Ophthalmology Residency Program
Ophthalmology Fellowship Program
Ophthalmology Research Training Program
Continuing Education Information and Schedule (coming soon)
Atlas of the Eye and Eye Diseases and Disorders
Ophthalmic Research Network
Cushing Library
Web-based Ophthalmology Course

Yale Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science Residency Program

“The goal of the Yale Ophthalmology Residency Program is to train young physicians to become future leaders in both private and academic spheres of ophthalmology. This is to be achieved through a balanced curriculum, with emphasis on excellence in the diagnosis and management of general and complex ocular disease, as well as an understanding of the essentials of sound clinical and basic science research. We also acknowledge our responsibility as mentors to promote honesty and the highest ethical standards in the practice of medicine and the conduct of medical research.”

James C. Tsai, M.D.                            C. Robert Bernardino, M.D.
Professor and Chairman                       Program Director

The Yale Eye Center constitutes the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at Yale University School of Medicine. It is located on the 3rd floor of the Temple Medical Center at 40 Temple Street in New Haven, Connecticut. Patients may use valet parking services, the Temple Street Garage, connected directly by a second story skywalk, or the Temple Medical Garage, connected directly to 40 Temple Streeet on the first level. Click here for detailed driving and parking directions to the Temple Street Medical Center.

The Retina Section is equipped with argon, krypton-red and diode lasers, electrophysiology and digital angiography.  A procedure room is equipped for retinal cryopexy.  The Cornea Section is equipped for corneal pachymetry, specular microscopy and anterior segment photography.  A minor surgery room is equipped with an operating microscope. The Glaucoma Section is equipped with YAG, argon, and diode lasers, Humphrey and Octopus automated perimeters, fundus photography, and confocal laser tomography.

Eye Center features 28 fully equipped exam rooms that will be grouped in pods of three. Each pod has an exam room equipped with viewing tubes on the slit-lamps for teaching. There are two photography suites including OCT, fluorescein angiography and fundus photography. Diagnostic rooms include HRT-3, Orbscan, Argon laser, Yag-SLT laser and Visual Evoked Potential testing. There are four Humphrey visual field analyzers and a Goldmann perimeter in the office.

The Eye Center will still have a presence on the main medical campus with two ophthalmologic lanes to serve as the location of the Hospital-based Resident Clinic. This will be located in the Dana building. The facilities here will be able to accommodate ambulatory and in-patient consults as well as minor ophthalmic plastics and anterior segment surgical procedures.

The Ophthalmology outpatient surgery section at Yale-New Haven Hospital contains three contemporary ophthalmic surgery operating rooms with ceiling-mounted Zeiss microscopes.  A wide variety of phacoemulsification and vitrectomy units are available.  Residents have access to state-of-the-art foldable intraocular lens systems.

The Yale Eye Center is a dynamic institution.  More than 18,500 outpatient visits are performed each year, generating approximately 1,000 major ocular surgeries. The subspecialties available for patient care will be comprehensive, including cataract, glaucoma, retina, uveitis, neuro-ophthalmology, ophthalmic plastic, pediatric-strabismus, cornea/refractive, low vision and contact lens service. These services will be provided by approximately 11 full time ophthalmologists, 8-10 part time ophthalmologists, 2 optometrists and one optician. There are 12 ophthalmology residents (four in each year of a three-year program). There are two fellowship opportunities - a two year program in retina and a one year program in glaucoma.

The West Haven VA Medical Center is a 259-bed acute care facility which contains a renovated five-lane ophthalmology clinic.  The VAMC is located five miles from Yale and is connected by a shuttle bus system.  The clinic is equipped with Humphrey and Octopus perimeters, fundus photography, and an argon/YAG laser.  Another argon laser is present in the operating room for vitreoretinal surgery procedures.  The ophthalmology operating room at the VA Medical Center contains an excellent ophthalmic microscope, as well as up-to-date phacoemulsification units, and foldable intraocular lenses.  Pars plana vitrectomy and scleral buckling equipment is also available.  The VAMC houses a regional VA low vision in-patient service staffed by a dedicated group of low vision specialists.

The goal of the Yale Ophthalmology Residency Program is to train future leaders in both clinical and academic ophthalmology.  In order to achieve this mission, every day-to-day function of the resident has been structured be maximize the educational experience.  The overall design of the Program is for residents to master examination skills and management of the general ophthalmology patient in the first year of training, medical and surgical evaluation and management of the specialty patient in the second year, and complicated surgical management in the final year of training.

First Year
During the first year of training, residents typically spend six months at the West Haven VA Medical Center staffing the general ophthalmology clinic.  Three months are spent on the Comprehensive Eye Service (CES) at Yale running the Inpatient Consultation Service at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Three months are spent on the combined Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, Ophthalmic Pathology, Neuro-ophthalmology and Pediatric Ophthalmology/Strabismus rotation.  During the first year of training, residents typically perform, as primary surgeon, one extracapsular cataract extraction, 5-10 glaucoma laser procedures, and 20 ophthalmic plastic surgery procedures, including temporal artery biopsy, blepharoplasty, ptosis repair, lid tumor resection, and lid laceration repair.  During the Comprehensive Eye Service and Ophthalmic plastic rotations, there is also an extensive opportunity to assist senior surgeons in a wide variety of anterior segment and ophthalmic plastic procedures.

