VA Muskogee Medical Center

Contact Person: Melissa Turner Melissa.Turner4@va.gov

Clinical Teaching Faculty: Melissa D. Turner, O.D., FAAO, Optometry Student Externship Coordinator

Type of Practice: VA Medical Center

Primary care optometry in a hospital setting with a large population of ocular disease, including diabetes, macular degeneration, glaucoma and other pathologies.

Demographics

• Our patient population is primarily geriatric patients and are predominantly male.

• There are ~ 35-60 patients scheduled in the eye clinic per day.

Prerequisites for Student Interns

• Please see Externships Documentation and Requirements page for additional requirements.

Equipment

• Students are not required to bring any equipment but may if they would like.
• Each examination room is equipped with a BIO and fundus lenses.
• Do not bring any tonometry probes or gonioscopy lenses due to internal sterilization guidelines.

Patient Services Provided

• Comprehensive eye care to include the treatment and management of ocular disease.

Educational Objectives

• To become more comfortable and confident in ocular disease diagnosis and management.
• To improve efficiency, time management, technical and clinical examination skills.

Student Responsibilities

• A willingness to work hard and learn while working as an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team in providing patient care at the VA Medical Center.
• Compliance with all instructions and VA policies as directed by staff.
• Professional appearance and attitude. Scrubs are allowed.
• Timeliness and dependability are requirements.

Faculty responsibilities

• Provide appropriately supervised clinical educational experiences, with emphasis in ocular disease and primary eye care.

Miscellaneous Information

• Clinic hours are 8:00-4:30 Monday through Friday, although urgent care and patient care responsibilities may occasionally involve a later departure.
• Parking at the facility is limited, additional parking is available off site with a shuttle to the facility. There is no parking fee.
• Housing is not provided by the VA. However, information from previous students is available upon request.
• A gym with fitness equipment is available at the medical center and students may use the gym at no charge.