Hello , I am an IMG aiming for an Ophthalmology residency .I am hoping to match at least for a preliminary year , this year.Do all Ophthalmology programs accept a General surgery preliminary year? What are other PGY1 options?
The requirement is 6 months of patient contact. So the prelim year can be in general surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, family medicine, an so on.
From www.acgme.org
"All applicants entering ophthalmology training programs must have taken
a post-graduate clinical year (PGY-1) in a program accredited by either
Ophthalmology the ACGME or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
The PGY-1 year must include training in which the resident has primary
responsibility for patient care in fields such as internal medicine,
neurology, pediatrics, surgery, family medicine, or emergency medicine.
At minimum, six months of this year must be a broad experience in direct
patient care."
So, internal medicine, general surgery, and transitional programs are the most common. If you plan on doing the others, then you should contact programs you are interested in to make sure it is ok.