Academic Program

The program organizes an “Ophthalmology Bootcamp” each summer for beginning residents that provides an immersive introduction to eye examination techniques and high-yield topics. This gives incoming residents a solid foundation that they will continue to build upon over the following four years.

On Monday afternoons during the academic year, all residents attend the Basic Clinical Sciences Course (BCSC) Lecture Series given by faculty and guest lecturers. Following the BCSC lectures are Sub-Specialty lectures, then case presentations and discussion during Grand Rounds.

The monthly Visiting Professor “Community Lecture” Series is an adjunct to Grand Rounds. Noted speakers from around the country are invited to be our Visiting Professor for these events, which have become popular not only in our own department, but also with dozens of community physicians who regularly attend.

Various other didactics occur during the week to cover all aspects of ophthalmology in preparation for the annual national ophthalmology exam, the OKAP: Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program. There are also educational sessions dedicated to clinicopathology case reviews, journal clubs, and quality improvement topics. Finally, the department hosts specialized research seminars in informatics and data science as well as in basic/translational vision science, which brings distinguished guest lecturers to speak on their cutting-edge research to the department.

Wet labs are held throughout the year at the Shiley Eye Institute covering cataract surgery, oculoplastic suturing, periorbital dissection, and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery. Residents are also encouraged to attend industry wet labs both locally and nationally. Besides the wet labs, residents also engage in surgical video review sessions with residency program leadership on a regular basis to receive structured, formal feedback as they advance in their surgical skill development.

Our faculty have a wide range of research interests which is reflected in the most recent data available from the National Institutes for Health. All of this and a listing of publications is in our 2022 Annual Report.Resident research is diligently fostered and ranges from clinical to laboratory work, depending on the interests of the resident. Each May, all projects are presented at the annual Residents, Fellows, & Alumni Day, with speakers presenting their research findings, and all ARVO posters displayed during a well-attended reception at the Shiley Eye Institute.

‍