Wills Eye Residency Program Curriculum - PGY2
Pre-Residency Course (3 weeks) – During this course, which takes place during your first three weeks at Wills, you will focus on learning introductory ophthalmology through both lectures and skills sessions, including a microsurgery course. We start with the assumption that you have little ophthalmic knowledge and build from there.
Wills ER Days (9 weeks) – Here you will routinely see a variety of ophthalmic pathologies, including acute, vision-threatening conditions such as ocular trauma endophthalmitis, retinal detachments, and optic neuritis. You will see a high clinical volume to the point where these relatively rare pathologies become routine care. You have 24/7 support from upper level residents, on-call fellows, ophthalmic nurses, front desk staff, and security.
Cataract and Primary Eye Care (8 weeks) – This is our general clinic where we spend most of our time. Visits include well-vision exams, routine glaucoma management, cataract evaluations, ER follow ups, and more. Important points to take home here:
- Full tech staff and you get your very own, recently renovated room
- The Academic Global Ophthalmology Fellow is your very own private mentor and will see and staff every patient with you
- Huge variety of rotating teaching attendings in addition to Wills staff physicians to diversify your education.
Cornea (5 weeks) – Here you will see a wide variety of anterior segment pathology including infectious and non-infectious ulcers, hereditary dystrophies, viral keratitis, complex surgical sign-ups, and more. You will participate in our multidisciplinary Pemphigoid Clinic (Cornea, Uveitis, and Oculoplastics) where we evaluate, diagnose, and treat some of ophthalmology’s most challenging cases of ocular surface disease. You will perform in-office procedures including corneal cultures, epithelial keratectomy with diamond burr, stromal micropuncture, and EDTA chelation.
Glaucoma (5 weeks) – At Wills, routine glaucoma is managed in our CPEC Clinic and patients are referred to Glaucoma if acute or surgical intervention is required. You will become adept at reading and interpreting OCTs and visual fields to monitor progression of glaucoma. On Fridays, you will have laser clinic where you perform anywhere from 8-14 Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) or Laser Peripheral Iridotomies (LPIs).
Neuro-Ophthalmology (6 weeks) – You will spend a significant amount of time learning the finer aspects of neuro-ophthalmology including learning how to per-form a detailed neuro-ophthalmic exam, and interpreting OCT and visual fields.
Oculoplastics (5 weeks) – Here you will see patients with external ocular disease, including orbital tumors, ptosis, ectropion, thyroid eye disease and more. You will learn to evaluate orbital imaging. In the OR, you work closely with Dr. Carrasco, Dr. Ramesh, Dr. Watson, and the ASOPRS fellow doing lid based procedures weekly. In addition to acting as the surgeon on many OR cases, you will also have the opportunity to do some in office procedures including injections, chalazion I+D’s, temporary and permanent tarsorrhaphies.
Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus (6 weeks) – In clinic, you will see a wide variety of pediatric pathology, from routine well exams to complex strabismus. You will be in the operating room doing strabismus surgery one to two days a week.
Ocular Oncology (1 week) – In oncology, you will spend time shadowing Dr. Carol Shields and the oncology team. This is the highest volume ocular oncology center in the world, and you will routinely see melanoma, nevus, metastasis, hemangioma, retinoblastoma, astrocytoma, lymphoma, squamous and basal cell carcinoma.
Ocular Pathology (3 weeks) – Half of a day on an entire rotation is dedicated to learning ophthalmic pathology with Drs. Ralph C. Eagle Jr. and Tatyana Milman. You will see the majority of cases that come through Wills during that 3 week period and start building your pathology knowledge base. This experience is a highlight!
Retina (3 weeks) – Initially you will start with didactic teaching rounds with Dr. William Benson, discussing retinal imaging and challenging cases to build your knowledge base. You will also begin seeing private patients with the Retina attendings.