The Ophthalmology Residency Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas comprises one of the best training programs available. It provides an excellent base for a general practice, subspecialty practice, or academic career; and our residents are effective competitors for the best ophthalmology fellowships. The volume of surgery and clinical pathology ranks among the top in the country.
We participate in the Ophthalmology Matching Program and accept nine residents each year. An internship is required prior to residency.
Residency education: We strive to provide the best ophthalmic education possible. Didactic lectures presented by our full-time and clinical faculty cover all the basic science and clinical topics, as well as lectures that help fulfill the ACGME competencies in medical knowledge, professionalism, systems-based practice, practice-based learning and improvement, and interpersonal and communication skills. The sections include:
Clinical Optics
Ophthalmic Pathology and Intraocular Tumors
Neuro-Ophthalmology
Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Orbit, Eyelids, and Lacrimal System
External Disease and Cornea
Intraocular Inflammation and Uveitis
Glaucoma
Lens and Cataract
Retina and Vitreous
Professionalism, Ethics, and Advocacy
Interpersonal and Communication Skills
Socioeconomics and Systems-Based Practice
Practice-Based Learning and Improvement
Biostatistics
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A faculty member coordinates the teaching of each section with daily lectures Monday-Thursday, 7:30 - 8:30 am.
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Grand Rounds are held each Friday, 7:30 - 9:00 am, with case presentations by three residents.
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Retina Imaging Conferences and Field and Scan Conferences are held the first and third Fridays from 9:00 am until noon.
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The last Friday of each month is reserved for a QA Conference to review interesting cases and/or complications that have occurred during the month.
Our Hospitals
Educational Goals & Objectives
Rotations
First year: During the first year of residency, 5 months are spent at Parkland Memorial Hospital, 3 months at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1 month at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, and 3 months at John Peter Smith Hospital. First-year residents assist on cataract and other intraocular surgery, as well as plastic surgery, enucleations, strabismus surgery, trauma, and other minor surgery as primary surgeon. The residents usually begin extracapsular cataract surgery as primary surgeon during this year.
Second year: Second-year residents spend time at Parkland Memorial Hospital, the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and John Peter Smith Hospital. The residents' surgical experience broadens considerably, and they perform an increasing amount of cataract surgery (approximately 30 cataract extractions and implants as primary surgeon) and retinal surgery. Residents learn to perform phacoemulsification on their cataract cases at John Peter Smith Hospital as primary surgeon. The second year emphasizes subspecialty experience with rotations in neuro-ophthalmology and orbital disease, cornea and external disease, retina, plastics and strabismus with the full-time faculty.
Third year: Senior residents spend their final resident year at Parkland Memorial Hospital, the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Children’s Medical Center Dallas, John Peter Smith Hospital, and on all the glaucoma, retina, and cornea surgical subspecialty rotations. The surgery is more advanced, including difficult ocular trauma, refractive surgery, trabeculectomies, retinal procedures, phacoemulsification and extracapsular cataract and intraocular lens implant surgery. Each resident rotates through Parkland as the Chief Surgical Resident.
Surgery: Senior residents average the following number of surgical cases where they are the primary physician:
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Cataracts and intraocular lenses: 160 (plus first assistant on another 20 cases)
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Glaucoma: 8-10 filters and shunt procedures (plus first assistant on another 10 cases), and 30 glaucoma laser procedures
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Plastic Surgery: Over 95 oculoplastics procedures (plus first assistant on another 35-40); 8-9 enucleations/eviscerations
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Corneal Surgery: 19
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Strabismus procedures: 30-40
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Trauma: 10-12 (including corneoscleral lacerations, ruptured globes, and intraocular foreign body)
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Retina: 30-35 scleral buckles/pars plana vitrectomies with varying degree of participation; 135 retinal laser procedures
We are able to provide not only excellent surgical volumes for residents, but also a broad depth of surgical experience in all subspecialty areas. All cases are staffed by faculty.
Call: Parkland Memorial Hospital has an active ocular trauma service. All ophthalmology residents at Parkland share call. Call averages one night in seven for those rotating through Parkland. The Parkland group also takes call and does consultations for St. Paul University Hospital. Call is taken from home and not from the hospital. Residents rotating at Children’s Medical Center Dallas, the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and John Peter Smith Hospital also take “home” call.
