Optometric Residency Program
Virginia Eye Consultants and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University have jointly developed a 13-month residency program to assist in the advancement of clinical optometric education. Virginia Eye Consultants is a tertiary, referral eye care practice whose mission is to provide world class specialty eye care.
Overview
The program is designed to enhance the clinical skills necessary to diagnose and manage a wide variety of ocular diseases and conditions.
The residency program will provide vast experience in the medical and surgical management of ocular disease with an emphasis on the co-management of ocular and refractive surgery. In addition to the advanced clinical experience, the program will provide numerous opportunities for teaching optometric externs and the optometric community, scholarly activity including lecturing, writing, clinical research, and service to both the profession and the community.
Goals of the Program
The Virginia Eye Consultants optometric residency program is designed to provide advanced learning and competence in the treatment and management of ocular diseases, as well as comprehensive experience in perioperative care of ophthalmic surgeries. The following program goals of the Virginia Eye Consultants Optometric Residency Program are designed to not only provide a framework within which the resident will develop significant expertise in the diagnosis and management of disorders of the eye and visual system, but to provide a level of personal and professional support that produces a caring and competent health care professional.
Residency Program Supervisor
Katherine Rachon, OD, FAAO
Virginia Eye Consultants
241 Corporate Boulevard
Norfolk, VA 23502
EMAIL: krachon@cvphealth.com
Academic Affiliation
Shital Mani, O.D.
Director of Residency Programs
Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Drexel University
8360 Old York Road
Elkins park, PA 19027
EMAIL: sm4969@drexel.edu
Mission Statement
The mission of the Residency Program in Ocular Disease / Refractive and Ocular Surgery at Virginia Eye Consultants is to provide optometric residents an opportunity to become a “leader in World Class Specialty Eyecare”. Residents will obtain advanced clinical competencies in the areas of optometric comanagement of ocular surgery while mastering skills necessary to assess and be competent in treating ocular disease through education and patient care.
Program Length
13 months, July 1st through July 31st of any given academic year
Annual Salary
The salary for residents is $65,000 paid biweekly for the 13 months (56 weeks) for the AY 2024-2025 of the residency program to be paid by VEC. VEC will reimburse the resident(s) in the amount to cover the cost of the full licensing fee for the state of Virginia and DEA licensing fee (required). Travel expenses between offices will not be reimbursed.
Hours
Monday through Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm with occasional Saturdays
On-Call Duty
The resident(s) will be on-call for after hours and weekend emergencies for a minimum of one week each month. Call weeks typically begin on Fridays at 5:00 PM, and on-call responsibilities run from 5:00 PM to 8:00 AM on weekdays and 24 hours per day on weekends. The resident will have a back-up OD and surgeon on call at the same time to be available if needed. On-call duties will require the resident to travel to offices after hours in an effort to diagnose and treat those true ocular emergencies presenting after the offices close.
Leave
The Resident shall be entitled to take ten (10) weekdays or 80 hours of paid leave during the term of this Agreement, which may be used for personal, professional, or sick leave. The Resident is also granted paid leave to attend at least one professional meeting during the term, provided that the Resident’s attendance of each such event has been pre-approved by the Residency Director(s).
Professional Liability Protection
CVP will cover malpractice insurance from start to end of the residency program for only patients and activities associated with the residency and VEC. Upon the separation from VEC, the insurance benefits from VEC will cease and it will be the resident’s responsibility to provide his or her own insurance.
Any patient care not affiliated with VEC will require separate malpractice insurance (i.e. moonlighting).
Health Insurance Benefits
Health, dental, and vision insurance is available for purchase under CVP’s group health insurance plan and is deducted from biweekly pay. All health benefits begin on the first of the month following the first 30 days of employment. A more thorough description is available upon request from the Human Resources department.
Certificate of Completion
A certificate of completion from Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Drexel University will be presented to the resident upon satisfactory completion of all residency requirements.
Residency Experience
Clinical
The clinical curriculum will consist of structured patient care opportunities meant to enhance the resident’s ability to provide care to emergency patients, medically complex patients, and pre- and post-operative patients. Residents will be provided opportunities to work closely with medical optometrists and subspecialty ophthalmologists, as well as utilizing advanced clinical diagnostic equipment.
1. Advanced competency in cataract surgery comanagement.
The resident will provide preoperative and postoperative surgical evaluations to a minimum of at least 500 cataract surgery patients at VEC.
This will help the resident to develop an advanced degree of proficiency in the care of cataract surgery patients through the experience gained by providing care for a large number of post-surgical patients and a variety of intraocular lens technologies and surgical techniques.
2. Advanced competency in the pre-operative and post-operative management of other ophthalmic surgeries including refractive, glaucoma, retinal, corneal, and oculoplastics.
The resident will provide postoperative surgical evaluations to a minimum of at least 100 other surgical patients, not including cataract surgery.
