fellowships and academic positions?”

Tailoring to Your Career Goals

If you have a specific interest—e.g., rhinology, facial plastics, head and neck oncology—ask targeted questions:

• “For someone interested in [subspecialty], what opportunities exist to build a strong portfolio here—special clinics, research, electives, or outside rotations?”
• “How supportive are faculty when residents apply for competitive fellowships, especially in subspecialties like otology or facial plastics?”

Answers will show whether they can help you become the otolaryngologist you envision five to ten years from now.

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5. Program Leadership, Feedback, and Communication

How the program is run day-to-day will deeply affect your training experience. Your questions to the program director and leadership should explore transparency, stability, and responsiveness.

High-Yield Questions to Ask Program Directors

These are among the most important questions to ask a program director as a DO graduate ENT applicant:

• “What qualities are you most proud of in your current residents?”
• “How would you describe your philosophy of resident education and supervision?”
• “What changes do you anticipate in the program over the next 3–5 years—faculty turnover, service expansion, or structural changes?”
• “How do you like residents to give you feedback about the program, and can you share an example of a time that resident feedback led to a concrete change?”
• “What characteristics do you look for in a resident who will thrive specifically in your program?”

Questions About Evaluation and Remediation

• “How are residents evaluated—with milestones, direct observation, 360 evaluations—and how often is feedback given?”
• “If a resident is struggling clinically, technically in the OR, or with exams, what support systems are in place?”
• “Can you describe a time when a resident was struggling and how the program helped them get back on track?”

Well-run programs will have clear answers and examples. Vague, defensive responses may signal problems.

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6. Location, Lifestyle, and Practical Considerations

These are often overlooked but will strongly influence your day-to-day happiness and performance.

Questions for Residents About Daily Life

• “Where do most residents choose to live relative to the hospital, and what is the typical commute like?”
• “Is the cost of living manageable on a resident salary in this city/region?”
• “How do residents typically spend their limited free time—any favorite local activities or places?”
• “Do residents with partners or families feel supported by the schedule and the location?”

Questions About Logistics and Rotations

• “How many different hospital sites do residents rotate through, and how far apart are they?”
• “Is parking easily available and affordable for residents?”
• “Are there any away rotations built into the curriculum, and how are those arranged?”

While these feel less “academic,” they matter enormously when you’re post-call, commuting, and trying to keep your life together outside the hospital.

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How to Phrase Questions Professionally and Avoid Pitfalls

The same question can sound curious and professional—or aggressive and entitled—depending on how you phrase it.

Techniques for Professional Questioning

• Use “I” statements sparingly but strategically:
  • “I’m particularly interested in understanding how DO graduates have done here; could you share some examples?”
• Soften potentially sensitive questions:
  • Instead of: “How often do residents violate duty hours?”
    Try: “How does the program monitor and respond to residents’ duty hours and workload?”
• Bundle questions:
  • “Could you walk me through what feedback and evaluation look like here—both informally day-to-day and in formal reviews?”

Questions to Avoid (or Ask Carefully)

• Direct questions about salary and benefits are usually better for the coordinator or later in the process; not your lead question with the PD.
• Avoid comparisons like:
  • “How do you think your program compares to [other named program]?”
• Don’t ask anything you could answer within 30 seconds by looking at their website.

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Putting It All Together: Sample Question Sets by Interviewer Type

Below are sample, streamlined sets of interview questions for them—tailored to each type of interviewer—so you’re not scrambling the night before.

For the Program Director

1. “How would you describe your philosophy of training ENT residents and balancing service with education?”
2. “How have DO graduates or DO residents done here in terms of fellowship placement and career development?”
3. “What changes are you most excited about in the program over the next few years?”
4. “How do you like residents to give you feedback, and can you share an example where that feedback led to a major change?”
5. “What types of residents tend to thrive in this program, and what qualities are you specifically looking for in new trainees?”

For Faculty Interviewers

1. “How do you approach teaching in the OR, particularly in helping residents progress from assisting to being primary surgeon?”
2. “In your subspecialty, what kinds of cases do residents typically get to perform independently by the time they graduate?”
3. “Have you worked with DO residents before, and have you noticed any particular strengths they bring to ENT training?”
4. “What opportunities exist for residents to work with you on research or scholarly projects?”
5. “Is there anything about this program’s ENT training that you think applicants might undervalue or overlook?”

For Residents (Especially DOs or Recent Grads)

1. “What do you enjoy most about training here, and what do you wish you could change?”
2. “As a DO graduate (or having DO colleagues), have you seen any differences in how DOs are treated or supported, either officially or unofficially?”
3. “Do you feel prepared surgically and clinically for your next step—general practice or fellowship?”
4. “How is the work-life balance in reality, not just on paper?”
5. “If you had to choose a residency again, would you choose this same program and city?”

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FAQs: Questions to Ask Programs as a DO Applicant in ENT

1. As a DO graduate, should I directly ask if a program is “DO-friendly”?
It’s better to ask specific questions that reveal DO-friendliness rather than using that broad label. For example:

• “How many DO residents have you trained recently, and how have they done?”
• “How do you view COMLEX scores in your application review?”
  The details in their responses will show you far more than a simple “yes, we’re DO-friendly.”

2. How many questions should I ask during each interview?
Aim for 2–4 thoughtful questions per interviewer, depending on time. Quality matters more than quantity. Prioritize what you truly need to know to create your rank list, and be flexible—sometimes a conversation will naturally answer half of your prepared questions.

3. Is it okay to ask about fellowship placement during interviews?
Yes. For a surgical field like ENT, fellowship and job outcomes are critical. Phrase it professionally:

• “Could you share where your recent graduates have gone for fellowships or practice?”
  This shows that you’re thinking long-term about your career, not just prestige.

4. What if I forget to ask something important during the interview day?
You can follow up politely by email, typically with the program coordinator or a resident:

• “Thank you again for the opportunity to interview. I realized afterward that I had one additional question about [topic]. If you or a resident could share a bit more information, I’d greatly appreciate it.”
  Use this sparingly and keep it concise.

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Thoughtful, well-structured questions are one of the most underused tools in the otolaryngology match—especially for DO graduate residency applicants. Use them not just to impress programs, but to make sure you ultimately match into an ENT residency where you’ll be challenged, supported, and respected as an osteopathic physician and future surgeon.