Residency Program
The Department of Ophthalmology of the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico offers an Ophthalmology Training Program for Medical graduates from approved institutions since 1955. The program has been always fully approved, formerly, by the Medical Council of the American Medical Association, the American Board of Ophthalmology; lately by the Liaison Committee on Graduate Medical Education. The official residency training is a 3 years program.
Residency Training Program
The Residency Training Program of the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine is carried out in three affiliated institutions, located in the Puerto Rico Medical Center: namely the 402 bed University District Hospital, the 642 bed San Juan Medical Hospital Dr. Rafael Lopez Nussa, and the 700 bed Veterans Administration Hospital. The first is the main teaching hospital for the School of Medicine of University of Puerto Rico. All the patients at the three institutions are available for undergraduate and post graduate teaching.
The services of ophthalmology at the affiliated hospitals are very active. Some 32,000 patients are examined in the clinics and an average of 1,200 major operations are performed annually, in addition to some 2,000 Laser procedures.
A formal ten weeks Basic Course in Ophthalmology is given each year to our interns and a large group of Latin American Ophthalmology residents. It is held between February and April. The Basic Course was organized in 1966. Instruction emphasizes the fundamentals of the basic and clinical sciences. It is provided to the students through lectures, demonstrations and laboratory work. The faculty consist of twenty-seven visiting Professors and members of our Department.
All residents also participate in a formal structural didactic educational program which includes Journal Clubs, Department Conferences, Presentations of Problem Cases and Pathology Conferences. Scholastic activity and research projects are encouraged.
Rotation through general, subspecialty clinics and emergency services provides extensive experience in every aspect of ophthalmology practice, with the benefit of faculty supervision. The surgical rotations progress from observation to performance of cases under faculty supervision. The case load is sufficient to allow the development of proficiency in anterior and posterior segment surgery.