Clinical Training by Year
Rotations consist of 6 training periods over the course of each year and are a mixture of subspecialty and general ophthalmology rotations. Clinical and surgical opportunities vary by institution.
Third year (PGY IV)
The chief year is primarily surgical. Under supervision, the resident performs all types of major surgery at UH, Metro, St. Vincent’s and the VA, including phacoemulsification, corneal transplantation, orbit/plastics, scleral buckling procedures, trabeculectomy, and vitrectomy. Under direction of the full and part-time faculty, the chief is responsible for conducting the general clinics at all sites, as well as the consultation service at UH. The chiefs are on back-up duty whenever they are the chief resident for a site and will come in for any surgeries or complicated cases. Weekend call covers all four sites and are covered by one chief resident per weekend with the Retina resident as back-up chief. Click here for a sample call schedule.
There are also subspecialty rotations in Oculoplastics and Retina during the year. The chiefs also attend the annual Academy of American Ophthalmology meeting each fall.
University Hospitals of Cleveland (UH) – The UH chief resident oversees the general clinics and consultation service for the hospital and is responsible for teaching the junior residents. All surgical cases generated from resident clinic are performed by the chief resident under the supervision of a full or part-time attending. Call is back-up for the first and second year residents during the week. The Retina rotation is a mix of clinical and surgical experiences with several different retina specialists. Time is also allotted for learning to read fluorescein angiograms. The Retina chief resident is the back-up call for the primary chief on call.
The oculoplastics rotation is spent with two different oculoplastic surgeons, one academic and one community surgeon. The rotation offers exposure to both reconstructive and cosmetic procedures.
MetroHealth Medical Center (Metro) – The chief resident duties in clinic and the operating room are shared with the co-chief resident from the Cleveland Clinic. The chiefs share all cataract and glaucoma surgeries generated by the resident clinic. There is no weeknight chief call on this rotation.
St. Vincent’s Charity Hospital (St. Vincent’s) – The chief resident is responsible for running the general clinic and teaching of the junior residents. All surgical cases are scheduled by the chief resident, who performs primarily cataract, cornea, and glaucoma cases.
Veterans’ Affairs (VA) – The majority of cataract surgeries are generated from the VA and performed at least 2 days of each week, with the assistance of the junior residents and staffed by community physicians. The chief also run his or her own pre- and post-op clinic during the first part of the week.
