Residents see differing populations of patients coming from all walks of life. At each site, whether in clinic or the operating room, the resident has attending supervision in accordance with UC San Diego and VA policy: one-on-one teaching with increasing responsibility for decision-making according to the level of training and competency.
Clinical sites for resident rotations include
There is a combined total of 159,670 patient visits for all of the UCSD and VA facilities. The Shiley Eye Institute alone has over 60,000 patient visits annually; and the VA Eye Clinic, around 20,000 annually.
Although the resident sees mostly outpatients, there are a substantial number of inpatient consultations at our inpatient Medical Centers (UCSD Hillcrest, UCSDLa Jolla, and VA Medical Center) where the resident cares for patients with the ophthalmic manifestations of systemic disease.
In addition, patients might also be seen at:
At each site, with its unique “flavor” and patient population, residents participate fully in the evaluation of the patients.
There is a combined total of 159,670 patient visits for all of the UCSD and VA facilities. The Shiley Eye Institute alone has over 60,000 patient visits annually; and the VA Eye Clinic, around 20,000 annually.
Although the resident sees mostly outpatients, there are a substantial number of inpatient consultations at our inpatient Medical Centers (UCSD Hillcrest, UCSDLa Jolla, and VA Medical Center) where the resident cares for patients with the ophthalmic manifestations of systemic disease.
In addition, patients might also be seen at:
At each site, with its unique “flavor” and patient population, residents participate fully in the evaluation of the patients.
The Shiley Eye Institute is a state-of-the-art, free-standing outpatient facility with 24 fully-equipped examination lanes and a surgical suite with four ophthalmic operating rooms, preoperative area, and post-operative recovery space. A full range of ancillary services includes digital photography; visual field testing; ultrasonography; wavefront analysis; corneal topography; OCT; GDX, Argon, Krypton, and YAG lasers; optometric and low vision services; and a full optical shop.
The extensive electronic collections of UC San Diego’s Biomedical Library are available to all residents either on the main campus or via computers in the Weyland Resident Library on Shiley’s second floor. Shelves are filled with specialized Ophthalmology texts and DVDs graciously donated by our supportive alumni; and current technology is available to help residents prepare presentations.
The Shiley Conference Room, with seating for 80, is home to educational events such as Grand Rounds, invited speakers, and weekly didactics. Larger meetings make use of the stadium seating in the Goldberg Auditorium in the Moores Cancer Center next door.
The Abraham Ratner Children’s Eye Center, a free-standing facility with 8 examination lanes, has been especially designed to meet the needs of the pediatric population. The two Pediatric Ophthalmologists have about 6000 patient visits per year in just their subspecialty.
Basic and clinical research facilities on the Shiley campus include the Hamilton Glaucoma Center, the Jacobs Retina Center, and multiple corneal research laboratories at Shiley itself. In these settings, residents might interact with patients who are in clinical trials.
The Lamont Ericson MD Microsurgical Practice Lab is available to residents any time to practice their surgery skills. The microscope includes computer hookups for recording surgeries to review with faculty. During the year, additional surgical wet labs are scheduled with in-depth instruction to emphasize correct surgical techniques.
A short walk from the Shiley Eye Institute are the Thornton Hospital (UCSD Medical Center/La Jolla) with 119 beds, the Perlman Ambulatory Care Center, and the Moores Cancer Center—all sources of referrals to the Shiley Eye Institute.
About a twenty-minute drive from Shiley is the UC San Diego Medical Center / Hillcrest, a Level I Trauma Center that includes a 434 bed hospital and ambulatory care facility. It serves a wide range of patients including the indigent and jail populations. The Emergency Department has a fully-equipped exam room dedicated to ophthalmology patients after regular clinic hours, and there is also an operating room dedicated to Ophthalmic cases.
The Eye Clinic has 8 outpatient exam lanes, and attendings there cover all the subspecialties, including Ophthalmic Pathology. In addition, Ophthalmology consultations are provided for other inpatient services such as the neonatal intensive care unit. Residents can be expected to take part in about 2000 inpatient and other urgent ocular conditions annually.
The Eye Clinic itself has ancillary services including ophthalmic photography, visual field testing, OCT, RetCam, lasers, pachymetry, ultrasound, and a procedure room. Optometric services are also available at UCSDMC Hillcrest. In the resident room in the Eye Clinic, there is online access to the electronic collections of the UC San Diego Biomedical Library.
VA San Diego Healthcare System on the UCSD La Jolla campus is a 238-bed hospital and outpatient facility less than one mile from the Shiley Eye Institute and about a minute’s walk from the UC San Diego Medical School. The VA Hospital is where residents have most of their surgical experience, including lasers. Along with Comprehensive Ophthalmology and Cataract clinics, the five residents scheduled there for rotations also have subspecialty clinics in Strabismus, Glaucoma, Neuro-ophthalmology, Cornea, Retina, and Oculoplastics. In addition, a telemedicine rotation was begun in 2014 under the direction of Residency Program Director Jeffrey Lee, MD.
The VA Eye Clinic has almost 20,000 outpatient visits per year (18,858 in 2022) and provides a wide range of pathology for the residents, as well as increasing responsibility for patient management. The institution has one OR dedicated to eye surgery and almost 1,000 cases per year are performed by residents under supervision.
