Transitional Year (PG-1)

Starting in July, 2021, Brown Ophthalmology will be a fully integrated residency, meaning each resident will do the PG-1 year here in our Department of Medicine. During the course of this year, residents will do three months of ophthalmology elective with us, where they will have the opportunity to regain exam skills and begin the transition to ophthalmology residency.

First Year of Ophthalmology Residency (PG-2)

The first year of training for the residents is all encompassing regarding the subspecialties within Ophthalmology. Residents will rotate through the general and subspecialty services in both the LPG Ophthalmology clinics and at the VA Eye clinic. After the first six months, the first year residents will manage the consultation service for Rhode Island, Hasbro, and Women & Infants Hospitals, with a designated resident each week taking these responsibilities.  They will continue to manage the inpatient consult service for the first 6 months of their PG-3 year. Every week one first year resident will also be involved with OR cases, mostly in Oculoplastics but also in each other subspecialty with the Chief of the department. First year residents take most of the primary call and weekend calls amongst themselves.

Second Year of Ophthalmology Residency (PG-3)

The second year of training is broken down into block rotations at the VA Eye Clinic, and the LPG urgent care and specialty clinics.  Second year residents are also more regularly integrated in the OR in cases spanning all of the sub specialties. They are allotted time to attend the annual American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Advocacy meeting in April in Washington, DC. Second year residents manage the consult service from July through December. They take primary call at a significantly lesser frequency both on weekdays and on weekends to allow for exploration of career interests and boards preparation.

Third Year of Ophthalmology Residency (PG-4)

Third year residents primarily participate in extensive OR training in each sub-specialty in the LPG clinics and the VA Eye Clinic/Hospital. Among rotations that are a few months at a time, one resident will primarily be at LPG, one will primarily be at the VA, and one will have split time at both. Each resident alternates Chief Resident responsibilities and tasks. Third year residents also participate in clinics at both sites and provide back up call for the year. Each third year resident will also attend the annual AAO meeting that year, sponsored by the program.

Post-Call Days

Of note, a post call day has been implemented to allow residents time to participate in additional operative cases, prepare for Boards, and to advance their clinical skills in the areas they need most. This time has also been used to work with the surgical simulator. Most importantly, it offers balance in one of the busiest emergency departments in the country and cultivates the opportunity to succeed both clinically and academically.

Board Preparation

Every Tuesday morning from 7-10 AM are scheduled lectures in each subspecialty managed by their respective attending physicians throughout the year. There are also monthly journal club events, Grand Rounds, and M&M lectures. The program provides printed sets of the BCSC series and Wills Eye Manual to each of the incoming residents. 

Research

The Department supports residents in their endeavors and encourages them. For those interested in research, the program provides an allotted budget for each conference a resident has been accepted to attend as a presenting author. Our residents have recently attended and continue to attend several international and national events that are highly regarded within ophthalmology, including but not limited to, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS), the World Ophthalmology Conference (WOC), American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), and the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS). Residents may also have the opportunity to make the daytrip to Boston to attend the New England Ophthalmological Society (NEOS) meetings.