This will allow the resident to develop an advanced degree of proficiency in the care of subspecialty surgical patients.
3. Advanced competency in the clinical care of patients with ocular disease including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinal diseases, and corneal diseases.
The resident will care for a wide variety of ocular diseases at VEC and will rotate with ophthalmology subspecialists in glaucoma, cornea, oculoplastics, and retina.
Through these experiences, the resident will develop an advanced degree of proficiency in the care of patients with ocular disease through direct patient care experience and observational experience with ophthalmologists in various subspecialties.
4. Advanced knowledge in the care of patients with systemic disease, particularly those with ocular manifestations.
The resident will provide care for patients with ocular manifestations of systemic disease
at VEC.
The resident will consult with other physicians when indicated and become comfortable communicating with other health care providers.
5. Advanced degree of proficiency in the use and interpretation of specialized ocular diagnostic procedures and instrumentation.
The resident will utilize corneal topography, automated perimetry, ophthalmic ultrasound, optical coherence tomography, corneal hysteresis, fundus autofluorescence, pachymetry, fundus photography, endothelial cell microscopy, and refractometry in the care of patients.
The resident will be able to utilize and interpret advanced diagnostic procedures in the care of ocular disease and pre- and postoperative management.
Didactic/Research
1. VEC Education Section Journal Club
The resident will be expected to review and discuss a recent journal article at the VEC Education Section Journal Club scheduled approximately once per month.
2. VEC Extern Daily Discussion
The resident will be expected to gain leadership and teaching experience by participating in the end of the day wrap up with optometry externs. This will help the resident develop communication skills that allow them to feel comfortable in helping to educate and guide students in a clinical setting.
3. VEC Residency Reading List
The resident will be instructed to complete a required reading list at the beginning of residency. This reading list will be meant to enhance clinical care and promote the clinical education of the resident. The current reading list will be provided to the resident at the start of the program and may be modified as needed by the Residency Director(s).
4. Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) Ophthalmology Resident Lecture Series
The VEC optometry resident will be expected to attend scheduled lectures with EVMS ophthalmology residents at educational presentations scheduled approximately once per month.
5. Local and State Optometric Association Meetings
The resident will be expected to attend most local and state optometric association meetings which include educational presentations. This includes approximately six (6) Tidewater Optometric Society meetings and approximately three (3) Virginia Optometric Association meetings.
Scholarly Responsibilities
The optometrists and ophthalmologists at Virginia Eye Consultants are heavily involved in continuing education and journal publication. During the program, our resident(s) participate in multiple educational opportunities including but not limited to those listed below in order to foster their confidence in becoming a successful scholarly writer and lecturer:
1. Residency Paper
The resident’s writing and research skills will be enhanced by preparing a publication quality manuscript before the end of the residency year. The resident will meet benchmark deadlines throughout the year.
2. VEC Education Section Case Presentations
The resident will be expected to present a grand rounds format case at the VEC Education Section Grand Rounds for the purpose of gaining valuable presentation experience and promoting lifelong learning.
3. AAO Virginia Chapter Meetings
The resident will be expected to present at quarterly Virginia AAO Grand Rounds meetings for the purpose of educating other optometrists in the state.
4. VEC Referral Network CE Programs
The resident will be expected to participate in at least one lecture for VEC’s referral network CE. Attendance at all other VEC referral network CE’s will be required.
5. National Optometry Conferences
The resident will be encouraged to submit posters and lectures for national meetings such as AAO, SECO, AOA, etc.
6. PCOSU Annual Residents’ Day
The resident is to prepare and present a Grand Round type presentation on campus at PCOSU during the year with dates typically Spring of a given academic year.
Goals, Objectives and Outcomes
Goal 1: Help the resident develop advanced diagnostic and management clinical skills in ocular disease.
Objective 1: Expose the resident to a wide variety of challenging ocular disease that includes medical and surgical management.
- Outcome: The resident will examine and co-manage patients presenting to the practice for medical and surgical eye care rotating through various ophthalmological subspecialties.
- Measure: The resident will maintain a patient care log with diagnostic categories for quarterly review. The residency program supervisor will review the patient care experiences and determine if they are meeting the expected goal.
Objective 2: Ensure that the resident evaluates a minimum number of patients.
- Outcome: The resident will gain experience by examining at least 2000 patients.
- Measure: Utilizing the patient care log, the resident will document total patient encounters. The patient care log will be reviewed quarterly.
Objective 3: Provide the resident the opportunity to become proficient in advanced diagnostic and treatment procedures
- Outcome: The resident will meet performance criteria for various eye care diagnostic and treatment procedures as outlined in the Resident Supervision Guidelines.
- Measure: The resident supervision log will be reviewed quarterly, and the supervisor will ensure that the resident is experienced and proficient in the specified procedures within the first nine months of the residency.
