VitreoRetinal Surgery, PA - 2 year surgical retina fellowship

[VRSFellow]

Hello VR surgery applicants! Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

I want to take a moment to tell you all about an amazing 2-year surgical retina fellowship opportunity based out of Minneapolis, MN. VitreoRetinal Surgery, PA (VRS) started a surgical retina fellowship in July 2017 and will continue accepting one fellow per year. I am the current 1st year fellow and have been so impressed with the practice and the new fellowship! This is a retina-only practice with a wide regional referral network and 11 fellowship-trained VR physicians. These doctors have trained at the top VR programs across the country.

I have been heavily integrated into the OR experience during my first month. I have been involved in >75 procedures and I am already logging many PPVs and scleral buckles as the primary surgeon. I anticipate about 800-1000 cases as primary surgeon with exposure to about 2000 cases by the end of the fellowship. Buckling exposure is excellent and I anticipate involvement in >100 primary buckles over 2 years.

The clinics are incredibly efficient due to a great EMR and fantastic support staff. A community clinic will be run with supported autonomy by the fellows 1-2 days per week. There are opportunities to teach residents at the local VA and County Hospitals. Peds/ROP exposure is excellent. Call is Q2 Friday-Sunday with a faculty member serving as your "back-up." They are present for all on-call surgeries until autonomy is granted (Likely sometime in your final ~6 months).

This fellowship is a "hybrid" fellowship that is not associated with a medical school or academic institution. Research opportunities are abundant and the attendings are incredibly active in literature and societies. If you have research accepted to a meeting, travel expenses are paid for by the practice. A top goal of the fellowship is to train future leaders in the the field.

Please check out our website and/or PM me with any questions. We look forward to receiving your application and I'm looking forward to having an amazing fellow join me in Minneapolis next July!

https://www.vrssurgery.com/vitreo-retinal-surgery-foundation/

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[VikingFavre]

This seems like a fantastic opportunity. The volume makes this one of the small handful of busiest programs in the country. Will personally vouch having met Will Parke and David Almeida that this group seems very clinically and academically strong.

 

[MstaKing10]

I did a "hybrid" fellowship and feel this is the best of all worlds. Seems that this fellowship is strong. Keep us posted on your progress

 

[VRSFellow]

Thank you both for the comments!

 

[DrZeke]

which hybrid fellowship did you do? You can PM me if you don't want to disclose publicly. Or can you make recommendations for hybrids that are solid?

 

[ophtho838]

which hybrid fellowship did you do? You can PM me if you don't want to disclose publicly. Or can you make recommendations for hybrids that are solid?

I second this. Definitely would be nice to hear a list of strong hybrids

 

[DopaDO]

I did a "hybrid" fellowship and feel this is the best of all worlds. Seems that this fellowship is strong. Keep us posted on your progress

Would also appreciate a PM with list of hybrids.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

[MstaKing10]

Off the top of my head:

Rush in Chicago
Retina Group of Washington
Cincinnati Eye Institute/U of Cincinnati
ARC in Phoenix
Washington U (St Louis prior to split)

 

[Whoa It's Peter]

Rush/Illinois Retina Associates
Retina Group of Washington
Cincinnati Eye Institute/U of Cincinnati
ARC in Phoenix - these guys technically aren't affiliated with a medical school. Maybe they do some clinic at University of Arizona phoenix?
Retina Consultants of St. Louis - back when they were joined up with Wash U to form Barnes Jewish Retina it was considered a hybrid. I'm not sure if technically they are anymore now that they separated
University of Kentucky/Retinal Consultants of Kentucky
Retinal Consultants of Arizona/USC Roski Eye
Retinal Consultants/Retinal Specialists/University of Alabama Birmingham
Columbia/Vitreoretinal Specialists
Tufts/New England Eye
Wills Eye/Mid-Atlantic Retina
Beaumont/Associated Retinal Consultants
Albany/Retina Consultants
Charles Retina/University of Tennessee
West Coast Retina/CPMC

i'm sure i can think of more later

 

[Ilovewater]

Sorry to hijack the thread from VRS. Is Retina & Vitreous in Texas (Houston) a hybrid or just solely private? Does anyone have an opinion on RVT?

 

[ophtho838]

can anyone elaborate on the pros/cons of hybrids vs academic vs private? From what I understand hybrids are nicer than solely private because their academic affiliation gives them a little more clout (you know you won't be just a tech or doing scutwork).

 

[Whoa It's Peter]

i think it's important in this thread to actually define "hybrid". do you mean a private group that also does retina clinics in conjunction with residents and the rest of the faculty at an academic setting [as in, they ARE the retina faculty at the university]? (Wills, Albany, Rush, Kentucky, etc.) A private group that sees some patients in an academic clinic along with residents alongside university-hired retina faculty? (VRS) Or a private group that does its own thing but has a relationship with an academic center so residents can come join them in clinic and in the OR? (Retina Institute of St. Louis, Associated Retinal Consultants - Phoenix, etc.)

It may all be semantics, but if you think about fellowship training in these situations it could mean a big difference in your experience.

I'm curious what the SDN community thinks

 

[MstaKing10]

Lines are really blurring between purely academic and purely private practice. Some of the more private fellowships may argue that they are just as academic (involved in research, studies etc) without the red tape of the more pure academic centers. Also fellows may spend more time plugging along in a university clinic along side residents in one fellowship vs churning through tons of patients at a private clinic more one on one with faculty. Same with surgery. Ultimately you need a mix of the two, but I was able to perform much more volume of cases at a private ASC and see tons more patients at an efficiently run private clinic vs the university or VA based clinic and OR. But I am happy I got to experience both.

 

[DrZeke]

This is a great thread. Love to hear more thoughts and opinions. Here's a few thoughts and questions I have:

1) does training at a hybrid or private practice with academic minded people limit your ability to enter back into academics - like what if you aren't sure if you want to work at a university vs. A private practice? Does it close doors to train private? Per several people I see in university programs, it seems it does not. Any thoughts?

2) there are training programs that are anecdotal and their are training programs that are very evidence based that go to great lengths to stay abreast to new practice patterns and adopt them. I feel like most of the aforementioned practices are very "academic-minded" in that way.
Can anyone comment about the fellows opportunity for discussion with faculty, review of literature, journal clubs, grand rounds in a private practice?

I'm assuming these practices continue many of these activities even if they aren't university affiliated.




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[MstaKing10]

This is a great thread. Love to hear more thoughts and opinions. Here's a few thoughts and questions I have:

1) does training at a hybrid or private practice with academic minded people limit your ability to enter back into academics - like what if you aren't sure if you want to work at a university vs. A private practice? Does it close doors to train private? Per several people I see in university programs, it seems it does not. Any thoughts?

2) there are training programs that are anecdotal and their are training programs that are very evidence based that go to great lengths to stay abreast to new practice patterns and adopt them. I feel like most of the aforementioned practices are very "academic-minded" in that way.
Can anyone comment about the fellows opportunity for discussion with faculty, review of literature, journal clubs, grand rounds in a private practice?

I'm assuming these practices continue many of these activities even if they aren't university affiliated.




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1. I think you are correct to assume that in some academic centers your pedigree also needs to be academic to be hired as faculty or for promotion. This is not true across the board of course.

2. There is ample opportunity for discussion at most private practices in this regard. Clinical (not bench) research can be easier to do in private practice due to better ancillary staff and financial support. Having an academic presence is fantastic to interact with residents, other faculty and in research and grand rounds. Purely private fellowships may be limited in this regard.