NYMC > Departments > Academic Departments > School of Medicine > Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

The Department of Ophthalmology of New York Medical College (NYMC) is one of the oldest Ophthalmology services in the country. It was founded as the New York Ophthalmic Hospital in 1852 in New York City. After merging with New York Medical College in 1867, a formal training program for Ophthalmologists under one of the first Professorships of Ophthalmic Surgery was established. Currently, the Department of Ophthalmology training program is based at the Westchester Medical Center and Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital in Valhalla and involves clinical rotations at the Metropolitan Hospital on the upper east side of New York. Our mission is to provide comprehensive ophthalmology training to produce a skilled ophthalmologist equipped to meet the medical and surgical needs of the community in the twenty-first century. 

Westchester Medical Center (WMC) is an 895-bed tertiary care hospital providing health services to the residents of the Hudson Valley. The strengths of the program include the diverse population that the ophthalmology clinic caters to and the complex cases seen in the inpatient service of the hospital. One of the distinctive features of our residency program is the busy inpatient consult service with different pathologies that often need a multi-disciplinary approach, providing a unique learning opportunity to the residents. The hospital consult service also gives residents an excellent opportunity to be exposed to wide ranging cases that highlights the ocular manifestations of systemic disease.

WMC is a regional Level 1 trauma center with a burn unit and has a busy emergency department caring for a wide range of ophthalmic emergencies and ocular trauma ranging from orbital, maxillofacial fractures, retro-bulbar hemorrhages to globe ruptures. This offers to the training residents a firsthand opportunity in managing complicated eye injuries with supervised faculty help.

The newly built Ambulatory Care Pavilion with the outpatient surgical facility houses state of the art operating rooms and all the advanced diagnostic and surgical equipment needed for the practice of ophthalmic surgery. WMC is proud to be one of the few programs in the country to have the new 3D ophthalmic microscope and visualization system NGENUITY. We believe that at WMC, the advanced diagnostic modalities supplement the clinical experience and help the resident in evaluating, recognizing and applying the medical knowledge to daily practice.

The Ophthalmology department also continues to grow with the addition of new core full time faculty to the existing multiple part time faculty on staff in both locations. All the sub-specialties including surgical retina are covered by faculties with decades of experience and who are known both in the community and nationally. Residents also have the opportunity to pursue research during the three years and often residents with a specific interest in a subspecialty area are placed with a mentor to pursue a specific project.

In summary, the New York Medical College program offers a comprehensive medical education to its residents in tertiary care hospital setting to pursue a fulfilling ophthalmology career in community practice, academic setting or for pursuing a fellowship.

Medical Student Information

Ophthalmology Interest Group

This group is designed to be of benefit to medical students in all levels. The purpose of this group will be to expose students to ophthalmology which will provide them with the information necessary to determine if this field is the career for them. Through the interest group we plan to have lectures (presented by various faculty on student-level concepts), provide community service activities through glaucoma screening at local health fairs, and to allow students the chance to practice their ophthalmic examination skills. Also, this group will serve as a gateway for students to create professional relationships with the faculty of the department. 

Medical Student Rotations

Medical student rotations are offered on a 2 week or 4 week basis during the third and fourth years of medical school. During these rotations, the students are invited to rotate through the various subspecialty clinics to gain exposure to all areas of ophthalmology. Students are also encouraged to go to the OR to observe as many cases as they prefer. Whether or not the student plans to enter the field of ophthalmology, this rotation can be optimized to provide the greatest educational opportunity. 

We also offer away rotations to students of other institutions.

Dr. Abha Amin is Director of Medical Student Clerkship and can be reached by emailing Donna Hemmings (donna.hemmings@wmchealth.org).

Student Research Projects

Students of all grade levels are invited to participate in research projects, if desired. Each resident is required to participate in a scholarly activity and can provide mentorship for medical students contemplating a career in ophthalmology. 

For information on the Ophthalmology Interest Group, please contact Raphael Gildengorn (rgildeng@student.nymc.edu)

Dr. Abha Amin is Director of Medical Student Clerkship and can be reached by emailing Donna Hemmings (donna.hemmings@wmchealth.org).

Ophthalmology Residency

Our mission is to train general ophthalmologists to be able to practice ophthalmology without supervision upon completion of three years of training with supervision. Our training program accomplishes the goals by offering training in two locations: Westchester Medical Center and NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan with each institution offering a unique setting and patient base, thereby able to provide a broad scope and depth of clinical experience for our residents. We utilize case presentations, didactic lectures by faculty, patient safety conferences, journal club presentations and grand rounds by visiting professors on a broad scope of topics including practice management, cultural diversity, ethics, patient safety and other pertinent topics. We provide outstanding clinical care to the Westchester community and the residents of the Hudson Valley. 

Learn more about the NYMC ophthalmology residency program here.

Meet the Team

Kelly A. Hutcheson, M.D., M.B.A.Kelly A. Hutcheson, M.D., M.B.A.
Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology
Director of Ophthalmology for Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth)

Westchester Medical Center
100 Woods Road
Macy Pavilion, Suite 1044A
Valhalla, NY 10595

Michelle Hodge
Administrative Assistant
Phone: 914.493.3619

Donna Hemmings
Program Coordinator
Phone: 914.493.7671
Fax: 914.493.7445

NYC H+H/Metropolitan
Randi Hartman
Program Coordinator
Phone: 212.423.6080
Fax: 212.423.7667

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