Individuals who complete the program are expected to be able to deliver a high level of clinical care, serve as teachers in optometric institutions, and serve in a leadership role in opometric and service agencies and organizations involved in low vision care. The residency will provide the resident with training and education necessary to deliveradvanced ophthalmic care that meets the visual needs of a diverse population of patients. Residents will have responsibilities in patient care, community outreach and patient education, clinical education and research. The resident will be expected to provide a full range of ophthalmic patient care services with emphasis in the differential diagnosis and treatment of ocular disease and visual pathway dysfunction. The resident will be a member of a multi-disciplinary health care team and be responsible for appropriate utilization of facility resources and personnel.
Training is accomplished through direct patient care, seminars, grand rounds and independent study.
The goal of this residency program is to enhance the clinical skills of recent graduates with emphasis on delivering primary care optometry within a multi-disciplinary environment and treating and managing a host of ocular conditions. There are three positions for the program, with equal time spent at each hospital. The Brooklyn V.A. Medical Center is a 275 bed acute care medical and teaching center. The optometry section provides primary eye care to inpatients and outpatients at the St. Albans V.A.E.C.C. and the Brooklyn V.A.M.C. .