Second Year
During the second year of training, residents spend three-month rotations each in Cornea and External Disease/Uveitis, Glaucoma, and Vitreoretinal Surgery, as well as three months at the VA Medical Center.  While on the Cornea and External Disease service, residents are exposed to a wide variety of corneal and external disease problems.  Surgical experience includes assisting on penetrating keratoplasty with a graded introduction to placing corneal sutures of high structural and refractive quality.  The Cornea rotation also includes exposure to the Contact Lens service. During this rotation, residents also spend three half-days per week in the Uveitis Clinic with exposure to a wide range of tertiary care uveitis patients.

During the Vitreoretinal rotation, residents work with medical and surgical retina faculty members and clinical fellows. The nuances of a peripheral retinal examination, including scleral depression and retinal drawings are taught.  The evaluation of ophthalmic echography, fluorescein angiography, and electro-physiology is also stressed.  Operative experience includes scleral buckles and opening and closing vitrectomy cases, and assisting on complicated vitrectomies.

On the Glaucoma rotations, residents interact with three full-time attendings and a clinical fellow. Residents learn examination techniques including anterior chamber angle evaluation, optic nerve evaluation and the use of diagnostic studies such as visual field testing, ultrasound biomicroscopy, and optic nerve and nerve fiber layer imaging. The resident is exposed to a wide range of medical and surgical therapeutic modalities for glaucoma.

The second year resident at the VA Medical Center is responsible for running a busy, general clinic.  Subspecialty clinics are held at the VA in all major areas.  During this rotation, the resident typically performs 10 to 15 extracapsular cataract extractions (ECCE) and begins to make the transition to phacoemulsification.  Typically, two ophthalmic plastic surgery cases per week are performed by the second year resident at the VA.

Third Year
The third year of residency training includes three months rotations each at the VA Medical Center, Hill Health Center, and the combined Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, Low-Vision, Neuro-ophthalmology and Pediatric Ophthalmology/Strabismus rotation.   The remaining time is divided between the Comprehensive Eye Service and the Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas.

The VA Medical Center provides the bulk of the Class 1 (primary surgeon) anterior segment surgical experience during the residency.  With the introduction of modern cataract surgery technology, including phacoemulsification, clear cornea incisions, foldable lenses, and topical anesthesia, a dramatic increase in OR efficiency has ensued.  As a result, the cataract surgery volumes at the VA Medical Center have doubled over the past five years.  Annually, third year residents at the VA typically perform between 80 and 100 phacoemulsifications.  In addition, third year residents usually perform 4-8 trabeculectomies, several vitrectomies and scleral buckles, and 1-2 penetrating keratoplasties.

The rotation at Hill Health Center provides additional clinical and surgical experience in a public health care community eye clinic. The Yale full time faculty and voluntary community faculty supervise the clinics. An expansion is underway to include diagnostic and laser treatment.

The three-month the combined Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, Low-Vision, Neuro-ophthalmology and Pediatric Ophthalmology/Strabismus rotation allows the 3rd year resident the opportunity to hone specialized surgical techniques on the ophthalmic plastic and pediatric ophthalmology/strabismus rotation while mastering examination techniques in neuro-ophthalmology and low vision.

A unique aspect of the Ophthalmology residency at Yale is the six-week rotation at Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau, Bahamas.  During this time, the senior resident provides a large portion of the eye care for the island’s indigent population.  Typically, 30 anterior segment procedures are performed, including ECCE, phacoemulsification, anti-metabolite trabeculectomy, and traumatized globe repair.  Two U.S. fellowship trained ophthalmologists, who practice on the island, work closely with the resident in a supervisory and consultative fashion and a Yale faculty member visits for one week during each rotation.  Nevertheless, this rotation allows residents to develop a newfound sense of autonomy in patient management, as well as an appreciation for the epidemiologic issues facing a developing country.

Generally, half of the resident complement attends the annual Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting to present research results.  Most senior residents also attend the annual American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting.  Weekly conferences at Yale typically consist of six didactic sessions, clinical case management conferences, and Grand Rounds.  The latter is attended by community ophthalmologists and includes a monthly guest lecturer and a monthly clinical challenges session in which community ophthalmologists bring particularly interesting or challenging cases for discussion.  Highlights of the academic year are the Yale Spring Symposium, honoring residents and alumni, and the Yale Glaucoma Symposium.

Research is an integral part of the residency experience.  Each resident is required to prepare two projects over the three-year period which will be presented during the second and third years at the Spring Symposium.  It is expected that this project will result in a peer-reviewed publication and will likely be presented at either ARVO or the AAO.  The strong emphasis on resident research is one of the reasons our residents enjoy excellent success at attaining highly competitive post-residency clinical fellowships.

