NYC Cataract and Refractive job or fellowship

[Smelt]

Will be moving to NYC shortly after graduating residency out of state for family reasons, expect to be there 2-3 years. I am coming from a high volume cataract residency and interested in a career doing lots of cataracts, possibly some other refractive and anterior segment surgeries. Not interested in transplants as much since I imagine my career in private practice.

I have heard difficult things about the NYC job market (saturated, lower pay) including that fellowships may have lower volume as well. I am open to either getting a comp job or doing a fellowship - leaning more towards a fellowship now that I am looking at NYC. What are the best cornea/refractive fellowships around NYC? If your thoughts are that a fellowship isn't required for what I am looking for in a career, any advice on the job search?

Would love to get thoughts on the job market there or where to start! Thanks!

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[mjohnsonets]

Some of it will depend on where you live in NYC but you're correct generally. Large metros tend to produce less average surgical volume unless you have a special practice or have been there a very long time. It's likely the fellowships there would have lower volumes too although being I don't cover NYC directly, I'm not sure of all the fellowships there. There are certainly cornea fellowships at the academic institution but they would involve much more cornea than you're looking for. There don't appear to be any RSA fellowship sites in NYC but I'm sure there's an affiliated surgeon you could reach out to and ask: RSA Fellowship Network – Refractive Surgery Alliance Refractive Surgery Alliance Society – The Refractive Surgery Alliance is a professional organization and does not provide medical services or advice. Information provided here is obtained from a variety of sources and is provided for informational services, only.

With all metros, the further from the center you are, the easier practice building will be. I generally recommend fellowships for saturated markets. You understand the situation per your post.

As for help with jobs, feel free to contact my colleague Amory Ridgway: Amory Ridgway - ETS Vision

You can also search on the AAO or try to network with previous residents from yours if they're working in the area.