The curriculum is well-rounded and follows the curriculum guidelines, as set forth by the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) and the ACGME. This program provides a stable, well-coordinated and progressive educational experience in the entire spectrum of ophthalmic diseases and ocular surgery. Residents in ophthalmology develop diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical skills, as well as sound judgment in the application of such skills; thereby providing a base for a comprehensive ophthalmic practice.

There is a rigorous daily didactic schedule with lectures and conferences with faculty. In addition to clinical science topics, the didactic schedule includes practice management, research management, morbidity and mortality conference, journal club and basic science conference. There is protected time for daily conferences, lectures and grand rounds, which are mandatory for all residents. A sample of the conference schedule is provided.

The research curriculum includes focused interactive discussion on planning research studies, IRB, collection of data, biostatistics and statistical analyses, data management and interpretation of data, preparing presentations/posters for meetings and manuscript preparation and publication. The institution provides biostatistical support for consultation.

Ophthalmology residents are involved in didactic and clinical teaching of the rotating internal medicine residents and medical students. All PGY-2 residents participate in the institution-wide "residents as teachers" mandatory course to improve their teaching skills. The department also facilitates a novel “residents as educators” program for PGY-2 residents. Residents are involved in formal teaching of all technicians in the department.

Residents are encouraged to participate in local community and public health activities organized by UF Health Jacksonville and local charity organizations.

In compliance with the duty hours standards put forth by the ACGME, each resident will work no more than 80 hours per week, on average and have one day off in seven that will be free of all duties. All residents take calls from home and each resident is on-call every fourth day. There is close and direct faculty supervision for all medical and surgical patient care. In addition, care of emergency patients is discussed with the faculty on call.

Facilities

UF Health Jacksonville

UF Health Jacksonville is the leading teaching hospital in the region and currently trains over 300 residents and fellows, as well as UF medical students, in various disciplines. UF faculty physicians practice at the 695-bed facility. Over 100,000 patients are seen on an annual basis in the Emergency Department and over 11,000 surgical procedures are performed each year. UF Health Jacksonville serves a population of approximately 1.5 million.

UF Health Jacksonville has primary care satellite centers throughout the region that refer patients to the department of ophthalmology. Local ophthalmologists and optometrists also refer patients for care, as does the Veterans Administration Clinic, located within a block of our building. All of these referral sources provide a substantial volume of patients. On average, the ophthalmology clinic has more than 25,000 patient visits, including over 10,000 comprehensive ophthalmology visits per year.

The major portion of residency training takes place at the sponsoring institution in UF Health Jacksonville facilities within one building. We are located on three floors of Tower II at UF Health Jacksonville. There are a total of 24 eye examination lanes, used by technicians, residents and faculty. All diagnostic and therapeutic instrumentation are housed in the specialty clinics and include perimetry (Humphrey, Goldmann and microperimetry), OCT (Spectralis including OCT-A and SS-OCT), fundus photography (Optos) and digital angiography, ultrasound, electrophysiological testing, lasers (YAG, SLT and diode) and other specialized testing instrumentation.

Four ophthalmology-designated operating rooms with state-of-the-art equipment and technology are located on the second floor of the same building, adjacent to the specialty clinics.

Optical Shop

The Optical Shop is located on the first floor of the UF Health Jacksonville Towers. It offers a variety of refractive services, including eyeglass examinations and standard or specialty contact lens fitting. It also offers the latest in lens technology (progressive lenses, transition lenses, polarized lenses, specialty computer lenses, tinted lenses, anti-reflective coatings and scratch resistant coatings). Our staff gives each patient a personal consultation to determine the best products for their lifestyle and we keep a variety of eyewear in stock to serve all budgetary needs. Low vision services are also available for our patients and the residents participate in this clinic.

Outside rotations include a full 2-month rotation in the second year of training at Nemours Children's Health, Jacksonville (about 4 miles from UF Health) for pediatric ophthalmology, staffed by four pediatric ophthalmologists and one pediatric optometrist. Residents receive training in refractive surgery at the Naval Air Station Hospital, Jacksonville (about 11 miles from UF), going there two days a week for about 8 – 9 weeks during the cornea rotation in their second year of training.

Research

The Department of Ophthalmology provides a fully-equipped ophthalmology research lab. Facilities are available to all residents and fellows for basic and translational research. There is one full-time ophthalmology research faculty solely responsible for the lab activities.

The department is also the site for several national trials for diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and retinitis pigmentosa. A research team is comprised of clinical and research retina fellows, research coordinators, and photographers. The faculty members serve as principal and co-investigators responsible for the research projects. Residents are encouraged to actively participate in the trials.

It is mandatory for each resident to complete at least one IRB-approved research project culminating in a presentation at a meeting and a manuscript to an indexed ophthalmic journal. The projects are pursued under the guidance of the faculty. The resident is responsible for the planning, collection of data, analysis, and completion of the manuscript. Dedicated research faculty and staff assist in these activities. Clinical and research faculty are always available to mentor residents. There is protected time for research during the second year of residency. The department sends residents to national and international meetings if their abstracts are accepted.

Please see the list of recent publications, presentations, chapters and books from faculty and residents.