|
Ophthalmology Residency Program at Tufts-New
England Medical Center
The New England Eye Center, Tufts University
School of Medicine Residency in Ophthalmology
offers a three-year program that blends
clinical training, academic activities,
and research opportunities. There are
four residents in each of the three years
of the program.
The Department of Ophthalmology faculty
consists of more than 15 full-time members.
There is a large associate staff of part-time
attending ophthalmologists, and a supporting
staff of technical personnel. Three affiliated
hospitals, each with active inpatient
and outpatient services, as well as research
and teaching facilities, are utilized
to enhance the residency experience.
The Ophthalmology Department of New
England Medical Center and Tufts University
School of Medicine, at the New England
Eye Center is a regional, national and
international referral center. Approximately
50,000 patients per year visit the New
England Eye Center, most for tertiary
eye care. Residents participate in state
of the art diagnostic and therapeutic
interventions for these patients.
Part of the residency
program is spent at the Lahey Clinic
Medical Center (in Burlington and Peabody)
and New England Eye Center-St. Elizabeth’s
in Brighton.
Each facility
has its own unique qualities. The New
England Eye Center provides intensive
faculty contact with private practice
in an academic setting. The Lahey Clinic
blends tertiary and primary care ophthalmology
in a community setting. New England Eye
Center at Caritas St. Elizabeth Medical
Center is a private practice setting
with an emphasis on glaucoma, general
ophthalmology and cataract surgery.
There may be additional short-term rotations
in other hospitals. Use of these facilities
provides the residents with a wide variety
of experience with unique patient populations
and settings.
In addition to these
area programs, residents also spend three
months at the University of New Mexico
Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque,
New Mexico.
The foundations
of the didactic
program of the residency are weekly educational
conferences in each of the subspecialties,
and Grand Rounds. In addition, there
are lectures by visiting professors,
research seminars, rounds on non-ophthalmologic
topics in medicine, evening conferences
and journal club meetings.
The New England Eye Center is well known
for providing courses covering state-of-the-art
information on diagnostic, therapeutic
and technological aspects of Ophthalmology.
Resident participation in these courses
is strongly encouraged.
During the three years of the program,
the resident assumes increasing responsibility
for patient care and education. Residents
prepare case presentations, organize
journal clubs and special lectures, and
assist in teaching medical students rotating
in Ophthalmology. In addition, senior
residents, together with the attending
staff, are expected to supervise and
teach junior residents. Staff members
are assigned and available for consultation
with the resident in all rotations.
The First-Year
Resident performs complete ocular examinations
in the outpatient facilities. At this
stage the resident becomes proficient
in special examinations, including
gonioscopy, indirect ophthalmoscopy,
tonometry, biomicroscopy and perimetry.
Skills in refraction and physiologic
testing are developed. The
resident gains extensive experience in
evaluating walk-in and emergency patients.
There is exposure to the specialty services
including glaucoma, cornea and external
disease, neuro-Ophthalmology, retina,
oculoplastics, vision rehabilitation
and contact lenses. The first-year resident
informally reviews fluorescein angiograms
at the end of each day with the retina
attending. The earliest encounters with
ocular trauma are during the first year
of residency. The resident begins
assisting at surgery during this year
and performs minor surgical procedures.
The Second-Year
Resident is responsible for the general
outpatient service and, on a rotating
basis, for the eye plastics and orbit,
pathology, glaucoma, pediatric Ophthalmology
and neuro-Ophthalmology services. During
this year the resident's duties include
inpatient consultation service and
teaching of medical students at The
New England Eye Center. At
the Lahey Clinic, the second-year resident
actively participates in surgical care.
The Third-Year Resident conducts specialty
service consultations, pre-operative
and post-operative evaluations, and participates
on the cornea and anterior segment, glaucoma,
retina and pathology rotations. The resident
at this stage of training performs surgery
under the supervision of the full-time
and associate staff. This resident also
helps to supervise residents in the first
and second years of their clinical training.
The chief resident responsibilities
are assumed on a rotating basis by the
senior resident on the cornea service
at New England Eye Center. These responsibilities
include organizing and monitoring the
weekly grand rounds, attending monthly
resident education meetings, and other
coverage issues and in general serving,
as liaison between the residents and
the faculty.
The research interests of the Department
of Ophthalmology center on glaucoma,
corneal diseases, immunology, genetics,
molecular biology, neuromuscular disorders,
retinovascular diseases, strabismus,
amblyopia, the visually evoked cortical
potentials and image analysis of ocular
structures. There is a strong emphasis
on laser-tissue interactions and advanced
ophthalmic technology. Ocular physiology
and pharmacology are integral parts of
the research program.
There is a fundamental belief in the
concepts of the clinician-researcher
and the inquisitive physician; the residency
program allows the integration of both
clinical and research aspects of training.
Research experience is an essential element
in medical training. Residents are therefore
expected to participate in a research
project and encouraged to develop their
own research interests. The Department
offers laboratory facilities and the
guidance of staff members who are involved
full or part-time in research.
Residents are encouraged to present
their research at national meetings such
as those held by The Association for
Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
and The American Academy of Ophthalmology;
the department makes every effort to
support these activities.
Residents are provided three weeks of
vacation per year. In addition, each
senior resident is allowed one week to
attend a major meeting and three interview
or personal days.
To register with the San Francisco Ophthalmology
Matching Program, please contact them
at 415.447.0350 or email them at sfmatch.org. All
letters of recommendation and additional
materials should be sent to the OMP.
Registration forms will also be available
through your student affairs office.
It is a requirement of the program that
residents must have satisfactorily completed
a post-graduate clinical year (PGY-1)
in an approved accredited program by
the ACGME, or the Royal College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Canada.
A committee composed of staff members
and residents makes the final selection
of residents. A personal interview is
required. After the screening committee
reviews applications, individuals selected
to be interviewed will be notified.
Inquiries regarding the program should
be directed to:
Chandrasekharan Krishnan, MD
Director, Tufts Medical Center Ophthalmology Residency Program
Or
Elizabeth Cook,
Ophthalmology Residency Program Coordinator
800 Washington
Street #450
Boston, MA 02111
617-636-4648
Education
Programs at New England Eye Center
|
