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Hey Ophtho applicants,
Columbia residents here! Our program has undergone a number of substantive changes in the past few years, so we thought we’d reach out in the medium we remember using as med students ourselves. Major changes include an increase from 3 to 4 residents per year with the addition of a new training hospital, an increase in cataract surgery volume, and the move to a new resident clinic space. In addition, a general program overview is outlined below – hope this updated information is helpful!
The writers of this post think our lives are awesome because we love our program. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions!
Columbia residents here! Our program has undergone a number of substantive changes in the past few years, so we thought we’d reach out in the medium we remember using as med students ourselves. Major changes include an increase from 3 to 4 residents per year with the addition of a new training hospital, an increase in cataract surgery volume, and the move to a new resident clinic space. In addition, a general program overview is outlined below – hope this updated information is helpful!
- Program culture: team-oriented mentality and dedicated teaching faculty
- Because the resident clinic is the core of our residency program experience, we work alongside each other every day. We adopt a team approach and abide by a “clinic is not over until everyone is done” mentality. As a result, we will help see each other’s patients which makes getting through the end of a busy clinic day so much more enjoyable!
- Residents’ voices matter: we have monthly chair meetings, program director meetings, and interdisciplinary meetings with our clinic nurses/techs/administrative staff to continually improve our educational experience and clinic workflow. Resident views have directly changed how our first year orientation month and buddy call is structured, the frequency and type of didactic lectures, and the setup of our new resident clinic.
- Dedication of our teaching faculty with a special shout-out to our chair, program director, associate program director, and resident clinic director (who really do mean everything to the program and to us!). Every January, these four attendings accompany all the residents on a weekend retreat to discuss ways to improve the program. In addition to team-building exercises, we always find time for group yoga, snowball fights, and games too!
- Resident independence: ownership over patient care
- Each resident is seen as the primary eye doctor/surgeon for their clinic patient rather than by proxy through an attending. Attendings are always available for supervision and guidance, but we take ownership over patient care and medical decision-making. This allows for greater independence within a structured and safe learning environment. In addition, surgical cases generated from our clinic patients are booked under the residents (even starting in first year!).
- Training sites: diversity in patient population and pathology
- Columbia University Medical Center: Main training facility in Washington Heights, Manhattan
- Resident clinic: largely Dominican Republic/Washington Heights patient population, many on Medicaid and NY state-sponsored health insurance plans. (Spanish is not a prerequisite – in fact, most of the current residents are not fluent in Spanish).
- Private attending clinics in Washington Heights and Midtown Manhattan: up to 25% of our time depending on the year of training. Great opportunity to work more closely with certain attendings spanning all subspecialties (including ocular oncology).
- Harlem Hospital: Newest addition to our training program in Harlem, Manhattan – which enabled the expansion from 3 to 4 residents per year.
- Patient population from Harlem and West Africa.
- No separation of resident or attending clinics - all cases generated from your own clinic patients are yours, but attendings will also let you be primary surgeon on many of their cases ranging from plastics to muscle surgery to cataracts.
- Addition of new site resulted in increased surgical volume, especially cataract and glaucoma cases.
- Columbia University Medical Center: Main training facility in Washington Heights, Manhattan
- Surgical experience: a NYC program does not mean low surgical volume!
- Cataract volume is on the rise: average went from ~125 five years ago to ~175 over the past two years.
- Dedicated Eye ORs with full-time ophthalmology focused anesthesia/support staff.
- Research: strongly encouraged and well funded
- Clinical and basic science opportunities in all subspecialties. Research is highly encouraged, with a stipend of $1,500 per oral/poster presentation at a conference.
- Recently, we’ve ranked #6 in NEI/NIH research money, and in a single calendar year, many of our residents have presented at 4 conferences per year.
- New facilities including resident clinic and ED
- Brand new (and beautiful!) resident clinic opened doors July 2017. Now we work in the best looking and newest space in all of Columbia University Medical Center.
- The Adult Emergency Room renovations were completed in Spring 2017 equipped with a dedicated eye room with slit lamp.
- Fellowship match for past several years
- 2017: Retina at Bascom Palmer, ASOPRS Plastics at UTSW, Cornea at NYEEI
- 2016: Retina at Columbia/VRM, Retina at Columbia, Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering / ASOPRS Plastics at Mass Eye and Ear
- 2015: Medical Retina at Bascom Palmer / Surgical Retina at Vancouver, Cornea at Cleveland Clinic, Cornea at Wilmer
- 2014: Retina at Columbia/VRM, Glaucoma at Bascom Palmer, ASOPRS Plastics at Mass Eye and Ear
The writers of this post think our lives are awesome because we love our program. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions!
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