Ophthalmology & Visual Science

The clinical curriculum consists of staffing the Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) within the University of Kentucky Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. The resident is the primary eye care provider for all patients presenting to the Department of Ophthalmology for acute care. Patients present as ìwalk-insî, telephone triage patients that were advised to be seen urgently, consults/referrals from other providers within the University of Kentucky Medical Center, and outside providers referring patients to our clinic. Close supervision by the program director and UCC faculty within the first three months of the residency gives way to more autonomy as the resident progresses. The resident evaluates all UCC patients and obtains consultation as necessary from faculty and subspecialists within the department. In addition, the resident is provided a schedule template in order to appoint follow-up evaluations of patients seen in the UCC. This enables the resident to receive first -hand experience in the assessment of a wide variety of ocular disease and immediate consultation with the appropriate subspecialists as necessary, as well as continuity of care as the resident is allowed to evaluate the success of recommended treatment at follow-up examinations. The resident also staffs our Lions Eye Club clinic, a primary eye care clinic provided for eligible recipients unable to afford routine care. In this clinic the resident and optometric interns provide comprehensive examinations and coordinate ancillary testing independently. As always, UK faculty members are available for consultation if necessary. University of Kentucky Medical Center policy does not allow patients to be billed for services performed by residents, therefore the resident must present all cases to the supervising faculty for review. The faculty is responsible for final assessments of the patients and indicates agreement with the resident evaluation and/or any edits to the assessment or plan in the medical record. The resident receives instant feedback on his/her assessment and plan in this way. A typical weekly schedule is as follows:

Didactic/scholarly activities include attendance of weekly fluorescein angiography conference, grand rounds, and other lectures as provided by faculty members in their respective specialties throughout the year presented by the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences as part of the ophthalmologic residency curriculum. In addition, weekly optometric intern conferences are held (when students are present) during which the resident presents lectures or case reports and supervises the optometric intern journal club sessions. A publication quality paper in the form of a case report, research, or clinical topic is due at the completion of the residency.