Glaucoma Fellowship in Palm Beach
Members of the full-time faculty of the glaucoma service include Drs. Richard Parrish, Francisco Fantes, Steven Gedde, David Greenfield, Carolyn Quinn, Krishna Kishor, Sarah Wellik, Richard Lee, Anna Junk, Michael Banitt and Jeffrey Goldberg. As a Palm Beach glaucoma fellow, you will work primarily with Drs. Greenfield, Kishor, and Quinn although there will be opportunities to work with the other members of the glaucoma service in Miami. The program is also supplemented by participation of part-time faculty members Drs. Elizabeth Hodapp, and Mark Werner. It is important to note that the glaucoma fellowship program in Palm Beach requires a separate application that is distinct from the Miami-based application, although applicants may apply to both programs.
Most of our fellows have been interested primarily in a year of clinical experience with glaucoma, but some have wanted a broad experience including exposure to techniques of clinical research. Some with a special interest in an academic career who need to be firmly grounded in research techniques have tailor-made fellowships, sometimes extending their time an extra 12 months. We try to arrange combinations of exposure to clinical care and research activities according to the career goals of the individual applicant, taking into account whether or not any particular combination of activities is in keeping with current activities of the faculty, facilities and other resources available, and any existing commitments to other trainees or applicants during a given year. For some individuals, a standard one-year clinical fellowship here that is supplemented by additional experience elsewhere is the best career preparation.
The typical one-year fellowship consists of seeing private consultation patients with Drs. Greenfield, Kishor, and Quinn in Palm Beach and participating in surgery. The fellows also spend one-half day weekly in a general ophthalmology practice as a member of our faculty, and there are several weekly conferences and teaching rounds within the department. Weekly Grand Rounds of the Ophthalmology Department consist of presentations of cases by the residents and fellows with subsequent discussion. There is a separate a weekly conference of the glaucoma fellows with the glaucoma faculty to discuss topics and journal articles of interest. These activities fill up nearly all of the week, but do leave time to pursue reading or individual research projects that a fellow may wish to undertake.
Each fellow does at least one small project in order to understand what goes into research and to learn to evaluate the literature better. The results of the research studies of every resident and fellow are presented in a two-day program held in June. This may include retrospective reviews of clinical records in an effort to generate new knowledge, novel laser and surgical treatment studies, participation in NIH-funded clinical trials. The Palm Beach glaucoma fellow will have considerable experience integrating a variety of imaging technologies in glaucoma management including optical coherence tomography, scanning laser polarimetry, and scanning laser tomography. For certain projects it may be necessary to set aside time to see research patients for special examinations in a careful manner that can’t be done during a busy clinical consultation schedule. Unless the fellow has considerable prior research experience, preparation for a career that will include extensive research may best include a second year of fellowship.
The funding for fellowship positions varies according to the nature of the position. For a one-year clinical fellowship, funds are generally available from the institution, but we make every effort to find suitable outside sources of funding whenever possible. Research fellowship funding is more difficult to obtain. Those who want two years of research training may apply to NIH if they are U.S. citizens. Funding for research training has to be worked out with each individual applicant.
Some of the activities of the fellows constitute practicing medicine as members of the University medical group, and they must therefore have an unrestricted license to practice medicine in the State of Florida. It differs from the status of ophthalmology residents, who are hospital-employed and conduct their supervised activities as “registered” unlicensed physicians enrolled in a program required for Certification by the American Board of Ophthalmology.
Requirements to obtain a Florida license to practice medicine changes from time to time, but should not be problematic for anyone who is a citizen or permanent resident of the USA and had all medical training in the USA. However, you may wish to confirm current requirements from the Florida Department of Health. Once accepted through the matching program, the fellow must himself apply for a license, and the institution cannot do this. Moreover, the offer for employment as a fellow is contingent on his obtaining the required license.
Fellowship positions are filled through Ophthalmology Matching Program and we utilize the Central Application Service. Please contact the matching program at Ophthalmology Fellowship Match for more information.
Deadline for receipt of application is September 15.
Contact:
Kathy Corser
Fellowship Coordinator
Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
P.O. Box 016880
Miami, FL 33101
800-329-7000 ext. 6391 or 305-326-6391
Fax: 305-326-6580