NYMC > Ophthalmology Residency

Ophthalmology Residency at WMC and Metropolitan

The Department of Ophthalmology is dedicated to the education of residents in preparation for their entry into the field of ophthalmology. The goal of the program is to enable our residents to achieve their professional goals of clinical practice, academia, or fellowship. Our training program has two locations: Westchester Medical Center and Metropolitan Hospital Center. Each institution offers a unique setting and patient base. In combination, these institutions provide a broad scope and depth of clinical experience for our residents. 

 

Westchester Medical Center

First year ophthalmology residents spend most of their time in ophthalmology clinics at Westchester Medical Center. The primary emphasis is on general ophthalmology but there is significant exposure to the subspecialty clinics such as cornea, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology and retina. While in their first year residents perform minor surgical procedures (such as chalazia) and serve as first assistant in the operating room for more complicated cases 2-4 days per month. In addition to this the first year residents are able to travel off site for low-vision and refractive surgery experience 2-4 half days per month. The exposure the residents have in their first year allows them to become comfortable with performing intraocular surgical procedures by their second year. 

Second year residents continue to development their clinical skills in addition to beginning to learn surgical technique. While at Westchester the resident participates in the general and subspecialty ophthalmology clinics. Here they also participate in the operating room 1-2 days a week, focusing on oculoplastics and pediatric surgical cases. 

Third year residents act as chief residents and are typically dedicated to the operating room. While at Westchester Medical Center the third year resident typically operates 3-4 days per week. Typically 2 days a week are reserved for resident-cases where they are the primary surgeon and 1-2 days per week they assist in the private cases which are technically challenging procedures which provides an excellent learning experience.

NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan

NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan was founded in September 1875, the same year it began its affiliation with the New York Homeopathic Medical College (now known as the New York Medical College). This relationship has become the oldest medical college-hospital affiliation in the United States.

Metropolitan’s first home was the Homeopathic Hospital, established by the New York City Department of Public Charities and Correction, on Ward’s Island in the East River. Housed in a building originally constructed in 1867 for the Inebriate Asylum, it was later known as the Ward’s Island Hospital.

In 1894, the hospital moved to Blackwell’s Island (later known as Welfare Island and currently Roosevelt Island). It occupied the former New York City Asylum for the Insane and was renamed Metropolitan Hospital.

The hospital moved to its present location in East Harlem in 1955, into two newly constructed buildings now dedicated to inpatient and outpatient services. Metropolitan was officially designated a Hospital Center in 1965. A year later, the hospital added its Mental Health Building, an adjoining 14-story pavilion housing the hospital’s psychiatric services.

In 1981, the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation established a managed care demonstration project, Metropolitan Health Plan. It was one of the first HMOs in a public hospital and later became known as MetroPlus Health Plan.

Today, the NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan Hospital is a full service community hospital that provides state-of-the-art care and leading edge technology in a modern environment. We provide culturally-sensitive care to patients from all five New York City boroughs in a welcoming and hospitable setting, emphasizing primary care medicine and utilizing the latest advances in medical science. Close patient supervision by a specially trained multidisciplinary team of health professionals helps ensure that patients receive the best, most effective care possible. From patients suffering from asthma or diabetes to women seeking early detection and treatment for breast cancer, we provide compassionate, appropriate, and affordable care.