Assessing the Impact of the Otolaryngology Core Curriculum (OCC): A Pre‐ and Post‐Implementation Analysis

OBJECTIVE: Effective didactic education in otolaryngology residency programs is critical. This study evaluated resident and faculty perceptions before and after (Otolaryngology Core Curriculum) OCC implementation. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Single Otolaryngology residency program (2023-2025). METHODS: Anonymous pre- and post-OCC surveys with Likert-type items were distributed to residents and faculty. Resident surveys assessed weekly didactics preparation time, confidence in otolaryngology knowledge, curriculum effectiveness, comfort identifying educational resources, and perceived exam preparedness. Faculty surveys assessed preparation time, resident knowledge, and engagement. Paired t-tests, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank, and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for analysis. RESULTS: 24 and 19 residents completed the preimplementation and postimplementation survey, respectively. Weekly resident didactics preparation time increased from 16.3 ± 19.4 minutes to 83.9 ± 49.0 minutes (P < .00001). Resident confidence in knowledge improved (P = .015) with a large effect size (Cohen's d = 0.85; 95% CI [0.07, 1.62]). Perceived didactics effectiveness improved (P = .022) with a moderate-to-large effect size (Cohen's d = 0.79; 95% CI [0.01, 1.55]). Comfort identifying educational resources (P = .08) and perceived examination preparedness (P = .15) improved, nonsignificantly. Faculty preparation time decreased nonsignificantly, 105.0 ± 33.7 minutes to 90.0 ± 39.7 minutes (P = .35). Faculty-reported resident knowledge improved (P = .011) with a large effect size (Cohen's d = -1.44; 95% CI [-2.42, -0.43]). Faculty perception of resident engagement improved, nonsignificantly (P = .22). CONCLUSION: OCC implementation was associated with an increase in resident didactics preparation time, resident perceived knowledge, and faculty perception of resident knowledge, and increased didactics effectiveness.