Virtual Tour of the Department of Ophthalmology

The one-year Advanced Practice Fellowship in Dry Eye Disease aims to provide advanced diagnostic and therapeutic training in dry eye disease to a qualified Doctor of Optometry.

Specific fellowship goals include:

• Advanced training in the diagnosis and management of moderate to severe dry eye disease
• Extended training in the diagnosis and management of general ocular pathology
• Training in the design, implementation, analysis, and presentation of clinical research

Program Outline

The following clinical, educational, and research activities will be completed by the fellow:

Education

Educational activities will be streamlined to merge with the existing Ophthalmology residency program. Specifically, the fellow will be required to attend all morning resident lectures, grand rounds, and bi-monthly cornea conferences.

Clinic

Clinical activities will be focused on the diagnosis and management of dry eye disease. Additional clinical training in general ocular pathology and contact lenses will be accomplished through "doctor of the day" assignments and designated time in the contact lens clinic. The weekly breakdown will be as follows (with potential for modification, if needed):

1. Three half days in the Advanced Dry Eye Specialty Clinic seeing new and established moderate to severe dry eye patients.
2. One half day in the Advanced Dry Eye Specialty Clinic performing therapeutic procedures including Intense Pulsed Light Therapy, Lipiflow Thermal Pulsation, and amniotic membranes.
3. Two half days in the general Aston Ophthalmology clinic as "doctor of the day."
4. One half day fitting scleral contact lenses and managing mild to moderate dry eye patients.
5. Two half days will be reserved for clinical research activities.
6. One half day (Friday mornings) will be designated for grand rounds and lectures, with additional time reserved for the fellow to study or work on research-related activities.

Research

The fellow will be required to participate in clinical research activities related to dry eye and/or contact lenses. Clinical research will be approved and supervised by the fellowship director Danielle Robertson, O.D., Ph.D. A scholary research paper to be written by the fellow will be expected by the culmination of the training year. Additional publications, such as case reports, will be encouraged when appropriate.

Attendance at National Conferences

The Advanced Practice Dry Eye Disease fellow will be required to attend the annual meetings of the American Academy of Optometry (fall 2024) and Association for Research and Vision in Ophthalmology (ARVO; spring 2025). The fellow will be expected to submit an abstract for presentation at the ARVO spring meeting.

Virtual Tour of the Department of Ophthalmology

Prerequisites

Application

Applicants should submit the following via email to Danielle Robertson, O.D., Ph.D.:

• Application cover sheet, including name and contact information
• CV, including education with grade point average, exam scores from the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (parts 1; if available, please submit part 2 as well), prior employment and/or research/scholarly activity, publications, honors and interests
• Personal statement one page in length detailing career goals and why the applicant wants to pursue an advanced practice fellowship
• Two letters of reference. Please ask evaluators to submit their letters to Danielle Robertson, O.D., Ph.D., fellowship director.