UCSF: Ocular Disease

UCSF Optometry Clinic Tour

Mission

The Optometric Residency Program at the Berkeley Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science and its affiliate programs seek to recruit and admit the best qualified post-graduate optometrists and provide them with advanced clinical education and concentrated clinical experience in specialty areas of optometry in an institutional or hospital-based setting. This mentored educational and clinical experience prepares optometrists for lifelong scholarship in patient care, education, and optometric leadership.

The UCSF Optometry Residency program in ocular disease with an emphasis in primary care is a one-year postgraduate clinical training program designed to develop advanced competency in optometric care, facilitate scholarly development, and prepare its graduates for a career in a complex, multidisciplinary healthcare environment.

Program Goals

The primary goal of the program is to develop the resident’s advanced clinical competency in providing high-quality primary eye care. Residents will learn to function as an effective member of the health care team through treatment and management of various complex ocular conditions, in the setting of a multidisciplinary medical center. Each resident’s scholarly development is enhanced through a structured academic program designed to complement the clinical training. The residency will prepare its graduates for a lifelong commitment to quality patient care, optometric education, and leadership.

Time Commitment

The resident is expected to be in clinic five days a week, Monday – Friday from 8:00am to approximately 5:00pm. Urgent care follow-up may involve patient care outside these hours. There are no on-call duties.

Requirements for Residency Completion

• Complete one year of training.
• Three oral case presentations as part of the Resident Lecture Series.
• Residency manuscript with approval from Program Coordinator and Residency Director.
• Submission of all patient logs and evaluations.
• Favorable recommendation from the Program Coordinator.
• Completion of all charting including obtaining co-signatures of mentors as required.

Clinical Curriculum

The Division of Optometry serves as primary eye care providers, in which residents encounter various ophthalmic conditions including anterior and posterior segment disease, glaucoma, refractive disorders, and ocular emergencies. Residents will also participate in specialized mentorship in low vision clinic, PROSE contact lens clinic, and pediatrics/strabismus clinic.

Academic Curriculum and Research Activity

The weekly scholarly program will build the resident’s grasp of fundamental ocular conditions, including etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and proper management. Residents will attend weekly didactic activities including journal club, optometry seminar, and Department of Ophthalmology Grand Rounds. Residents will give oral presentations three times a year during the Resident Lecture Series. Residents are required to produce a manuscript of publishable quality by the end of the residency year. The residents will have the benefit of mentorship from highly trained and experienced attending doctors.

Residents who are interested in research may design a UCSF Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved research project to be completed by the conclusion of the residency program. The research will be detailed in a manuscript of publishable quality. Residents will have the benefit of mentorship from one or more attending doctors in designing and completing the approved research.

Clinic

The Division of Optometry is located at the brand new, state of the art facility Wayne and Gladys Valley Center for Vision at UCSF Mission Bay. Each resident will be provided an examination room. Diagnostic equipment includes Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT), fundus camera, anterior segment photography, corneal topography, and autorefractor.

Benefits

• Residents will be compensated at a rate of $48,900 per year. Compensation and benefits are independent of the resident’s productivity.
• Residents may enroll in a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and/or vision coverage. Residents are automatically enrolled in life, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D), and disability insurance. Alternatively, Residents may enroll in UC Berkeley’s Student Health Insurance Program (SHIP), or provide proof of healthcare coverage if declining coverage through UCSF or UC Berkeley.
• Professional liability protection is provided by the University of California, San Francisco through the UC Regents Self Insured Program, handled by Medical Center Risk Management.
• 20 days paid time off
• Ten paid federal holidays
• 5 days professional leave

Admissions Eligibility Criteria

• Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree from an ACOE accredited school or college of optometry
• Minimum cumulative GPA 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) in their optometry professional curriculum
• Completed and passed NBEO part I, part II and TMOD examinations prior to the ORMatch date
• Applicants must satisfy all requirements to be eligible for California licensure. This includes successful completion of NBEO Part III and passing the California law exam administered through the state board
• International candidates must be eligible for an OPT visa.

How To Apply

Use the button below to apply to the UCSF Optometry Residency via the Optometry Residency Match (ORMatch) program.

Selection Procedure

The following documents will be submitted to ORMatch to be forwarded to UCSF Optometry Residency Program.

• NBEO Scores
• Letter of intent
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Copy of optometry school transcripts
• Three letters of recommendation

Next Steps:

• After thorough review of completed applications, the most qualified candidates will be invited to interview at UCSF Medical Center with the Residency Coordinator and faculty members.
• In person interviews are strongly encouraged, however, telephone/video conference may be arranged if the former is not possible.
• The Residency Coordinator and faculty members will sequentially rank all qualified applicants.The final ranking list will be submitted to ORMatch by the Residency Coordinator.
• ORMatch will notify the program of the results of the match.
• The Residency Coordinator and Residency Director will contact the matched candidates to confirm intent to enroll in the residency program.
• Matched candidates must submit official optometry school transcripts to the Residency Coordinator as required by the UC Berkeley Graduate Division.

Residency Coordinator