Ophthalmology Residency

It is our aim to present through these pages a description of our residency program. We are a mid-sized, closely connected program in downtown Augusta, Georgia. Our educational mission is to provide resident physicians with a broad scope of medical and surgical experience that will prepare them to immediately enter comprehensive practice or embark upon fellowship training if they so choose.

We have two main and two accessory sites where the educational mission is carried out. The first main site is within the Augusta University Hospital of the Medical College of Georgia (MCG).  The second is the VA medical center which is located directly adjacent to Augusta University Hospital and is connected by a walkway. The connector between these facilitates easy interaction between the two campuses. The bulk of residency training occurs at these two sites.Other training is provided at ancillary sites.  West Wheeler site is about 15 minutes away, as well, and is closer to the growing West Augusta community. This location is staffed by MCG core faculty and residents will rotate in pediatrics, oculoplastics, retina, and cornea in that facility. The final site is the Augusta State Medical Prison (ASMP). A subsidiary of Augusta University holds a contract with Georgia Department of Corrections to provide care throughout the Georgia state prisons. ASMP is located twenty to twenty-five minutes from our main campus and acts as a prison health care hub for the state. A Centurion phaco platform is available in the OR and we have 2 lanes in the adjacent clinic. This clinic is fitted with Spectralis OCT, HVF, corneal topography, and IOL Master and a B-scan. There is also a laser that delivers YAG energy as well as green spectrum photocoagulation. The pathology that can be seen in this venue is particularly rich and the boost in cataract surgery has been a boon to the residency since 2007. There have been no ophthalmology related security incidents throughout this time. Our policies do allow a resident to opt out of this experience, however, that is exceedingly uncommon.  This practice site has generally been well received by our residents and staff who report a favorable experience.

Our residents currently rotate through all subspecialty clinics in 1 month blocks and spend 2 month blocks of time at the Charlie Norwood VAMC.

Evaluations of the resident's performance are completed twice annually. The results are compiled and reviewed with each resident by the program director or assistant program director. In the spring of each year, all residents participate in the Ophthalmology Knowledge Assessment Program (OKAP) in-training examination.

Didactic lectures are scheduled in the morning or evenings throughout the week. In general, there are no weekend lectures.  There is a micro-surgical wet lab and associated formal teaching course taught by the faculty and senior residents to introduce the first year residents to skills required to operate under a microscope. The first years are required to attend our wetlab sessions and complete courses on the EyeSi surgical simulator. Certain benchmarks must be met to proceed with surgery in the OR.