Resident Education

Didactic Lectures and Basic and Clinical Science Course

Didactic lectures are given every Wednesday morning for a four hour block that includes Grand Rounds. Lectures span all subspecialties given in blocks (cornea, retina, etc.) with the goal of covering a wide range of topics in preparation for the Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment (OKAP) exam and ultimately the American Board of Ophthalmology written and oral examinations.

Review of the Basic and Clinical Science Course is attended by all residents on a weekly basis after clinical hours. The review is concurrent to the block didactic lectures in order to reinforce and provide greater depth to that specialty area. Here, the residents review the entire Basic and Clinical Science Course developed by the American Academy of Ophthalmology with ample time for independent studying prior to the OKAP. The Basic and Clinical Science Course review sessions are led by a senior resident level and a full time faculty member. This review course is completed one month prior to the OKAP enabling the academic chief and faculty to conduct focused OKAP review sessions prior to the exam.

Also, the Academic Chief Resident provides an “Ophthalmology Unknowns” conference every Wednesday morning to develop skills necessary for the oral boards while expanding the fund of knowledge of the residents. Senior residents also conduct monthly OKAP review sessions on topics covered that month in the Basic and Clinical Science Course.

Additional Educational Events

Second year residents are sent to the Wills Eye Board Review Course or comparable review course, and timed to occur prior to the OKAP examination each year. Chief residents attend either the annual Academy of American Ophthalmology conference or another major conference of their choice (CLAO, ASCRS, ASOPRS, APOS, AGS, ASRS) as well as a surgical wet lab course in Ft. Worth, Texas focusing on phacoemulsification. Any resident presenting a paper or poster as first author at a major national conference (e.g. ARVO, ASCRS, AAO) receive departmental support.

There are also community outreach programs the residents are invited to participate in, such as Prevent Blindness Ohio vision screenings, an Annual MedWorks Cleveland vision screening, and the Cleveland Free Clinic monthly eye clinic in conjunction with medical students from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Ophthalmology Interest Group and undergraduate students from the Case for Sight group.

Education Conferences

In addition to the resident didactic lectures, there are other scheduled conferences on fluorescein angiography, ethics, cornea, journal clubs, and neuro-ophthalmology. The Eye Institute is now conducting four major CME meetings including an oculoplastics symposium featuring the Levine lectureship, a pediatric ophthalmology symposium featuring the Bruner lectureship, a comprehensive ophthalmology symposium featuring the Purnell lecture and the Purnell visiting lecturer participates in the two day Visual Sciences Research Center (VSRC) symposium. At the VSRC Symposium the best resident research project is awarded a cash prize. Finally, all the area residents and ophthalmologists convene for the Cleveland Ophthalmological Society (COS) quarterly conference covering all the specialty areas, including the department-sponsored Lorand Johnson Lecture for the spring meeting. This conference is attended by the majority of ophthalmologists in northeast Ohio with active participation from the CWRU and Cleveland Clinic faculty as well as ophthalmologists from the community.

Additionally, there are seven Joint Conferences for the UH Eye Institute and Cleveland Clinic faculty and residents. These conferences cover all major subspecialties and feature in-depth discussions of major studies, treatment and management, and the latest research.

Grand Rounds

Residents, faculty, and community ophthalmologists attend weekly Grand Rounds every Wednesday morning from 8 to 9 a.m. from September to June. Grand Rounds speakers are drawn from the local, regional, and national ophthalmology scene. Residents also participate in Grand Rounds, presenting interesting cases from UH and the VA. Over the course of the year, there is a comprehensive review of topics in all the clinical specialties and cutting edge research.

Microsurgical Curriculum—EyeSi Simulator and Wet Lab

The newly renovated microsurgical wet lab at University Hospitals and purchase of the EyeSi eye surgical simulator at the VA has enabled the development of a comprehensive microsurgical curriculum. The simulator located conveniently in the expanded clinic at the VA with readily available access has four microsurgical modules provided for residents to complete, with one being completed every six months. Each module has progressively more complex microsurgical information, skills, and techniques for mastery. Concurrently, an EyeSi curriculum allows residents to hone their intraocular skills at their own pace in preparation for intraocular surgery.

In conjunction with the virtual simulator, the residents must complete a didactic surgical curriculum. There are six wetlab sessions incorporated into the formal didactic training and the residents are expected to complete assignments following these sessions to demonstrate surgical competency. A faculty member evaluates these assignments and feedback is given to the resident regarding their performance. The six sessions cover:

• Laser surgery
• Phacoemulsification
• Planned extracapsular cataract surgery
• Laser surgery
• Refractive surgery
• Strabismus surgery
• Suturing