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Introduction INTRODUCTION In the late 1990's St. Luke's-Roosevelt formed an alliance with Beth Israel Medical Center, New York Eye & Ear Infirmary, and Long Island College Hospital to form Continuum Health Care. While our residency program is independent from the New York Eye & Ear program, our residents do attend some lectures and clinics jointly with the Eye and Ear to allow for an enhanced educational experience. The primary objective of our residency training program is to provide
a broad-based clinical instruction in the detection and treatment of eye
disorders. The Department strives to instill in each resident it trains
a sense of compassion and integrity in his or her approach to patient
care. The entire process of diagnosis and treatment occurs under the close
supervision of the faculty. Our program's clinical emphasis is supplemented
by an ability to participate in research projects. A research project
is required of each resident during his or her training. The research
facilities of the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center and the Harkness
Eye Institute at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons,
as well as the facilities of New York Eye & Ear Infirmary are available
to the residents for research opportunities. FIRST YEAR OPHTHALMOLOGY RESIDENT. The first year residents spend most of their time in the ophthalmology clinic at the St. Luke's site. There, they see both general patients and also begin to assist the upper-class residents in the specialty clinics of the Department. During the month of January, they attend a basic science course at the Harkness Eye Institute of Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. First year residents take on-call responsibility alternating with the second year residents. First year residents are always on call with a senior resident and a supervising faculty member from the Department. First year residents perform some minor surgical procedures, such as chalazia. Any cases that go to the operating room must be supervised by a faculty member. SECOND YEAR OPHTHALMOLOGY RESIDENT. The second year residents devote
part of their year to mastering the principles and practice of pediatric
ophthalmology. Six months are spent participating in multiple clinic sessions
each week with pediatric patients. The second year residents perform all
inpatient pediatric consultations and premature-baby exams in the neonatal
intensive care unit. Second year residents also assist the senior residents
in the monthly Developmental Disabilities Clinic, where children with
varied developmental problems are presented and discussed from an ophthalmic
point of view. The second year residents perform surgical procedures such as strabismus surgery, enucleations and eviscerations, ptergia, and pan-retinal laser photocoagulations. All operations are performed with the supervision of a faculty member. THIRD YEAR OPHTHALMOLOGY RESIDENT. The senior residents have the responsibility of managing all difficult medical and surgical cases (with appropriate faculty supervision). All intraocular surgery is performed by the third year residents. These residents also perform orbital and oculoplastic surgery, scleral buckles and vitrectomies, and difficult laser procedures. The senior residents staff and supervise the general clinics, and are responsible for the proper functioning of all the specialty clinics. A third year resident is always on call to supervise and assist the junior resident on call. All residents are often required to present on a particular topic during
the specialty clinics. The residents are also responsible for organizing
some of the Department's Grand Rounds sessions, where they take turns
presenting cases of interest. These presentations give the residents valuable
experience in speaking before faculty members and fellow residents. The Ophthalmology Program has many strengths. We have a very strong teaching faculty. Most of our faculty members are fellowship trained at prestigious institutes: all are board certified. They are dedicated to residency training. The residents spend their full three years in each of the specialty clinics. Thus there are no long stretches of time where individuals are absent from patients of a particular discipline. Also, general clinic patients are often scheduled to return to the particular resident who provided the initial care. Both of these aspects of the program readily allow for a continuity of care which enhances the educational experience of each resident. Both general and specialty clinics are well supervised. Attendings are always present for case presentations. All surgery is done with the supervision of select faculty members. The Department feels that being a supervising faculty member is a privilege. Therefore only those faculty members who are best qualified to teach the residents surgery are asked to participate in this aspect of the program. Both the equipment and the facilities of the Department are complete. At every clinic session there is at least 1 examination lane per resident with all the necessary equipment required for state-of-the-art care. Both the St. Luke's and the Roosevelt sites house operating rooms fully equipped for ophthalmic surgery. We have the support of the Hospital Center in maintaining our instruments and our physical plant. The Hospital Center maintains a medical library with a large collection
of current ophthalmic text books and journals. Through an active inter-library
loan program, residents and faculty have ready access to an extensive
selection of additional journals and texts. Many formal teaching programs and conferences are available to our residents both at the Hospital Center and in the New York City area. Most of these are either free of charge, or the Department will often pay for those residents who attend. APPLYING TO THE PROGRAM We interview for two residency positions in mid November and early December. Please have applications complete by early November. If you have any further questions, please contact the Ophthalmology Department at 212-523-2562. Mailing address- |