To offer quality eye care to patients in the belief that exemplary care by the faculty remains the best method of teaching the undergraduate and the graduate student in ophthalmology. The Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota is located within the Health Sciences Complex on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Hennepin County Medical Center and the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Minneapolis and Regions Hospital in St. Paul are additional sites for ophthalmology training at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Residents pursue a three-year training program that leads to the practice of clinical ophthalmology. Fellows usually pursue a one-year clinical training program in their chosen subspecialty of ophthalmology.
Medical students receive lectures and clinical experience as part of their education.
Ophthalmic paramedical education and post-graduate continuing education programs for practicing ophthalmologists are also available through the Department. The origins of the present Department and our training program in ophthalmology go back to 1888 when the University of Minnesota Medical College was first organized. At that time, a professor of ophthalmology and otolaryngology, Dr. John Fulton, was appointed. Following his untimely death in military service during World War I, funds were raised to build the Todd Hospital devoted to eye and ear diseases. This building still exists as part of the Mayo complex.