Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

[Andrew_Doan]

Ophthalmology Residency Program Compendium Table of Contents

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Program
243 Charles Street
Department of Ophthalmology
Boston, Massachusetts 02114

http://www.meei.harvard.edu

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[Andrew_Doan]

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MEEI - people are pretty polar when it comes to Boston - either you love it or you hate it; good surgical volume - despite the rumors (120 cataracts) with average autonomy; a great place for self-motivated, creative residents who can handle a few projects at once; overall - academic powerhouse with good clinical experience (and one of my personal favorites).

 

[JimBeezie]

I interviewed at MEEI in 2006.

Pros: Great research, lots of well-respected faculty who really seemed to value education, get to see lots of pathology in the free-standing eye ER, Harvard name

Cons: Surgical numbers on the lower end, some residents seemed overworked, Harvard attitude (although I have been used to that for some time now), Boston is expensive, VA is far

 

[MEEI Res]

Hi, I'm a senior resident at Mass Eye and Ear. Occasional poster, but made a new user name for this purpose. We've been getting a reputation on SDN and elsewhere as an academic program (true), with low surgical volume (false). This is not an accurate portrayal of the current program, and I wanted to provide what it's really like at MEEI. Will double post in the Top 20 and Program Compendium threads.

Many curriculum changes and new faculty hires have significantly boosted our surgical volume. We do 150-200 cataracts as primary surgeon, which is great for a highly academic program. We start intraocular surgery as 1st/2nd years in a structured phaco curriculum. The numbers are improving every year. It's still October and I'm at 140, with a projected 200+. Our numbers in other subspecialties are solid too, with > 90th percentile in open globes, 100-150 oculoplastics, etc.

We cover the Boston VA (with BU), the Maine VA, BWH, BI, Children's (with BU), and MGH. We have a wide referral base which allows us to treat the most complex of cases. The above numbers do not include the small incision cataract surgery we learn at Aravind as senior residents.

We're a clinically and surgically strong program, while maintaining our academic roots, and have a good balance between autonomy in our ED/VAs/affiliate hospitals, and guidance from our MEEI attendings. Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

[RestoreSight]

Hi, I'm a senior resident at Mass Eye and Ear. Occasional poster, but made a new user name for this purpose. We've been getting a reputation on SDN and elsewhere as an academic program (true), with low surgical volume (false). This is not an accurate portrayal of the current program, and I wanted to provide what it's really like at MEEI. Will double post in the Top 20 and Program Compendium threads.

Many curriculum changes and new faculty hires have significantly boosted our surgical volume. We do 150-200 cataracts as primary surgeon, which is great for a highly academic program. We start intraocular surgery as 1st/2nd years in a structured phaco curriculum. The numbers are improving every year. It's still October and I'm at 140, with a projected 200+. Our numbers in other subspecialties are solid too, with > 90th percentile in open globes, 100-150 oculoplastics, etc.

We cover the Boston VA (with BU), the Maine VA, BWH, BI, Children's (with BU), and MGH. We have a wide referral base which allows us to treat the most complex of cases. The above numbers do not include the small incision cataract surgery we learn at Aravind as senior residents.

We're a clinically and surgically strong program, while maintaining our academic roots, and have a good balance between autonomy in our ED/VAs/affiliate hospitals, and guidance from our MEEI attendings. Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

No one disputes MEEI is a great institution. Academic center, leading program in a great city, well known faculty. I rotated at MEEI and was impressed with the faculty. MEEI needs no defense. The ophtho ER is unique and a gift for resident education. I think the data shows >160 cataracts is the magic number for cataracts. Beyond that complications and such don't dramatically decrease. If you are doing more than 200 thats great, but may not be entirely necessary.