General Information
The ophthalmology residency program is a fully accredited three-year program with
a prerequisite of a one-year internship. Three residents are accepted every year.
Further information can be obtained by contacting
Edna Green, Administrative Associate, Mason Eye Institute, One Hospital
Dr., Columbia, Missouri 65212, or telephone Edna at (573) 882-9678.
Goals
Our goals are to develop ophthalmologists who can provide quality eye care and meet
the needs of patients both now and in the future, and who can contribute to the
field of ophthalmology through participation in research.
The residency program is carefully designed and continually updated to meet and
exceed these goals. The Department of Ophthalmology continuously develops improved
plans for medical and surgical ophthalmology. A commitment exists to maintain an
inventory of state-of-the-art equipment. Research opportunities, in both clinical
and basic sciences, are an integral part of the program. Resident physicians are
also given exposure to health care settings outside the University of Missouri Health
Sciences Center through outreach programs with organizations such as Prevention
of Blindness.
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Program
The ophthalmology residency program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education. It is a three year program, and requires completion
of at least one year of internship prior to beginning the residency. All training
must be in programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education (ACGME) in the U.S. or the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons (RCPS)
in Canada.
All residency training takes place in Columbia, except for five days at the Wills
Eye Course mentioned below. Residents also rotate to the
Harry S. Truman Memorial
Veterans Administration Hospital directly across the street from the Mason Eye Institute,
for four months during the second and third years of training, where they receive
a major portion of their surgical experience.
First-year residents become acclimated to ophthalmology and to our facilities through
a curriculum that includes seeing a progressively increasing volume of patients,
observing in surgery, practicing surgery on animal eyes, seeing patients sent for
consultation, general clinics (which include contact lenses and low vision devices),
emergency clinic, blocks in neuro-ophthalmology, cornea/external diseases, and oculoplastics,
and participating in medical student teaching. Indirect lenses must be purchased
the first year of residency.
The current curriculum for second-year residents includes blocks in pediatric ophthalmology,
retina/vitreous, and VA Hospital. Residents also continue to see general clinic
patients, both new and return, and to take a more active role in surgeries.
Attendance at the Wills Eye Hospital Annual Review Course is strongly encouraged.
The one-week course is taken in March of the second year of residency.
Third-year residents participate in rotations through the glaucoma, cornea/external
diseases and oculoplastics services, as well as at the VA Hospital. They are also
still heavily involved in general patient care and surgery, which is performed with
supervision by attending physicians. Administrative duties are also a part of the
third-year resident's routine, as each senior serves as chief resident during one
four-month rotation.
Some parts of the curriculum are applicable to all three years of the residency.
All residents participate in teaching conferences, lectures, seminars and workshops.
Currently, the residency program is structured as follows:
First year
- Four months neuro-ophthalmology clinic and consult service, Dr. Lenworth Johnson
- Four months emergency services clinic, Dr. Theodore Wills
- Two months cornea clinic, Dr. John Cowden and Dr. Frank Rieger
- Two months oculoplastics clinic, Dr. Don Liu
Surgical experience begins in the first year and includes the completion of a small
number of cataract extractions via phacoemulsification.
Second year
- Four months pediatric ophthalmology clinic, Dr. Joseph Giangiacomo
- Four months retina clinic, Dr. Dean Hainsworth
- Four months VA Hospital, junior resident, comprehensive eye care service
In the past, the second-year residents have used their allotted meeting time to
attend the one-week Wills Annual Ophthalmology Review Course in Philadelphia. Second-year
residents continue to expand their surgical experiences during the pediatric ophthalmology,
retina and VA Hospital rotations. The VA rotation in particular is well known for
a wide variety of pathology and a high surgical volume.
Third year
- Four months glaucoma clinic, Dr. Dan Schoenleber
- Two months cornea and external disease clinic, Dr. John Cowden and Dr. Frank Rieger
- Two months oculoplastics clinic, Dr. Don Liu
- Four months VA Hospital, senior resident, comprehensive eyecare service
Each third-year resident spends four months as the chief resident. In the past,
the third-year residents have used their allotted meeting time to attend the annual
meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Total surgical experience is well
above minimum standards in most areas, with as many as 175 cataract extractions
having been performed by one resident and an average of 120 cataract extractions
representing a realistic number.
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Surgical Experience
The total surgical experience for Mason Eye Institute residents is well above minimum
standards in all areas, with an average of 120 cataract extractions being performed.
Most residents average approximately 35 core vitrectomies, 75 oculoplastics cases,
20 trabulectomies, 50 strabismus surgeries, and numerous corneal transplants. Additionally,
each resident will perfom at least 50 PRP, grid and trabeculoplastie laser procedures.
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Medical Faculty
Nine full-time
faculty members and one part-time faculty member spearhead the clinical
part of the department. They are all board-certified and all possess expertise in
one or more of the subspecialties. An attending faculty physician is available for
consultation at all times and attends at every surgical procedure. The faculty includes
a full-time optometrist, who conducts a Contact Lens Clinic. There is also a full-time
optometrist at the VA Hospital. Local ophthalmologists with clinical faculty appointments
donate time to the program as well.
