Battle Creek VAMC Residency

Goal 1: To gain advanced competence in the areas of medical optometry  

• The resident will manage 1,400 encounters.
• The resident will gather and synthesize essential and accurate information to define each clinical problem. The resident will develop comprehensive management plans.  The resident will manage patients with progressive responsibility and independence. 
• The resident will cultivate clinical knowledge through point of care interactions, seeking out published medical studies/articles, and receipt of faculty feedback. This will be ongoing and applied to patient care.  
• The resident will attend educational programs relevant to optometry to include: grand rounds, optometry conferences, continuing education lectures, didactic lessons in clinic, and/or residency day.
• The residents will be prepared to take the National Board of Examiners in Optometry “Advanced Competency in Medical Optometry” exam at the conclusion of the program.

Goal 2: To work and communicate effectively within an interprofessional team  

• The resident will request and provide consultative care across the eye care continuum through written and verbal consultation, and/or observational interactions with ophthalmology and low vision.
• The resident will interact with medical disciplines outside of eye care.
• The resident will be responsible for completing comprehensive, timely, and articulate health records.
• The resident will participate in interdisciplinary ethics with fellow on-campus post-graduate health professional trainees.
• The resident will be responsible for knowing, reviewing, and ordering relevant ancillary testing.

 

Goal 3:  To gain expertise in advanced eye care imaging and within practice standards procedures 

• The resident will acquire and interpret posterior segment OCT, OCT-A images, and B-scan ultrasonography.
• The resident will acquire and interpret anterior segment OCT images.
• The resident will acquire and interpret digital anterior and posterior segment photography.
• The resident will learn, perform and teach eye care procedures.
• The resident will demonstrate advanced knowledge in vasculopathies, neurological disorders, and infectious diseases affecting the visual system.
• The resident will deliver practice standard care to patients taking high risk medications and acquire knowledge of relevant drug interactions and side effects.

Goal 4: To pursue scholarly activities that provide foundations for life-long learning 

• The resident will prepare and present case studies at grand round meetings.
• The resident will prepare at least one formal lecture geared toward professional peers.
• The resident will facilitate a journal club.
• The resident will hone teaching skills of optometry externs through the sharing of acquired experiences and knowledge and will learn to educate in an organized and effective manner.
• The resident will prepare all written requirement options to satisfy AAO fellowship clinical candidacy requirements..

Length of Program: 

1 year; July 1 until June 30 of the following year

Weekly schedule:

8:00am-4:30pm M-F; Resident is expected to be involved in the direct care of 9 scheduled patients per day; This does not include observation of additional patients with ocular disease and the instruction of student interns in the latter half of the program

On call:

The residents have no on-call duties after hours, however are responsible for the care of emergent add-ons during duty hours.

Clinical Activities: 

A large percentage of patients are older males who present with a wide array of ocular disease states.  Specifically vascular eye disease, glaucoma, and macular degeneration are commonly encountered. 

Program Enrichment:

The resident is encouraged to interact with other disciplines inside and outside the medical center. Opportunities exist to visit Radiology, Laboratory Medicine, Pathology, Primary Care, Pharmacy, and Urgent Care as well as to visit private ophthalmologists in the area.

The resident is encouraged to interact with 4^th year externs through student teaching and journal clubs.

The resident must be prepared for teaching, public speaking, and writing opportunities.

The first Friday of every other month is devoted to grand rounds presentations. The resident is an active participant during rounds and also helps prepare student presentations.

Battle Creek VAMC:
The medical center provides both outpatient and inpatient care to eligible Veterans living in the region. Services include comprehensive primary health care, substance abuse treatment, mental health care, nursing home & assisted living care and urgent care.

Instrumentation:

• Clarus Zeiss Fundus Camera with Autofluorescence
• Zeiss Anterior Segment Camera
• 2 Cirrus OCT units (1 including OCT-A)
• Humphrey Visual Field Analyzers
• B Scan Ultrasound Unit

Multi-Disciplinary Health Services Within at Battle Creek’s Campus:

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Neurology
• Geriatric Medicine
• Rehabilitative Medicine
• General Practice Medicine
• Nuclear Medicine
• Internal Medicine
• Dentistry
• Clinical Pharmacy
• Infectious Disease

• The residents will receive $44,447 for the year in training.  Resident compensation is determined nationally and is not contingent upon productivity. 
• The VA will carry professional liability insurance for the resident. 
• The resident is also eligible for health, dental, vision, and life insurance packages
• 13 days of annual leave submitted with 60 days advanced notice
• All federal holidays off (10 total)
• Authorized absence may be grated at the supervisor’s discretion for the attendance of conferences or professional development
• 13 days of sick leave
• A small on campus store & cafeteria are available
• A medical library is available for resident use which includes online access to multiple journals
• Residents may use the full facility gym

Satisfactory completion of all of the programs stated goals and objectives, giving exception only when the program and/or facility could not make appropriate provisions.