Our full-time faculty
Part-time faculty: There are over 100 attending clinical faculty members in general ophthalmology and in virtually all ophthalmic subspecialties. They assist senior residents in surgery and give morning lectures.
Research opportunities: The Department of Ophthalmology has active laboratory programs in both basic and clinical research in most subspecialty areas. Residents are encouraged to participate in research activities commensurate with their skills, backgrounds and interests, to report interesting and informative cases to appropriate journals, and to complete an annual clinical or laboratory research project for written and oral presentation at the annual Resident-Alumni Day conference each spring.
In recent years residents presented at the annual meetings of:
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
American Glaucoma Society
American Society of Ophthalmic Plastics and Reconstructive Surgeons
American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Texas Ophthalmological Association
The Department is committed to supporting travel to national meetings for all its residents. All residents are provided funds for travel to national meetings annually, with additional funds available for residents who present as first author.
Stipends (Annual 2008)
PGY – 2 $46,564.00
PGY – 3 $48,460.00
PGY – 4 $50,395.00
Moonlighting: Moonlighting is allowed with certain restrictions and following the ACGME guidelines, and cannot interfere with official duties at any time.
Benefits: Insurance coverage is provided for the House Staff. Dependent coverage is available at an additional cost. The Ophthalmology Department provides professional malpractice insurance while performing official duties only at the teaching hospitals. Moonlighting is not covered. Personal time off is provided, as well as time off to attend annual meetings and interviews.
Internship/Transitional Year: An internship may be taken at any approved hospital. Most of our residents take internships weighted toward Internal Medicine.
Application Process: All program applicants must register and submit an application through the SFMatch Central Application System (CAS). Please refer to the SFMatch website (http://www.sfmatch.org) to register for the match and read about the process for applying to Ophthalmology Residency training. Once registered, you can view our program listing on the SFMatch directory website.
Applications are due by October 1st. Personal, on-site interviews are required and are granted by invitation only. Invitations are issued via e-mail using the address provided on the application. Candidates invited to interview will be requested to submit a CV, photo and supplemental application. Applications received after October 1st will be considered for interviews on a space-available basis. Due to the large number of applications received, we are unable to contact or interview each applicant.
Interview Logistics: Interviews are conducted on Fridays during October, November and December. We will conduct our 2008 interviews on the following Fridays:
October 10, 2008
October 31, 2008
November 14, 2008
December 5, 2008
December 12, 2008
Typically, 12 – 15 candidates are invited to each interview session.
The interview day starts at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and an overview of the residency program by the Chairman of the Department, James P. McCulley, M.D., or the Residency Program Director, Preston H. Blomquist, M.D. The candidates are then divided into two groups. One group tours the campus and interacts with residents while the other group starts their interviews with the faculty. Each candidate will have five or six individual 20-minute interviews with faculty members on the admissions committee.
Candidates interviewing in the morning join the residents and touring group for lunch in the Faculty Club around noon and then tour in the afternoon while the other group interviews.
Interviewees should plan to arrive in Dallas on Thursday evening in time to attend an informal reception beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (hotel details below). This is an informal get together so please dress comfortably!
Plan to allow one and one-half hours between your flight arrival and hotel check-in. Additional details about the following day's interview process will be announced during the reception. The interview day can last until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, so please schedule departing flights accordingly.
Hotel/Transportation
A block of rooms has been reserved for interviewees at the Crowne Plaza Hotel at the special rate of $69.00 per night. When making your reservations, be sure to request the UT Southwestern rate.
Crowne Plaza - Dallas Market Center
7050 North Stemmons Freeway
Dallas, TX 75247
Main Number: 214-630-8500
The Crowne Plaza offers complimentary transportation to/from Love Field Airport. Call the hotel's main number upon arrival at the airport and request pick-up service. Cab service and Super Shuttle (www.supershuttle.com) are two options for those flying into the DFW airport.
Transportation to the University on Friday morning and back to the hotel or Love Field on Friday afternoon will be provided by the hotel. More details about this will be available at the Thursday evening reception.
Additional Information: Questions may be directed to the Education Office in the Ophthalmology Department at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
5323 Harry Hines Boulevard
Dallas, Texas 75390-9057
Phone 214-648-3848
Fax: 214-645-9182
E-mail: OphthEdu@UTSouthwestern.edu.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas is an equal opportunity employer. Those with diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