The VA Eye Clinic has 13 fully-equipped examination lanes with a procedure room, as well as lasers, IOL Master, ophthalmic photography, pachymetry, and OCT. All ancillary testing is available at the VA and each examination lane has its own computer for EMR and access to the Biomedical Library’s electronic journals and books collection. In addition, the VA provides optometric services including Low Vision and contact lenses consultations.
In 2023, the department began several major facilities improvement initiatives, including a renovation of the second floor of the Shiley Eye Institute and the construction of a brand new vision research facility.
Shiley Eye Institute Clinical Space Expansion
Renovations have started on the second floor of the Shiley Eye Institute, which will convert existing office and laboratory space into clinical space, including state-of-the-art eye examination lanes and procedure rooms. The expansion of clinical space will enable higher patient volumes and additional training opportunities for residents and fellows. This expansion was made possible by a $10 million gift from philanthropist Darlene Shiley.
Viterbi Family Vision Research Center
Construction has begun on a 5-story, 100,000 square-foot facility that will provide additional space for laboratories, clinical trial operations, and administrative and educational spaces to support vision research. This was made possible with a $50 million gift from philanthropist Andrew Viterbi, PhD.
This building will serve the rapidly growing research footprint of the department and also foster interdisciplinary collaborations across various disciplines, including neuroscience, data science, bioinformatics, engineering, bioengineering, stem cell biology, and gene therapy. You can follow construction efforts on the live cam here.
Dear Dr. Nudleman and the Shiley Team:
Several weeks ago I became a patient of yours when I experienced a torn retina while on vacation. Interestingly, I was alone at the time and after navigating the downtown ER came to you for emergency surgery. Having no one to assist me during a stressful time, I was thankful to have you all there to provide care and world-class medical advice. I am a banker and our company mission statement is “every day we will make a positive difference in the financial lives of everyone we touch” so I am constantly evaluating customer service through this lens. Without question, the Shiley team made a positive difference in my life. Thank you!
Warm regards,
Brigham L. Tubbs
I have been a patient there for more than 25yrs.
I have had so many complications with my vision, and have seen various specialists at Shiley. The doctors there are top notch, and have saved my eyesight on several occasions with emergency situations. Thank goodness We have Shiley here in San Diego.
May 2022
Dr. Eric Nuddleman - I had detached retina and saw Dr N. He was the most caring and competent Dr. I could have ever chosen.
I had detached retina and saw Dr N. He was the most caring and competent Dr. I could have ever chosen. I had no idea how bad the detachment was until Dr. N said we must do it now. Waiting would have caused much more damage & he scheduled it for the next AM. The surgery went well & he saved my vision.! I would highly recommend Dr. N to everyone. As far as I am concerned, his skills as a surgeon are top-notch. I thank God daily for Dr. N! Shiley Eye Institute is world class.
Mar 2021
but it's most important to find a doctor who sticks by you to make things right when unexpected complications arise
I normally don't write reviews, but my niece who is a highly trained physician herself (at Northwestern University and Stanford) advised me that this is an important review to write. She said that it's easy to write a review for a doctor when everything goes smoothly and turns out great the first time, but it's most important to find a doctor who sticks by you to make things right when unexpected complications arise. Dr. Korn is like that and I have a great deal of respect for him..
Close to a year and a half ago, I had cosmetic eyelid surgery done by Dr. Korn on both my upper and lower eyelids. After the surgery it was very noticeable to me that one eye looked bigger than the other eye. Dr. Korn said that when my eyes were sufficiently healed, he would open the corner of the smaller eye to enlarge it.
Three months after the surgery I developed an eye condition in both eyes called Chemosis. Dr. Korn did not think that the Chemosis was caused by the surgery and he gave me the reasons why. He said that we had to deal with my medical condition before we could do corrective cosmetic surgery. To his credit, he tried to determine the underlying cause of the Chemosis by having me take various tests (MRI and blood tests) and try certain eye drops, etc. in an effort to make a differential diagnosis. He even talked about my case to other physicians at a medical conference he went to China.
Finally a few months ago, Dr. Korn started to see improvements in the Chemosis, and earlier this month, he said that it looked much better. Last week he was able to open the corner of my smaller eye to enlarge the appearance and he had to do some cauterization so that my eye would drain properly. I still have a small amount of Chemosis and my eye is still healing from the surgery, but I can tell that it looks better already.
The bottom line is that for the last year and a half Dr. Korn has been very kind, patient, available, and medically diligent. Those are the characteristics of a fine doctor and one whom I appreciate.
Jun 2019
I was lost suffering from thyroid eye disease until I found the most amazing staff and the Dr's. From the time I called and made my first appointment there was a kind person on the other side of the phone to easy my fear. It has been one year since my last surgery and recently went in for a follow up walking into the office I didn't realize I was going to be so emotional but it was so full circle.
I was so broken when i first arrived not ever thinking I would be me ever again and Dr. Kikkawa, Dr. Ko, Dr. Lila, Denise and all of the amazing staff have given me my life back. I want others who are going threw this disease to feel the same joy. I know people mentioned having to wait to be seen but just know they give each patient so much time and attention.
Jan 2019