Third year (PGY IV)

The third year provides extensive surgical training while reinforcing the ophthalmic fund of knowledge acquired in the first two years. Under faculty supervision, the resident performs a variety of surgery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. The PGYIV takes back-up calls and are responsible for any surgeries or complicated cases that present during non-clinical hours.

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

At UH Cleveland Medical Center, PGYIV residents rotate through the following subspecialties: oculoplastics, retina, and anterior segment. Clinically there is an emphasis on autonomy and exposure to a variety of ophthalmic diagnoses. Surgically, residents continue to develop skills and experience under the supervision of sub-specialty attendings.

• Anterior Segment III: Residents on this rotation work with cataract and cornea attendings and are exposed to a variety of surgical techniques. This rotation provides much of the surgical volume that residents get at UH, with the remainder coming from the VA. Also included in this rotation is experience with corneal transplants, and other complex anterior segment surgeries. During this rotation, residents also work with a high volume refractive surgeon and are able to observe LASIK and other refractive procedures.
• Plastics III: Residents will work with our ASOPRS trained attending in clinic and the operating room and are given increased surgical autonomy to assist with both functional and cosmetic procedures. During this rotation, the resident also has the opportunity to work with a private practice ASOPRS trained physician, a great demonstration of different practice settings.
• Retina III: During this rotation, residents work with our different retina faculty to gain experience with retina procedures in clinic and the operating room. Emphasis is placed on thorough retinal examination skills and understanding of both common and complex diagnoses.

Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center

There are two PGYIV residents at the VA leading two teams of residents: Red and Blue team. Each team operates 2 times a week.

The three VA rotations offer supervised autonomy with increasing surgical responsibilities in preparation for more complicated resident cases. The time spent at the VA allows for the development of doctor patient relationships, continuity of care especially in the post-operative period, and the opportunity to teach junior residents as part of a cohesive team. The senior residents role at the VA is primarily surgical while also incorporating clinical duties in post operative and sub-specialty clinics.