Reflections from an Ophthalmology Chair on the Contributions of Residents
Journal of Academic Ophthalmology 2010, Volume 3, Number 1 4 Patient care. Research. Education. Service. Ophthalmology residents play a vital role in fulfilling the missions of academic departments of ophthalmol-ogy. The most obvious contribution of ophthalmology resi-dents is patient care. Each day including nights, weekends, and holidays ophthalmology residents throughout the country contribute to the care of thou-sands of patients with eye problems. This care ranges from routine eye examinations to complicated surgi-cal procedures for devastating eye diseases. They treat individuals from the rural communities of Pennsyl-vania to the metropolitan areas of California often regardless of the patient's ability to pay for the care they receive. Consider the important role ophthalmol-ogy residents play in our hospitals: the young man in the intensive care unit with ocular and orbital trauma following a motor vehicle accident; the heart trans-plant patient with fever of unknown origin; the elderly woman with leukemia who notes a sudden loss of vi-sion. It is likely that each of these patients will be ex-amined by an ophthalmology resident during the course of his or her hospital stay. In addition, the eye care of our nation's veterans is greatly enhanced by the relationship of many Veterans Administration Medical Centers with academic departments of oph-thalmology. Ophthalmology residents are pioneers in the search for new knowledge. The majority of ophthalmology residents perform some type of clinical or basic sci-ence research during their residency training. Their participation ranges from observations of distinguish-ing clinical features to surveys of common practices or experiences to laboratory research uncovering mechanisms of disease and identifying innovative treatment alternatives. Ophthalmology residents regu-larly contribute to regional, national, and international meetings including the annual meetings of the Asso-ciation for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmol-ogy. Ophthalmology journals are full of articles writ-ten or co-written by ophthalmology residents. Ophthalmology residents are a driving force for oph-thalmic education. Their enthusiasm for learning stimulates others to be better informed. Countless hours of basic and clinical science conferences, jour-nal clubs, fluorescein angiography conferences, mor-bidity/quality improvement conferences elevate the level of ophthalmic knowledge, which in turn, en-hances patient care and drives the quest for discovery. Ophthalmology Grand Rounds is an example of how residency training impacts the entire ophthalmic com-munity: each week, leaders in their fields travel to communities large and small to discuss the most sig-nificant advances in ophthalmology. In addition to their role as learner, ophthalmology residents regu-larly function as teacher. Whether it is teaching a medical student to perform a slit lamp exam on a pa-tient with a corneal abrasion or enlightening junior residents on the intricacies of cataract surgery, resi-dents are a powerful force in the teaching and learn-ing continuum. In addition to providing patient care to our nation's underserved, ophthalmology residents are involved in a variety of community service activities. Glaucoma detection at local health fairs, vision screening of in-ner city elementary school students, outreach projects targeting the homeless, and eye care missions to third Reflections from an Ophthalmology Chair on the Contributions of Residents David A. Quillen, MD 1*