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• Clinical rotations
• Surgical education
• Research Opportunities
• Service opportunities
• Mentorship

Clinical rotations are offered at OHSU Casey Eye Institute, Portland VA Medical Center, and Devers Eye Institute at Legacy Health. The integrated internship year provides a balanced introduction to general medicine and ophthalmology. There are two inpatient medicine and two emergency medicine blocks, with additional rotations in dermatology, anesthesia/perioperative medicine, and neuroradiology. There is an ongoing ophthalmology experience throughout the year, which consists of dedicated rotations, combined rotations with other departments, and didactics. We believe longitudinal exposure to ophthalmology during the PGY-1 year enriches resident learning and long-term retention of knowledge. During outpatient rotations from January to June, our PGY-1 residents also assist our PGY-2 residents with weekend day call. This allows our PGY-1 class to get early call exposure, work together with the class above them, and feel more ready to take primary call during PGY-2 year.

PGY-2 through PGY-4

The residents will transition into 100% ophthalmology experience in the PGY-2 year, building on the fundamentals through comprehensive ophthalmology, retina, uveitis, ocular oncology, pediatric ophthalmology, oculoplastics, neuro-ophthalmology and pathology. In the PGY-3 year, residents continue developing as ophthalmic surgeons and consultants, with emphasis on hospital consultations, glaucoma, cornea, and pediatric ophthalmology. Throughout PGY-2 and PGY-3 year, residents have a half a day of continuity clinic every week at OHSU, where they have the opportunity to direct the care of a panel of patients longitudinally. The final year offers opportunities for independent clinical management and intensive surgical experience.

Call schedule

Our call system ensures our residents are able to see, learn, and manage the vast array of ophthalmic emergencies and pathologies seen at our hospitals. It is front-loaded, with PGY-2 class taking primary call for OHSU and the VA starting mid-July. The exact schedule is determined by each class, which provides schedule flexibility. On average, each PGY-2 resident is on primary call every 5th day. The first 3 months are conducted as buddy call with the PGY-4 class. During PGY-3 year, residents do not take primary call until October. At that time, they start primary trauma call for Devers Eye Institute, where a large portion of the ocular trauma in the state presents. After buddy call, the PGY-4 class also joins the primary trauma call pool. Both upper classes are also on backup call every 10 days for OHSU and VA. Our residents state that calls are busy but not overwhelming and that senior residents and attendings are always available for additional help. 

As a residency program, we strongly believe that early surgical exposure greatly enhances resident learning and experience. The program has a thoughtful and highly effective microsurgical curriculum that our residents universally rate as excellent. Before the residents operate in the patient's eye, they are led through a curriculum of wet lab and the EyeSi surgical simulator. This training starts in PGY-1 year, when residents practice suturing and start performing parts of cataract surgery in the operating room. These skills are enhanced during PGY-2 year, with additional experience in subspecialty surgeries. The faculty provides individualized instruction for each resident and the program provides dedicated time for residents to practice and improve. By the end of PGY-3 year, the residents perform 30-40 cataract surgeries as the primary surgeon, along with several subspecialty surgeries. In the final year of the program, the residents perform routine and complex surgeries with an emphasis on quality, safety, and efficiency. Over the last few years, the residents have graduated with around 200 primary cataract surgeries on average. These average numbers have not changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to work with our residents to ensure they feel confident and ready to operate on their own upon graduation.