Otolaryngology manpower revisited

In the December issue of the Archives, Nickerson et al published an article on the manpower resources of otolaryngology based on a report released in 1975. The conclusion reached by Nickerson and co-workers was that otolaryngology had a manpower pool too big for present and near future needs. This article was followed by a press release by the American Medical Association that endorsed the statements of the Archives article and in which Nickerson et al were quoted that no more otolaryngologists were needed from the training programs for some years. These statements were in sharp disagreement with the findings of the manpower studies carried out by another group in 1973-1975. Because the two surveys employed different statistical approaches, this article has been written to present the methods employed and to discuss the merits of the conclusions reached in each.