Our program provides coverage to the majority of hospitals in the Bronx, affording residents exposure to an impressive breadth of pathologies. Over the course of the three-year residency, continual learning experiences in the clinic, operating room, classroom and wet lab allow our Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Residents to learn the full spectrum of ophthalmic patient care, including medical and surgical treatment of all types of eye disease.

At the heart of our curriculum is a drive to provide residents with a strong clinical and surgical experience. The curriculum includes resident participation in formal wet-lab sessions held in the Ronald M. Burde, MD, Microsurgical Simulation Laboratory, with formal didactic and hands-on sessions proctored by faculty and industry leaders. Residents on subspecialty rotations work closely with faculty in clinics, with a strong emphasis on clinical management of pathology. Residents also attend an intensive laboratory-based orbit and eyelid anatomy course, which includes a review lecture on orbital anatomy followed by a cadaveric dissection with neuro-ophthalmology and oculoplastic attendings. 

As part of our curriculum, residents participate in weekly meetings with our Chairman, Program Director and teaching faculty to discuss the most complex clinical and surgical cases, and with teaching faculty in resident clinics to discuss interesting cases of the day. Residents also present cases and grand rounds with appropriate subspecialty faculty. Additionally, residents participate in monthly grand rounds held at the Samuel Gartner Library in the Centennial Building, and present in monthly oral board reviews, pathology conferences, case presentations, journal clubs and morbidity and mortality conferences.

Program faculty and invited speakers address our residents on all major subspecialty topics throughout the academic year. A special series of dedicated review lectures are given by faculty in the weeks prior to the Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program (OKAP) examination.

Held each year in mid-June, the Paul Henkind Research Day serves as a forum for basic and clinical researchers in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences to present their latest work. Resident-led research projects are featured prominently at this conference, and outstanding projects are awarded by a faculty review committee. As a symposium of learning and research on clinical advances, Henkind Day engages Montefiore Einstein’s audience and its network of eye-care professionals.

Our residents are strongly encouraged to participate in regional and national conferences, and are supported by a travel stipend for any original research that’s presented. Senior residents are supported in their attendance of review courses, and are given exposure to and networking opportunities in the greater ophthalmology community.

During their medicine rotation, interns spend 12 weeks on the ophthalmology service, where they gain invaluable experience working in clinics, assisting in the operating room and helping with consults. This exposure enables them to start their first year of the Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Residency with a strong foundation in eye evaluations and eye disease.

Residents spend the first year of our program building basic ophthalmologic examination skills and fluency in identifying and treating basic ophthalmologic conditions. The majority of the first year is spent in general clinic at Montefiore and Jacobi Medical Center, where patients are always staffed with a dedicated attending physician. First-year residents rotating on the cornea service observe and assist high-volume surgery. Our program also implements a night float and buddy-call system to limit resident fatigue and allow for proper supervision of consultations.

Second-year residents advance their training in ophthalmological subspecialties with emphasis on cornea, glaucoma, retina, pediatrics/strabismus, neuro-ophthalmology and oculoplastics. The second year of training also allows residents to become proficient and independent at retinal lasers, intravitreal injections and glaucoma lasers. Depending on clinic location, second years also field daytime consultations for their respective hospital. 

The third year of our program is dedicated to surgical training in high-volume settings, with senior residents splitting their time between specialized clinics, booking cases and the operating room. Surgical schedulers and perioperative staff are dedicated to third-year residents, allowing for optimal teaching and efficiency. Additional duties include acting as the senior resident and overseeing first-year education and clinical workflows under the supervision of a dedicated faculty attending. Third-year residents also take back-up calls on weekdays and weekends.

During their first year of training, residents staff the minor procedure clinic, which includes chalazion and eyelid biopsies at Montefiore and Jacobi Medical Center general clinics. First-year residents begin learning anterior segment laser procedures, including YAG capsulotomy, laser peripheral iridotomy and argon laser trabeculoplasty, and they learn to perform retinal lasers and intravitreal injections. Additionally, first-year residents participate in a 10-week rotation on the cornea subspecialty service, during which time they work two times per week as assistant surgeons with an attending surgeon. First-year residents are instructed by attending physicians in a suture lab, held at the Ronald M. Burde, MD, Microsurgical Simulation Laboratory, which provides an introduction to proper surgical techniques under the microscope.

As part of their glaucoma rotation, second years begin performing cataract surgery. During this year, residents also assist and have the opportunity to be primary surgeons in vitreoretinal surgeries. A pediatric rotation provides residents ample opportunity to perform strabismus procedures as primary surgeons.
 

Compared to other New York residency programs, our third-year residents perform among the highest volume of cataract surgeries. Montefiore Einstein’s dedicated third-year cataract booking clinic helps throughput of patients to the operating room, and serves as a referral base within the department. Third-year residents also spend time operating alongside teaching faculty, who mentor residents in surgical technique.