Dr. Morton Smith, a fellowship-trained ocular pathologist and emeritus of Ophthalmology
and Visual Sciences Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, provides
training at Mason Eye once a month.
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Facilities
The Mason Eye Institute, housing the
Mason Eye Clinic, University Optical, departmental
and research offices, opened in June 1982. The clinic features 17 fully-equipped
refracting lanes, a contact lens suite, a low vision suite, a minor surgery facility,
a photography/angiography area with a darkroom and space for procedures such as
laser surgery, endothelial cell counts, ultrasonography and both Goldmann and automated
visual field testing.
Eye Institute East, located at 404 Portland Avenue, Columbia, Missouri, was acquired
in 1993. This clinic features four fully-equipped refracting lanes, a laser suite,
testing equipment for ultrasonography and visual field testing, and
visual electrophysiology
diagnostic testing.
The Mason Eye Institute and Eye Institute East see in excess of 22,000 patients
each year. This provides the residents an excellent opportunity to encounter many
varied case types and pathologies during their training. More than 450 eye surgeries
are performed at the
University of Missouri Health Sciences Center annually in the
main operating room and SameDay Surgery Center. The VA Hospital has a complete eye
clinic with three refracting lanes, a photo-angiography/perimetry area, an argon
laser and A and B scan ultrasound. The VA Hospital provides a large portion of the
resident's clinical and surgical experience, with more than 5,000 patients seen
annually and 400 surgeries performed.
An overview of the campus and hospital can be seen
here.
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Teaching conferences
- Monday (7:30-9:00 a.m.) - Faculty lectures
- Wednesday (7:30-9:00 a.m.) - Faculty lectures alternate with Grand Rounds
- Friday (7:30-9:00 a.m.) - Clinical Photography or Fluorescein Angiography conference
- Pathology conference is held monthly on Monday late afternoon
- Journal Club is held monthly on a Tuesday night
- Four times a year, visiting professors make Saturday morning presentations
- Examinations and evaluations
The department participates in the national
Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program
examination (OKAP), which is administered annually. Written evaluations of each
resident are made by the faculty every four months to allow each resident to gauge
his or her progress in the program.
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Research
Each resident is required to complete an annual research project for presentation
at the Residents and Alumni Day in June.
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Call
First-year residents take call seven nights a month, which includes one weekend
and four weekdays. Second-year residents take call three nights a month, either
one weekend or three week days. Third-year residents take back-up call every third
week. Call is taken from home. A cellular phone is provided to the first call resident.
Overall, call is quite manageable, though occasionally a weekend will be busy.
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Rotations
First year
- Four months neuro-ophthalmology
- Four months emergency services
- Two months cornea
- Two months oculoplastics
Second year
- Four months pediatrics
- Four months retina
- Four months Veterans' Administration (VA) Hospital
Third year
- Four months glaucoma
- Four months VA
- Two months cornea
- Two months oculoplastics
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Stipends and Benefits
Currently, the salary structure is as follows:
- PGY-2, $42,742
- PGY-3, $44,310
- PGY-4, $45,879
As employees of the
University of Missouri, residents are entitled to all employee
benefits. Among these are various types of insurance plans, sick leave, access to
University facilities and employee discounts. Membership to the University fitness
center is currently $7 per month.
At the beginning of the residency each resident (PGY-2) willl be awarded a professional
allowance in the amount of $2,400 to use over the three years of residency. The
purpose of this allowance is to assist with continuing education costs, such as
meetings/travel (for example, one-week basic science course), American Academy of
Ophthalmology (AAO) meeting, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
(ARVO) meeting, books, journals, indirect lenses, etc. Residents must purchase their
own indirect lenses for use in the clinic and surgery (approximate cost $300-500).
In addition to the above professional allowance, the department provides the following
books at the beginning of residency:
- Twelve-volume set of Basic and Clinical Science Course Books
- Practical Opthalmology and The Profession of Ophthalmology
A presentation travel bonus for first authors that covers actual travel expenses
up to $1,000 is available, as is a $200 outstanding presentation award at the annual
Residents and Alumni Day. The department also pays expenses associated with research
projects, including poster preparation, slides, literature searches and animals,
etc.
Each resident is allowed 15 days of vacation time and five days of meeting time.
Additionally, the resident physicians are allotted eight national holidays per year,
of which each resident works one holiday and receives the remaining seven as vacation.
Residents who present papers or posters at meetings are awarded additional meeting
time - the meeting days and, if applicable, travel days to and from the meeting.
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Surgical Experience
The total surgical experience for Mason Eye Institute residents is well above minimum
standards in almost all surgical subspecialty areas
The following are averages for our residents for different types of surgeries (Class
I)
Surgery Average Class I |
Average Class I
(at Mason Eye) |
ACGME
minimum |
Cataracts |
120 |
45 |
Corneal surgeries |
7 |
0 |
Strabismus |
30 |
10 |
Glaucoma Filtering |
10 |
5 |
Glaucoma Laser |
11 |
5 |
Retina/Vitreous |
25 |
3 |
Other Retina |
25 |
10 |
Oculoplastics/Orbit |
70 |
15 |
Globe Trauma |
4 |
4 |
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