Schedule:
It depends on the type of practice that the surgeon develops. For most, once established the ratio is 2:1 clinic to OR. We generally have 4 days in the clinical & 1 administrative day per week. To start providers usually have the 2 days clinic/2 days OR one week and then the next week 3 days clinic/1 day OR. Once the patient panel is built up and providers can full-fill multiple days in the OR, they get block time for multiple days.
Call:
We have a surgeon of the week (SOW) program in place which rotates all of the surgeons – as of next month we will have 9.5 FTE so that we end up taking a week of call approximately every 9-10 weeks.
When on call, the SOW oversees a team that includes our residents and 3-4 APP’s who manage all of the inpatients and post-surgical admissions. During that week on call, the SOW has no outpatient clinics so that they are available to manage urgent/emergent procedures.
There is always a resident or APP taking first call overnight and, on the weekends.
Sleep:
We have our own Sleep Center and all Ped ENT providers manage both primary and post-T&A sleep disordered breathing with a specialized complex sleep clinic for specialized situations such as potential Inspire implants that is covered by Dr’s Law and Dr. Curtis.
Volumes:
Excluding office based procedures we perform approximately 6,000 procedures/year. There is a high volume of complex surgeries as we serve as the main location for tertiary/quaternary peds ENT Head & Neck Surgery for the entire state.
The only procedures we don’t do is cleft lip/palate in children identified <1 yr of age which has to go to Plastics. Older children being managed for VPI we will take care of. Besides, Cochlear Implants, there is room for growth in every other area. Aerodigestive and complex airway disorders are the area of greatest need. Our expectation is that 85+ percent of what each provider sees, they are able to manage on their own with some specialized things gravitating to specialists such as Thyroid/CI’s/Open Airways. Any surgeons who has a specific area of interest can likely find that there is growth potential in any area they want to focus on.
As a teaching facility learners are only active at the main campus and 40-50% of shifts have medical students, residents, or fellows. Teaching shift averages 14 patients, non-Teaching shift averages 12 patients per day in the clinic.
Current Team
https://phoenixchildrens.org/specialties-conditions/ear-nose-throat/meet-your-team
Dr. Mark Gerber, Division Chief, is a pediatric otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon with 20 years of experience managing the full spectrum of general ear, nose and throat disorders, and has special expertise in the medical and surgical management of complex airway, voice and swallowing disorders in children. He also serves as the division chief of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Phoenix Children's.
Dr. Gerber comes to us from Chicago where he was the division head of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at North Shore University Health System and clinical associate professor of surgery at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. Throughout his career, he has been published in surgical literature, including more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and web-based publications. He has lectured throughout the U.S. on various topics related to pediatric otolaryngology-head and neck surgery, and serves as a journal reviewer for several renowned publications. Dr. Gerber is board certified in Otolaryngology, a fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and American Academy of Pediatrics, and an active member in various professional societies in his specialty - including holding a position on the council of the American Broncho-Esophagological Association.