Residency Program
Requirements
The Department of Ophthalmology at California Pacific Medical Center has been training ophthalmology residents for over 70 years. We offer a 3 year residency program, recognized as one of the strongest and most competitive in the nation. All applicants must have completed a post-graduate clinical year (PGY-1) in a program in the United States accredited by the ACGME, or a program in Canada accredited by The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons before commencing residency training in Ophthalmology. Three positions per year are offered through the Ophthalmology Matching Program. The department seeks residents who value academic excellence, teamwork, diligence and compassion. It is the goal of the program that each resident becomes an outstanding clinical physician with the education, skills and credentials for academic, private practice or managed care careers.
Ophthalmology Matching Program
A Unique Model
The Department includes nationally respected ophthalmologists who form a unique volunteer core teaching faculty. During the first year, residents spend time in multiple practice settings learning the intricacies of contact lenses, cornea, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, ocular pathology, oculoplastics, orbital disease, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus, retina, and uveitis. In addition to private office settings, residents also work during years 2 and 3 at Kaiser San Francisco, Alameda County Medical Center (Highland), Oakland Children's Hospital, and the Resident Clinic at CPMC. The Resident Clinic is the sole referral center for patients financed by The Lion's Eye Foundation of California-Nevada, Inc. In an average year, this non-profit organization funds 2000 patient visits, 150 surgical procedures and 50 laser procedures, all performed by residents with the supervision of faculty. Volunteer faculty from the community also play a key role during the resident's second year of training, assisting in clinics and surgeries at the county hospital. The third year allows for the polishing of surgical skills as the average case load (phacoemulsification, penetrating keratoplasty, strabismus, oculoplastics, trabeculectomy, etc) as primary surgeon reaches a total of over 300 surgeries.
Year One
During the first year, the resident learns to perform a competent examination predicated on a growing body of knowledge about the effects of systemic diseases on the eye. Training emphasizes educational objectives over service needs so the resident begins his/her exposure to ophthalmology and all of its instrumentation in a nurturing atmosphere. The first year resident rotates through a core of subspecialties, with learning augmented by year-long didactic lectures, grand rounds, journal clubs, fluorescein conferences and microsurgical skills labs. During the summer of their first year, residents attend the Stanford Ophthalmology Basic Science Course.
Year Two
The second year is spent at Alameda County Medical Center (Highland) in Oakland. This busy county facility promotes the resident's increasing responsibility for both medical and surgical eye disease. Specialty clinics, supervised by consultant subspecialists, provide continuing education and excellent patient care. The volume of patients increases tremendously, as each resident transitions towards a greater work load. By the end of the second year, the average resident has completed 125 anterior segment surgeries, approximately 100 laser procedures, and conducts 3500 patient visits.
Year Three
In the final year, surgical experience expands further as residents spend six months at Kaiser Hospital, San Francisco. During the Kaiser rotation, residents participate in approximately 500 anterior segment procedures. Each resident completes his/her training while serving as Chief Resident at California Pacific Medical Center. He/she becomes more involved teaching junior residents and medical students and bears primary responsibility for all clinic surgical cases. The Chief Resident also holds key administrative responsibilities in the clinic, acting as a liaison between faculty and residents.
Research
Research is an integral part of this residency training program. Second and third year residents are required to actively participate in some area of investigation of their own choosing, in conjunction with members of the department or The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute. The Pacific Vision Foundation also supports educational and research activities within the department. Research results are presented at the Barkan Annual Scientific Meeting held each spring, and residents are sponsored to present papers and projects at national meetings. Recently, residents have presented research findings at the meetings of the American Acadmy of Ophthalmology (AA0), Association For Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), the International Congress of Ocular Oncology, the Pacific Coast Oto-Ophthalmologic Society and the International Society of Refractive Surgeons.
Fellowships
The Ophthalmology department also actively supports and offers fellowships in glaucoma, retina, and research. The department ensures that the presence of fellows complements the experience of the residents, and does not detract from it.
Why California Pacific?
Former residents describe the following advantages of the Ophthalmology training program: