Off-Campus Residency

Veterans Affairs Palo Alto
HealthCare System, Palo Alto, CA (VAPAHCS)
Western Blind Rehabilitation Center (WBRC)

VAPAHCS

OPTOMETRIC RESIDENCY IN
PRIMARY CARE AND LOW VISION REHABILITATION

(3 positions)
July 1 to June 30

The Department of Veterans Affairs is an Equal Opportunity Employer

(Affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley, School of Optometry)

Application Deadline: February 1

Program Mission

The mission of the optometric residency in primary care and low vision rehabilitation is twofold: to educate residents beyond the basic optometric education into astute clinicians skilled in both primary care and in the specialty of low vision care.

The Facility

The VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS) consists of three inpatient facilities located at Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Livermore plus six outpatient clinics in San Jose, Capitola, Monterey, Stockton, Modesto, and Sonora. These facilities provide some of the world's finest medical care and cutting-edge technology.

VAPAHCS is a teaching hospital, providing a full range of patient care services, with state-of-the-art technology as well as education and research. Comprehensive health care is provided in areas of medicine, surgery, psychiatry, rehabilitation, neurology, oncology, dentistry, geriatrics, and extended care.

VAPAHCS operates nearly 900 beds, including three nursing homes and a 100-bed homeless domiciliary all to serve more than 85,000 enrolled veterans.

VAPAHCS is home to a variety of regional treatment centers, including a Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center, Spinal Cord Injury Center, a Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center, a Traumatic Brain Injury Center, the Western Blind Rehabilitation Center (WBRC), a Geriatric Research Educational and Clinical Center, a Homeless Veterans Rehabilitation program, and the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Primary Care Hospital-Based Optometry

In the primary care setting, the resident will provide primary optometric care to a diverse population of patients including in-hospital patients, outpatients and psychiatric patients. The patient population is predominately middle-aged to elderly males, with a high incidence of ocular disease. The resident will also participate in teaching fourth-year optometry externs. Types of patient encounters at the primary care clinic vary greatly, and include routine general exams, low vision exams and medically-necessary contact lens fittings. The clinics are located at the Palo Alto, Livermore, Monterey, and San Jose Divisions.

Low Vision Rehabilitation

At the WBRC, the resident will provide full-scope low vision care in conjunction with rehabilitation instructors in all disciplines of vision rehabilitation, including visual skills, daily living skills, orientation and mobility, computer skills and manual skills. Optometry is part of the team approach to rehabilitation. Working with the instructors from other areas provides an opportunity to learn about blind and low vision rehabilitation in a multidisciplinary setting. As the patients reside at the WBRC during their rehabilitation, the resident has the unique opportunity to work with various low vision devices and follow a patient's progress as frequently as desired.

Clinical Curriculum

The residency year is divided into three four-month rotations:

1. One rotation is through the Primary Care Clinic at the VA Palo Alto, providing primary optometric care, including one half-day/week of outpatient low vision care and 2 half-days/week of specialty contact lens care.
2. The second rotation is at the WBRC. There, the resident will provide full-scope low vision care to legally-blind veterans. This rotation also includes one afternoon a week of extended low vision care for non-WBRC patients, as well as two mornings a week at the VA Palo Alto Primary Care Clinic.
3. The third, or Outreach Clinics rotation, is through the various outlying optometry primary care clinics in the VAPAHCS. This four-month rotation requires extensive traveling, for which having access to a car is recommended.

Didactic Curriculum And Teaching Activity

Didactics include weekly optometry conferences, Core Studies, Journal Club, and periodic Grand Rounds.

• Optometry Conferences cover low vision, ocular disease, or primary care topics.
• Core Studies review major clinical trials.
• Current and significant past literature is analyzed and discussed during Journal Club.
• Grand Rounds are an interactive, educational program on various ocular disease topics emphasizing live patient exams and a review of current concepts.

The residents present four formal lectures at the Berkeley Optometry Affiliated Resident Lecture Series, as well as informal case presentations throughout the year. Residents are expected to author a manuscript suitable for publication by the end of the residency year. The residents participate in the clinical teaching of fourth-year optometry externs.

Benefits

Requirements

Application Process

Applicants are matched through ORMS, due date for applications is February 1. For more information, please contact ORMS at:

(901) 272-2040 or http://www.optometryresident.org

NOTE: For information on nondiscrimination in federally conducted education and training programs, see VHA Directive.

Please submit the following to the residency coordinator by February 1:

• Curriculum vitae
• Official transcripts of NBEO scores
• Official transcripts of optometric education and undergraduate education
• Three letters of recommendation
• Brief statement regarding desire to complete this residency program.
• Apply online for admission through the UC Berkeley Graduate Division (only for candidates not currently enrolled at the UC Berkeley School of Optometry)

For more information please contact:
David Yang, OD, FAAO
VA Palo Alto HCS
3801 Miranda Avenue
112/OPTOM
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1290
(650) 493-5000 x68041
David.Yang@va.gov

Optometric Residency Program
inezb@berkeley.edu
c/o Inez Bailey, Residency Program Assistant
527 Minor Hall, School of Optometry
University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-2020