Boling Vision Center Residency

Goal 1: Enhance the resident’s clinical skills in ophthalmic conditions, optometric primary care and surgical consults with cosmetic or medical indications

• Resident will efficiently develop diagnosis differentials and diagnosis plans based on history intake
• Resident will appropriately analyze diagnosis and patient needs to determine treatment plans, including optical treatment, ophthalmic disease treatment and management, surgical intervention and interdisciplinary management with other professionals
• Resident will gain clinical confidence in assessment and treatment of various ophthalmic diseases and conditions

 

Goal 2: Enhance the resident’s critical thinking skills in assessment and management of patients with various ophthalmic disorders and surgical pre-op and post-op care

• Resident will proficiently assess, diagnose and manage various ophthalmic disorders and surgical pre-op and post-op care
• Resident will advance their knowledge and experience of ophthalmic disease and surgical pre-op and post-op care
• Resident will learn how to effectively communicate with patients and other medical professionals to arrive at the best treatment plan for each specific patient

 

Goal 3: Enhance the resident’s knowledge and management of patients seeking cosmetic or medical ophthalmic surgical intervention

• Resident will observe a full day, once a month, of various ophthalmic surgeries with emphasis on cataract extraction and Lasik
• Resident will spend a total of 16 hours working with the surgical consult coordinator extensively learning how to communicate with patients about standard cataract extraction, premium intraocular implants, and corneal refractive surgery
• Resident will write a brief summary of each day observing the ophthalmologist with clinical pearls

 

Goal 4: Enhance the resident’s scholarly, didactic and interdisciplinary activity

• Resident will participate in a monthly Journal Club where the resident will write a summary of the findings and clinical pearls of the peer-reviewed journal article
• Resident will submit an abstract for one poster to a regional or national optometric conference
• Resident will research and write about one ophthalmic disease or condition, with citations, of his/her choosing every month in a format provided by the coordinator
• Resident will receive support and direction to successfully complete a publishable quality manuscript
• Resident will attend at least one state, regional or national optometric conference
• Resident will prepare and present at least one lecture to a local, state, or national optometric venue
• In addition to overseeing BVC’s ophthalmologists once monthly, the resident will observe three other medical professions during the course of the residency and write a brief summary describing how optometric management fits within that specific medical profession
• Resident will be encouraged to pursue and apply for fellowship through the American Academy of Optometry

 

Goal 5: Enhance the resident’s introspective thinking of the philosophies which make an exceptional care giver; attributes including: Integrity, Compassion and Excellence (I.C.E)

• Resident will write examples of how he/she has displayed Integrity, Compassion and Excellence during each quarter of the residency

Duration of Program: July 1 through June 30 (12 months)

Hours: Expected range of hours in a typical week is 40-45 hours, but actual hours may vary and can be more based on outside development time necessary for research, lecture, journal reviews, manuscript study, and other activities

Clinical Curriculum:

Patient Encounter Goal: ≥ 1,000

Description: Patient encounters will be a mix of ophthalmic diseases and ophthalmic wellness exams, including but not limited to: cataracts, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, dry eye disease, corneal disease, urgent care exams (“special eyes”), contact lenses including soft, RGPs, and scleral lens fits.

Resident Letters and Referrals: ≥ 50

Description: Letters written on behalf of the patient to continue continuity of care will include, but not limited to: diabetic with/without retinopathy letters to primary care doctors, ophthalmology referral letters, neurology referral letters and primary care referral letters.

Academic Curriculum:

Journal Club Participation & Summary: ≥ 11

Description: Resident or Coordinator will choose one peer-reviewed article off of Medline, PubMed or a well-respected optometry or ophthalmology magazine. Resident and Coordinator will read the article on their own time and then discuss it the last week of each month. The resident will then write a brief summary of the article and discussion and turn it in by the end of the first week of the next month.

Ophthalmic Disease Summary: ≥ 11

Description: Resident or Coordinator will choose one ophthalmic disease. The resident will write a summary of the disease based off a standard format. Information must be cited by published text books and/or well-respected internet sources (i.e. Medline, PubMed, AOA Guidelines, etc.). At least three citations should be present. Summary will be due by the end of the first week of the month.

Poster Abstract Submission: ≥ 1

Description: Poster topic can be anything the resident chooses, but must be authorized by the coordinator.

Conferences ≥ 1

Description: Resident may choose any conference he/she wishes to attend. He/she may attend more than one conference; however, only the first conference will be allowed for authorized conference days off. If the resident wishes to use his/her additional PTO (paid-time-off) days, he/she may do so. If there are no PTO days remaining due to previous use, the resident will be unable to attend another conference. An example of a national educational conference would include the American Academy of Optometry or American Optometric Association.

