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Education

Education

Ophthalmology Residency at Iowa |  Ophthalmology Fellowships at Iowa

A Tradition of Excellence

We are proud that our program is recognized as one of the finest ophthalmology training centers in the world. There is a steady flow of patients, the faculty are readily accessible, intellectual curiosity is vigorous and encouraged, and research is active in many areas. Five residents graduate from the current program each year, together with about ten postgraduate fellows.

The department provides an environment that fosters not only intellectual curiosity and collaboration but also a commitment to teaching and patient care.

Morning Rounds

Our program is one of the few, if not the only, training program in the nation that offers grand rounds four days a week.

Residents, fellows, and faculty congregate in the Alson E. Braley Auditorium for an informal, friendly, and often lively exchange of interesting patient cases. Our broad patient referral base, including all of Iowa and the neighboring states of Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Missouri, provides an extensive and formidable source for eye pathology from which everyone can learn. 

EyeRounds.org

The cases and discussions presented by Residents and Fellows at Grand Rounds are often further developed and published as case reports and tutorials on EyeRounds.org, a website of the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.

Each day, thousands of visitors from around the globe access these educational materials freely via the internet. While academic research and traditional publications remain a cornerstone of the academic experience at Iowa, we encourage the EyeRounds educational materials, which are internally peer-reviewed, as an adjunctive way for Residents and Fellows to share case reports, surgical videos, and discussions with the world.

Iowa Glaucoma Curriculum

This site was created to serve as an introduction to glaucoma for residents and perhaps as a review for practitioners. It is a teaching site and breaks glaucoma into fifty bite-sized lectures that average 14-minutes in length (range 4 to 37 minutes). In total the curriculum is just under 12 hours long. It is highly visual with >900 images and >90 movie clips.

Excellence in Patient Care

Our department’s philosophy toward patient care is another example of its commitment toward residency training. Residents, fellows, and faculty work side by side to evaluate and care for the same patients. Faculty staff all clinic patients and surgeries. The faculty is committed to the philosophy that clinical acumen and surgical excellence cannot occur without expert teaching and supervision.

Collegiality and Friendly Working / Living Environment

Of the many strengths that contribute to our program’s strong reputation, one of the greatest is its long history of collegiality and its friendly working and living environment. For many years the Department has enjoyed the reputation of being a pleasant and congenial place to work. We value this reputation because we believe that the best atmosphere for learning ophthalmology is one that is friendly and supportive. Faculty are committed to teaching, enjoy working with the residents in the clinic and operating room, and welcome their questions and ideas. In general, faculty are encouraged to be mentors and to meet with residents and fellows on a one-to-one basis. Group meetings with residents and fellows occur throughout the year. “Town Meetings” with all employees of the department are scheduled quarterly. We believe this approach to resident and fellowship training keeps The University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology at the forefront of postgraduate education.


Resident and Fellowship Resources

Other Educational Resources