San Antonio review course / Cataract surgery begins / Strong emphasis in oculoplastics and strabismus surgery / Expanding surgical involvement in retina, cornea and glaucoma
Four months of the second year are spent at the VAMC. The other 8 months are spent on subspecialty rotations at the main campus or accessory venues. Included are rotations in pediatric ophthalmology, oculoplastics/neuro-ophthalmology, retina, glaucoma, and cornea. Each of the subspecialty blocks takes place over a 1 month period.
While on the VAMC rotation our resident experience is focused broadly to further build upon knowledge and skills introduced in the first year of residency. As this is considered a separate participating institution, there is a modicum of independence granted to the faculty in that venue. Given this arrangement, the faculty at the VAMC independently govern their educational objectives with oversight from the main campus. VA faculty also participate in grand rounds, journal clubs, our annual meeting and lectures at MCG. Most of the VA faculty are represented on this website as adjunct professors. The months during second year at the VAMC serve as the entry point for cataract surgery training. In addition to medical and surgical management of the anterior segment there is considerable involvement with the VA retina clinic and oculoplastic surgery.
During this year residents take call every sixth night for eight months (September - April). There is no after hours call responsibility for this year in July and August. "Senior" call starts in May to get the second years prepared to closely supervise incoming first years in July of their senior year. This also allows the seniors to drop back out of the call schedule for the last couple of months of their residency. During this year our residents are given a week of off-campus leave to participate in an OKAP review course which is partially sponsored by the alumni association.