New Haven, Connecticut, is a coastal community of approximately 125,000 people, located along the northern shore of Long Island Sound. Located 90 miles from New York City and 130 miles from Boston, New Haven offers the cosmopolitan flavor of a large city without the hassles of commuting and expensive housing.  Although getting to these big cities is an easy day trip by either car or train, many residents find such travel rarely necessary because of the diverse assortment of restaurants, theater, sporting events, and recreational activities available locally.

The communities surrounding New Haven provide for a wide variety of comfortable living styles.  Many residents choose to live along the shoreline east of the city because of its New England beach atmosphere.  Others prefer the more wooded, mountainous areas to the north.  There is easy access to boating in the summer and skiing in the winter.  Many residents also take advantage of the intellectual opportunities which accompany a world-class university such as Yale, including conferences, lectures, and coffee houses.  Additional advantages of New Haven include the world famous Yale Repertory and other live theaters, the Pilot Pen Women’s International Tennis Tournament, and events such as the International Special Olympic Games.  New Haven’s local Tweed Airport offers commuter flights within New England and the Mid-Atlantic States, and both Hartford’s Bradley Airport and the New York airports offer national and international connections within a one to one and a half hour drive.

Over the past several years, we have typically received approximately 350-450 completed applications each year.  Of these, 50 to 60 applicants are invited to interview in November or December for the four positions.  Applicants use the Central Application Service of the Ophthalmology Matching Program.  The OMP can be contacted at Ophthalmology Matching Program, P.O. Box 45161, San Francisco, CA  94145-0161.  Visit www.sfmatch.org. International medical graduates must first register with the ECFMG (www.ecfmg.org).

For successfully matched applicants, Greenwich Hospital, an affiliate of the Yale-New Haven Health System, accepts applications to their transitional program for those who are interested, and many others are available in southern Connecticut, including a primary medicine year at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and traditional and transitional years at St. Raphael’s Hospital, also in New Haven.

Direct mail (no application materials):
Yale Eye Center
40 Temple Street
New Haven CT 06510
Telephone (203) 785-6345
Facsimile (203) 785-6123

Apply to:
Central Application Service
Ophthalmology Matching Program
P.O. Box 45161
San Francisco, CA 94145-0161
www.sfmatch.org

Yale Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science Clinical Glaucoma Fellowship

The Clinical Glaucoma Fellowship, at the Yale Eye Center is a one-year program, which usually begins during the second week of July. The Glaucoma Fellow becomes an active member of the Glaucoma Section, working closely with the clinical faculty — Dr. James C. Tsai and Dr. Bruce Shields — and the Glaucoma Resident in the clinical and surgical care of our glaucoma patients.

The Glaucoma Clinic consists of approximately 5000 square feet of space that includes seven fully equipped examination rooms, a laser treatment room with argon, YAG, and diode lasers, a perimetry suite with Octopus, Humphrey and Goldmann perimeters, and a photography and optic disc imaging room with state-of-the-art fundus cameras for color stereo and nerve fiber layer photography and a confocal laser tomography system (Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph). A portion of the fellow's week is spent on this service examining patients with faculty members and the resident and performing laser surgery, which includes trabeculoplasties, iridotomies, and cyclophotocoagulation.

Incisional surgery is performed at Yale-New Haven Hospital, which is physically connected to the Eye Center and in which we have three dedicated, fully-equipped operating rooms with ceiling mounted operating microscopes. Surgical procedures performed by the Glaucoma Section include rabeculectomies with and without antimetabolites, drainage implant devices, trabeculotomies, and goniotomies for childhood glaucomas, and clear cornea phacoemulsification with foldable lenses and combined phacoemulsification and trabeculectomy for patients with co-existing cataract and glaucoma. The fellow will either assist a faculty member in these procedures or serve as primary surgeon with assistance by a faculty member. In some cases, the fellow may also be asked to assist a resident in surgery, especially at the West Haven Veterans Administration Hospital.

The Glaucoma Fellow also has certain independent responsibilities. As a member of the senior faculty, the fellow participates in the on-call schedule with other faculty members. This involves backing up the residents for night-time and weekend emergencies and occasionally assisting the residents in or performing emergency surgery. The Glaucoma Fellow is also responsible for examining patients together with the residents in the Comprehensive Eye Service one-half day per week, which is one source of the fellow's salary. The fellow also participates in the Glaucoma Conferences and other aspects of residency training.

Although this is a clinical fellowship, participation in research projects is encouraged and desired. We anticipate that one or more of the research projects performed by our fellows will lead to publications in peer reviewed journals. The research projects are primarily of a clinical nature, such as clinical drug trials, which provide another source of income for generation of salary. Although basic research is not a typical part of the clinical fellowship, the laboratory of Dr. Miguel Coca-Prados is available to those with special interest. In some cases, a two-year fellowship can be arranged, with one year in the laboratory.

Anyone wishing to apply for a Clinical Glaucoma Fellowship at Yale, or to learn more about the Program should contact Erica Fritz at (203) 785-6345.