Second-Year Rotations (PGY-3)

Second-year ophthalmology residents refine their exam, diagnostic, and surgical skills by rotating through subspecialty clinics and functioning as independent consultants (with appropriate attending supervision) for hospitals affiliated with Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology.

Residents work closely with leading figures in each subspecialty and see patients from around the world. Residents often see patients with rare hereditary retinal degenerations at the Berman-Gund Laboratory and at the Children’s Hospital in Boston.

Most attending ophthalmologists perform chart rounds at the end of subspecialty clinics. These rounds provide an opportunity to discuss interesting clinical cases and review salient teaching points. This is an exceptional learning opportunity that helps residents understand management decisions made during the clinic and highlights the attending’s clinical decision-making process.

Second-year residents spend a significant amount of time in each rotation in the operating room performing oculoplastics, strabismus, vitreoretinal, and cataract surgeries. They also perform intra-vitreal injections and retina and glaucoma laser procedures.

The second year is divided into 8 rotation blocks, each 6-7 weeks in duration. The rotations are as follows:

• Neuro-Ophthalmology at Mass. Eye and Ear
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)
• Children’s Hospital Boston
• Eye Plastics and Orbital Surgery at Mass. Eye and Ear
• Boston VA Medical Center
• Retina
• Pediatric Ophthalmology

Neuro-Ophthalmology at Mass. Eye and Ear

Supervising Attendings: Simmons Lessell, MD, Joseph Rizzo, III, MD, Dean M. Cestari, MD, Neil Snebold, MD, and Rebecca Stacy, MD, PhD

Clinical experience: Residents spend two rotations evaluating and managing patients with complex neuro-ophthalmic diseases. Weekly teaching conferences promote discussion and review of the diverse and complex patient population cared for in this clinic.
Surgical experience: Residents participate in complex adult strabismus surgery on a weekly basis during this rotation.
Call responsibilities: Neuro-ophthalmology residents perform all non-trauma in-patient consultations at the Massachusetts General Hospital during the hours of 8 am to 5 pm. In addition, the residents take home call every other night with back up provided by the neuro-ophthalmology fellows and attendings.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)

Supervising Attendings: Jorge G. Arroyo, MD, MPH, Frank G. Berson, MD, Sahar Kohanim, MD, Mark C. Kuperwaser, MD, Timothy Murtha, MD, Nurhan Torun, MD, and Don C. Bienfang, MD

Clinical Experience: During this rotation, residents participate in the comprehensive ophthalmology and subspecialty clinics including retina, glaucoma, and neuro-ophthalmology at BIDMC.
Surgical Experience: Surgical training is a focus of this rotation; the resident spends a significant amount of time participating in and serving as primary surgeon for cataract, retina, and glaucoma surgeries.
Call Responsibilities: During the weekdays, residents serve as consultants for in-patient and Emergency Room consults for the BIDMC between the hours of 12 noon and 5 pm. In addition, the residents are on home call for night and weekend consults for a total of two weeks during their 6-7 week rotation. When on home call residents are covering both BIDMC and BWH. Covering two major tertiary care hospitals provides exposure to significant eye pathology including a large number of ocular trauma cases.

Children's Hospital Boston

Supervising Attendings: David G. Hunter, MD, PhD, Linda R. Dagi, MD, Deborah K. Vanderveen, MD, Anne B. Fulton, MD, Robert A. Petersen, MD, Lois E. H. Smith, MD, PhD, Carolyn Wu, MD, and Alexandra Elliott, MD

Clinical Experience: The Children’s Hospital in Boston is one of the top pediatric hospitals in the country. Residents work closely with the ophthalmology faculty at Children’s Hospital to gain experience in the exam, work-up, and management of routine and complicated pediatric ophthalmology patients.
Surgical Experience: Residents spend 1-2 days per week in the OR and perform primary strabismus surgeries as well as assist in a variety of pediatric oculoplastic and anterior segment surgeries.
Call Responsibilities: Residents perform in-patient consults, which are staffed by the pediatric ophthalmology fellows and attendings. Residents have 2 half days of dedicated consult time each week. During the week, the resident takes home call every other night for emergencies. Each resident also takes home call one weekend per month.

Eye Plastics and Orbital Surgery at Mass. Eye and Ear

Supervising Attendings: Suzanne Freitag, MD, Aaron Fay, MD, Francis Sutula, MD, and Michael Yoon, MD

The format of the 2nd year rotation is similar to the first year rotation. However, the second year resident plays a more active role in the operating room and participates in more complex operative cases. The second year resident takes home call for oculoplastics emergencies and gains valuable experience in triaging and managing a variety of oculoplastic cases.

Boston VA Medical Center

Supervising Attendings: Mary K. Daly, MD, Joanne Haney-Tilton, MD, Milhim I. Aswad, MD, Donna Siracuse-Lee, MD, Christine S. Ament, MD, Babak Eliassi-Rad, MD, Li-Wei Lin, MD, and Nabil I Jarudi, MD

Clinical Experience: The second year residents spend one rotation at the VA Medical Center in Boston and participate in sub-specialty clinics that include retina, glaucoma, cornea, and eye plastics.
Surgical Experience: The majority of the intra-vitreal injections, glaucoma and retinal laser procedures are performed by the second year residents at the Boston VA. The residents also serve as primary surgeons for extracapsular cataract extractions and are in the oculoplastics OR one half day every other week where they participate in a variety of eye plastics surgeries.
Call Responsibilities: During the VA rotation the second year residents take home call one day each week. They have back-up coverage by the senior residents and an attending.

Pediatric Ophthalmology

Supervising Attendings: Melanie Kazlas, MD, Kimberley Chan, OD, David G. Hunter, MD, PhD, Linda R. Dagi, MD, Carolyn Wu, MD, Shizuo Mukai, MD

Clinical Experience: The clinical experience focuses on mastering pediatric eye exam skills, including retinoscopy and prismatic measurements for strabismus, as well as participating in the evaluation and management of pediatric eye disease and adult strabismus.
Surgical Experience: One to two days each week are spent in the operating room during which the residents perform primary pediatric and adult strabismus cases, often with adjustable sutures.
Call Responsibilities: The residents are on-call during weekdays for MGH pediatric consults and serve as the subspecialty consultant for pediatric cases that come through the Mass. Eye and Ear Emergency Department. There is no evening or weekend call responsibilities on this rotation.

Brigham and Women's Hospital / Comprehensive Ophthalmology

Supervising Attendings: Sheila Borboli-Gerogiannis, MD, and Kenneth Chang, MD

The clinical focus on this rotation is an introduction to cataract surgery. The residents are taken through cataract surgery in a step-wise fashion with a new step performed and perfected each week. By the end of the rotation, residents should be performing whole phaco surgeries under the supervision of the attendings. This step-wise introduction allows residents to gain confidence with their new surgical skills and prepares them for a busy surgical experience during their third year.
The other component of this rotation is providing in-patient consultations for the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Call Responsibilities: During the weekdays, residents serve as consultants for in-patient and Emergency Room consults between the hours of 12 noon and 5 pm. In addition, the residents are on home call for night and weekend consults (for a total of 2 weeks during their 6-7 week rotation). When on home call, residents are covering both the BIDMC and BWH. Covering two major tertiary care hospitals provides exposure to significant eye pathology including a large number of ocular trauma cases.
 

Page updated  November 5, 2012