Optometry residency program | veterans affairs

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The program was established on July 1, 2008, with one residency position and currently has three positions. It is a twelve-month, post-graduate clinical education program

in which the resident is an employee of LVAHCS as a clinical staff member in the Optometry Clinic.  The Optometry Clinic at LVAHCS is the primary training site for the resident.  The

resident will also spend time at the University of Kentucky’s Department of Ophthalmology. Affiliated with Indiana University School of Optometry, the program provides residents a

high-quality learning experience.    PROGRAM DETAILS The program focuses on advanced competency in the clinical skills and scholarly development of the residents by exposing the residents to

direct patient care enhanced by lectures, conferences, presentations, and consultation with other medical services. Residents will become proficient in ocular disease diagnosis and

management, and comanaging systemic conditions that have ocular manifestations. The residents will also attend weekly Grand Rounds and Fluorescein Angiography conference at the University of

Kentucky's Department of Ophthalmology during the academic year, with opportunities to participate in the department's sub-specialty clinics. Residents will also participate in

and lead daily educational exercises with the optometry staff and student externs, which are structured to foster an evidence-based medicine approach. Lexington VA Health Care System is a

dual-division facility, with four clinics in the community. The optometry clinic is located at the Franklin R. Sousley campus, established in 1931, is on the west side of Lexington on

Leestown Road. It occupies almost 5,000 square feet in newly renovated space, which includes 9 examination lanes, a clinic conference area, and 4 specialty testing rooms. Residents have

access to a retinal camera with fundus autofluorescence, anterior segment camera, OCT, Pentacam topographer, Humphrey and Goldmann visual field analyzers, specialty contact lens fitting sets

including RGP and scleral lenses, and low vision fitting equipment. All exam lanes were renovated with state-of-the-art equipment. This program is uniquely designed to offer residents the

opportunity to participate in several specialty clinics. In addition to primary eye care examinations, the residents provide low vision outpatient blind rehabilitation services to visually

impaired Veterans, vision therapy services to combat Veterans with a history of polytrauma or traumatic brain injury, and medical contact lens fittings. This multi-faceted experience helps

to produce well-rounded, capable physicians who feel confident to enter the workforce and pursue a variety of career paths. The didactic portion of the residency has been developed to help

the residents become proficient in reading and applying medical literature. Residents can expect to enjoy discussions and books about the importance of evidence-based medicine, as well as

medical ethics and the arts of doctoring and teaching. These lessons are put to clinical practice while precepting student externs in the second half of the year. We also routinely read

medical journal articles and meet to discuss practical applications.