Objective 4: The resident will gain experience and proficiency in managing pre- and post-operative ophthalmic surgery patients.
- Outcome: The resident will provide a minimum number of perioperative evaluations:
500 cataract surgery patient encounters
100 other ocular surgical patient encounters - Measure: The resident will record these visits in the patient care log which will be reviewed quarterly.
Goal 2: Provide the resident with a practical understanding of a referral based ophthalmic practice.
Objective 1: Help the resident to learn appropriate use of other medical specialties.
- Outcome: The resident will refer patients and consult with other providers such as: radiology, cardiology, rheumatology, clinical laboratory etc.
- Measure: Residents will report quarterly on the patient care log any referrals and consultations requested. Routine and regular review of patient charts seen by residents will ensure that residents are writing appropriate consult letters to other sub-specialty providers.
Goal 3: Expand the resident’s health care knowledge base.
Objective 1: Encourage the resident to review the current literature and utilize evidence-based medicine.
- Outcome: The resident will be encouraged to review relevant scientific literature and participate in the optometry journal club along with our optometric externs.
- Measure: Documentation of scientific literature reviewed will be provided in the resident’s activity log.
Objective 2: Promote and encourage academic and clinical excellence throughout the residency program.
- Outcome: Residents will present lectures on various topics of eye care to students and the eye care community. Additionally, they will participate in various academic and scholarly presentations and educational programs including but not limited to VEC optometry journal club, VEC optometry grand rounds, Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) ophthalmology lecture series, Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Optometry, and VEC-sponsored continuing education events.
- Measure: The resident will document these lectures in the resident activity log.
Goal 4: Instill in the resident an appreciation for the importance of research and other scholarly activity.
Objective: Educate the resident as to the process of optometric research and manuscript preparation.
- Outcome: The resident will prepare a manuscript of publishable quality.
- Measure: The supervisor will monitor the progress of manuscript preparation as outlined.
Goal 5: Assist the resident in becoming an effective educator and role model.
Objective 1: Educate the resident on how to prepare and present a clinical lecture.
- Outcome: The resident will attend or present at least one clinical in-service or continuing education lecture monthly.
- Measure: The resident will document this presentation in the resident activity log.
Objective 2: The resident will learn how to serve as a role model to 4th year optometry students.
- Outcome: The resident will present professionalism in the clinical setting as well as during lecture materials presented.
- Measure: The resident will be evaluated on their professionalism regarding the 4th year optometry students under the professionalism category in Meditrek.
Goal 6: Help the resident to gain an appreciation for service to patients and to the optometric profession.
Objective 1: The resident will gain experience and an appreciation for service to the profession of optometry.
- Outcome: The resident will participate in local optometric society and state association activities with various responsibilities.
- Measure: The resident will document service and activity with organized optometry in the resident activity log.
Objective 2: Help the resident develop a commitment to providing charitable work within the community.
- Outcome: The resident will on occasion participate in health screenings and/or examine patients who are referred for charity care from the community, the Virginia Eye Foundation, or other organizations.
- Measure: Charitable work will be documented in the resident activity log.
Goal 7: Prepare the resident with a strong understanding of clinical integration and communication between healthcare providers including referral letters, progress notes, and proper billing and coding.
Objective 1: The resident will learn proper CPT and ICD coding and billing procedures.
- Outcome: The resident will be responsible for billing and coding properly on all patients.
- Measure: The attending reviews the coding prior to discharging the patient and the practice’s certified billing/coding compliance coordinator regularly reviews charts for proper coding.
Objective 2: The resident will gain vast experience working in an optometry/ophthalmology co-management setting.
- Outcome: Residents completing the program will be qualified to obtain employment in a surgical comanagement setting.
- Measure: The Residency Director(s) will monitor resident program evaluations, completion rates, and career placement.
Goal 8: Seek and maintain accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Optometric Education (ACOE) of the American Optometric Association (AOA).
Objective 1: VEC will maintain an educational affiliation with PCOSDU in support of the residency and its accreditation.
Objective 2: VEC will seek and maintain ACOE accreditation.
Outcome Measure: VEC will maintain an active affiliation agreement with PCOSDU and is scheduled for an ACOE re-accreditation site visit on May 14th 2025.
Goal 9: Attract a large, diverse, and well-qualified pool of applicants.
Objective 1: To have program information available to each School and College of Optometry through residency information websites and at targeted student residency forums at educational conferences such as the AAO meeting..
Objective 2: To contact all interested applicants and provide them with detailed information on the program and its application requirements.
Outcomes Measures:
The program information is made available to each School and College of Optometry through residency information websites (ASCO Residency Program Directory, Optometry Residency Match- ORMatch).
The doctors at Virginia Eye Consultants have either authored or reviewed the content on this site.