Disclaimer: This information is based on personal opinions and should not be solely used in formulating any decisions. This information is distributed in good faith and should be combined with your own personal experiences.
How and where to apply:
Ophthalmology residency programs participate in the Ophthalmology Match Program (OMP). Detailed information regarding match registration, program listings, timetables and the Central Application Service (CAS) may be found at the Match Program Website.
Things that will help your application:
In addition to strong Board scores and Honors grades/GPA, letters of recommendation are carefully looked at. Wording in these letters can make or break the likelihood of receiving an interview. Research is a definite plus, having written or participated in research is something that will give your application an edge over another.
Who should I ask for recommendations?
Typically, you will need three letters of recommendation. It is imperative that your letters are strong. Usually your medical school mentor/docent/counselor will be actively involved with your education and be able to write an excellent letter. This letter will be from the person who is most familiar with your abilities and persona. A second letter can be from some rotation, preferably a director of service, on which you received an Honors grade. A third letter from someone in ophthalmology is not an absolute necessity but is probably the best. Usually the chairman of a department will be familiar with the person and be able to pass judgment based on the strength of the letter. It may also afford a personal call on your behalf if necessary.
Should I do an away elective?
An away elective is not a necessity contrary to popular belief. If however, your medical school does not have a strong ophthalmology presence, an away rotation will serve many purposes. You can determine if this is truly your passion and what you want to do for the rest of your life. It can also provide that third letter of recommendation or that research project that can put you over the top. It is difficult to do a research project in a short away elective, but if set up in advance, and with some serious elbow grease, can be done.
Where should I apply?
You should apply where you are going to fit in best. Take into consideration the following items: where you want to live for 3 years, climate, family support, schools (if you have children), strength of program, number of residents (if you don’t like your fellow resident with 2 spots, or going to get lost in the shuffle with lots of residents), contacts or previous resident recommendations. (see next point also)
What qualities in a residency program should I be looking for?
Reputation, can you do a fellowship coming out of this program, does it have a manageable number of residents, are all the subspecialties represented, are the staff interested in teaching or do they have to be there as part of their job, surgical experience (75 supervised cases are more worthwhile than 200 unsupervised ones), staff supervision in surgery, staff supervision in clinics (or are you learning from your third year, who may not teach you correctly or may be unmotivated to teach you), call schedule and support, teaching clinic tools (slit lamp video, indirect ophthalmoscope video projection), autonomy, surgical volume (cataracts are important, but look at the other subspecialties to get an overall sense of the surgical volume, don’t get fixated on the number of cataracts), lecture series, preparation for board exams, lots of didactics (you only have three years to learn all this stuff), didactics actually happen (not just scheduled), talk to some of the staff off the record, recommendations from prior students from your school, is the program accredited for a long duration or are they on or about to be put on probation, is the program on the rise or declining, are new staff well mixed with older staff, or is it an aging department, are the staff inbred or are there staff who trained at multiple different programs. Do you have to travel to an institution far away to fulfill a surgical requirement.
Contact Information:
Please email the director of the medical student ophthalmology interest group for any personal questions/guidance you need at [email protected]
Additional information about Ophthalmology as a career:
Medschool.com has some excellent information about the specialty. Look under "Specialty Profiles" in the Information section.