University of Colorado

[Andrew_Doan]

Ophthalmology Residency Program Compendium Table of Contents

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
1675 Ursula Street, Mailstop F731
PO Box 6510
Aurora, Colorado 80045

http://uchsc.edu/ophthalmology/

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[Andrew_Doan]

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I think this is a good idea. Denver- I'm still not sure what to think of it. The place is beautiful and it is on the way up (see other posts). I wasn't convinced that the residents were really happy there, though they didn't say anything bad about it. I guess they just weren't as positive as many I've talked with at other programs. I've heard a lot of mixed reviews from others on the program there. Right after my visit, I thought that it was a good program, now some time has passed and I'm not sure what to think. I would say that the quality they may have now is something new for them, which makes it a little more risky than a more established program. The question for me is whether I'm liking it more b/c I want to like a program in that location or it is a solid program.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

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Denver - Denver is awesome, but the actual eye center is a bit out of the way; surgical volume is okay (~100 cataracts and rising) with good autonomy; with all the new, young faculty, it could be an awesome place to train, but the fellowship-bound may be taking a risk since everyone is so new; overall - not the brightest light in the harbor, but will provide a sound clinical experience - and you'll have a good time doing it too.

 

[iamsleepy]

Everything seemed pretty good about this program until i got a bit of a red flag feeling during the tour - someone mentioned that they were not given any eyes for their wet lab - they have to buy pig eyes or buy things like chicken breast and practice with that. When I asked whether there were any plans about getting human eyes from a different source, he said they've already talked to the faculty and no, there are no plans at this point.

Are there a lot of programs out there like this? To what extent should small things like the availability of human eyes for wet labs matter? (And i'm hoping it doesn't reflect on anything else in the program).

I had thought it was pretty important to get human eyes to practice on, but I've also heard that once u start at the VA as a senior, the true learning is at that point. any opinions?

 

[7ontheline]

Eh, there's only so much you can learn in the wet lab anyway. IMO the skills you can learn in wet lab include becoming comfortable with the scope, learning to use both hands properly, and things like tying sutures. I think the difference between human and pig eyes here is pretty minimal. Living tissue feels so different anyway. Besides, I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of human eyes had IOLs already anyway.

 

[randomdude00]

Colorado seemed to be a good program. They have a county, VA, childrens, and university hospital. Driving to each isn't that big of a deal. The childrens is going to be at the same place as the university, so when you're on call you will cover 2 hospitals that are close to one another. They get good surgical numbers. The faculty is young but nice, and seemed to be pretty good. You have some very academic types but also clinical types. You can do alot of research if you want to. Denver is a great city. They have brand new clinics which are nice.

 

[MAYOphtho]

Pros: Definately a program on the rise. Surgical numbers are good. Faculty is VERY approachable. Facilities are beautiful. Excellent ancillary staff. Those that choose to do fellowships seem to get very good ones. From what I recall on interview day, Wilmer and Jules Stein are just some of the places their grads have gone. Get to work at one of the best pediatric hospitals in the country for some of the peds ophtho. Beautiful city of Denver. Great night life. Amazing skiing/snowboarding.

Cons: Smaller faculty. Eye bank is not as easily accessible as I was hoping for. The actual city in which the RMLE is located is less than beautiful, but I never felt worried at any point while I was interviewing. In fact, that's what they told me was a con...but I still thought the city in which the RMLE was located was quite pretty.

All in all, I think this is an outstanding program that really will prepare you to be a very good Ophthalmologist.

 

[OphthoApplicant04]

Would any recent residents mind commenting on Colorado these days? Thanks!

 

[gobadgers18]

Can anyone who has rotated/interviewed at or is otherwise familiar with Colorado's program provide any insight?

 

[iDoc23]

Any recent applicants and/or residents mind commenting on this program?

 

[EyeBallSoHard]

From my experiences during my rotation there:

The University of Colorado has been a strong program, and it is getting even better from what I can tell.

Faculty: They have a new program director that has a good reputation for managing the program and being very kind to the residents. The department is growing steadily with some recent new docs from great programs (Cleveland clinic, etc.). They have some strong leaders in their fields including Dr. Oliver in Retina/Ocular Oncology/Pediatric Retina, Dr. Palestine in Uveitis, Dr. Kahook in glaucoma, and Dr. Bennett and Subramanian in Neuro-ophtho. Clinical and basic science research projects are easily available to residents. There are weekly didactics that faculty and higher level residents teach, and they were very informative.

Culture: Non-malignant and resident focused. Residents do not have to compete with other residents or fellows for cases. Many faculty are comfortable being called by their first name which is a testament to the more relaxed culture there.

Facilities: The hospitals covered by the program include a county hospital, children's hospital, university eye center, and a new VA that is opening close to the main campus. This seems to give the residents a well-rounded experience. The county clinic is pretty far from the main campus, but I heard that there is a separate resident on call to cover it so travel while on call doesn't seem bad. All of the buildings and equipment are new and updated (minus the county clinic which still has good equipment). The wet lab at their facility is larger and more equipped than any program that I have seen so far.

Numbers: I don't remember the surgical case numbers exactly, but cataracts were in the 220's. I remember all of the other case numbers being well above the national average.

Fellowship: I have heard they match well, and many residents stay at the university of colorado for fellowship. They just matched someone at Alabama for retina (one of the top programs) and another person at Tufts for glaucoma. I'm sure that they will give more info on this at their interview days.

Denver: Really awesome city to live in. You can do pretty much anything you want in Denver or by driving out to the mountains (about an hour drive west from campus will have you in a mountain town with ski slopes nearby).

Cons: The PGY-2 residents keep busy with their call schedule (I can't remember the exact schedule). I have heard that they are one of the busier programs around but the work seems to be front loaded to the PGY-2 year.

I plan to rank this program highly so I'm a bit biased. If you need any other info, I'll try to help.