As an offering of the AAO-HNSF journals, Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and OTO Open, the Resident Reviewer Development Program (RRDP) gives residents who are interested in peer review the opportunity to learn from mentors who are seasoned peer reviewers. By completing reviews under their mentors’ guidance, participants gain the skills needed to comprehensively review a scientific article. Excelling as a peer reviewer is often the first step toward a position as a journal Editorial Board member or Associate Editor.
The RRDP application cycle is now closed for the 2025–2026 cohort. Accepted applicants will be notified soon. If you are interested in applying for a future cohort, please check back again in fall 2025 or contact [email protected].
Requirements
Applicants should:
- Be a PGY-3 or PGY-4 resident at an otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency program based in the United States or Canada*
- Obtain a letter of recommendation from their program director
- Submit a completed application to [email protected], including the following three (3) documents as attachments:
- The signed letter of recommendation
- A brief CV (three pages or less)
- A brief cover letter, which must include their year of residency (PGY-3 or PG-4), institution, intended subspecialty or area of special interest (if applicable)**, and a statement of their motivation for joining the program (~100 words)
A limited number of spaces are available for the 2025–2026 cohort. Owing to the high volume of interest, applicants may not be immediately enrolled in the program. The AAO-HNSF will notify applicants of their enrollment status for the 2025–2026 cohort and if space becomes available in the next cohort.
*In a collaboration of the journal’s International Editorial Board and AAO-HNSF International Affairs, dedicated resources are being produced for international researchers and authors. Learn More.
**The program pairs mentors and residents based on a variety of factors but cannot guarantee that residents will be paired with a mentor in their desired subspecialty.
Responsibilities
Once the Deputy Editor approves an application, the resident is paired with mentor(s). Accepted participants are notified of their assigned mentors and given detailed instructions on how to submit their reviews. Before reviewing can begin, participants must read and watch the Reviewer Development Resources. Participants must commit to completing reviews on time and responding promptly to messages from the program. Unresponsiveness may result in removal from the program.
Completion
Participants review under their mentors’ guidance for three reviews, on average. Participants then complete a review independently and receive a review score from the Deputy Editor (the review chart/scoring rubric is here). If the review is scored at 75 or above, the participant has demonstrated sufficient skills to join the journals’ peer reviewer pool and begin to be assigned manuscripts for review. If the review is scored below 75, the participant will be asked to carry out additional review(s) until they are ready to review independently.
Interested in becoming a mentor or learning more?
We would also like to hear from you if you are interested in the program as a potential mentor or residency program director.
Please direct questions and comments to [email protected].