Lecture/Presentation (with COPE approval attempted): ≥ 1

Description: A qualifying presentation may include a poster presentation at the American Academy of Optometry, a multimedia PowerPoint presentation at SECO, presentation about the resident’s manuscript during residency graduation, Boling Vision Center Doctor’s meeting, and/or at a North Central Optometry Society (NCOS) meeting. COPE approval will be attempted for the lecture in a push to have the resident become familiar with the process. Qualifying lectures do not have be approved by COPE, but should be at least attempted for approval. Cost to apply for COPE approval will be covered by Boling Vision Center.

Manuscript: ≥ 1

Description: A paper of publishable quality will be due by the end of June. The resident may choose any topic; however, the resident must have had direct patient care with patient(s) that the manuscript is centered on.

Observational Curriculum:

Ophthalmology Surgeries & Summary: ≥ 10 days

Description: The resident will observe either Dr. Boling2, Dr. Boling3, or Dr. Heil for one full day once a month. Surgery observation may include, depending on patient presentation, but not limited to: cataract surgery (standard or premium), Lasik surgery, oculoplastic, retinal injections and/or cosmetic injections, and minor procedures. A clinical pearl summary of the observation will be due within one week of observation.

Other Medical Professional Clinic & Summary: ≥ 3 days

Description: The resident will observe other medical specialties who are within the community. Medical specialty observation may include, but not limited to: primary care, neurology, dietician, endocrinology, hospital-based urgent care and/or rheumatology. A clinical pearl summary of the observation will be due within one week of observation.

Interpersonal Development Curriculum: Integrity, Compassion, Excellence(I.C.E) Summary: ≥11

Description: Quarterly, the resident must reflect inward and write a brief summary of how he/she has displayed integrity, compassion and excellence with his/her patients, clinic, community or other.

This residency program is based at two locations of the Boling Vision Center (BVC). The primary location will be at the Ireland location in South Bend, IN. The secondary location, where surgical observation will be performed, will be at the Elkhart, IN office. BVC has an additional two office locations where the resident will have no interaction. BVC is a primary care and specialty office where a range of patient ages and patient presentations provides a well-rounded optometric experience. Emphasis of patient encounters will be primary care, ophthalmic disease including a dry eye specialty, retinal injections and laser, cataract extraction and corneal refractive surgery. This residency will be a full-time, formal and supervised program consisting of direct patient care, observational patient care, didactic education, interdisciplinary management, scholarly activities and introspective development.

• Annual Salary: $32,000
• Benefits: Health and dental insurance are provided by Boling Vision Center. Life insurance and vision care are also included. Resident earns 15 days paid annual leave which includes sick days of paid time off. Boling Vision Center will also provide up to $1,500 annually for approved continuing education conferences.
• Professional Liability Protection: Provided by Boling Vision Center for any internal and external clinical settings associated with the training program.

In order to successfully complete the program, the resident must serve the entire period of the program (as listed above) and fulfill the following responsibilities throughout their time in the position. After meeting these requirements, a Certificate of Completion will be awarded.

Clinical

The resident is expected to manage a minimum of 1,000 patient encounters during the year. Through these encounters, the resident will gain experience in the diagnosis and management of ophthalmic conditions including primary ophthalmic care, urgent ophthalmic care, and advanced ophthalmic disease. To aid in diagnosis and management, the resident will have full access to an optical coherence tomography, Humphrey visual field analyzer, corneal topographer, pachymeter, LipiScan™, LipiFlow®, scleral lens/specialty contact lens fitting sets and other typical ophthalmic equipment. The resident will also gain experience in surgical care ranging from observational care to direct pre-op and post-op care. Surgical experience will range from minor procedures to major surgery and may include, depending on patient presentation, observational experience in cataract surgery, LASIK surgery, KAMRA™ inlay surgery, Raindrop® inlay surgery, iStent® micro-invasive glaucoma surgery, retinal injections, and retinal laser therapy.

Scholarly Activity

The resident is expected to complete a manuscript of publishable quality and propose an abstract to present a scientific paper or poster at a nationally recognized professional meeting. He/she will also actively participate in didactic activities, including: journal club, ophthalmic disease research, prepare a lecture to be presented to a local, state, or national optometric venue, and observe ophthalmology and other medical professions which afterward a written summary will be written. The above requirements will also enable the resident to pursue fellowship within the American Academy of Optometry.