Family Practice Optometry Residency

Residency in Family Practice Optometry

(Three positions available)

This program provides the resident with an opportunity to gain clinical experience and expertise in one or more areas of specialization within primary care optometry. An unique aspects of the NSUOCO family practice residency is that the resident participates in creating their clinic schedule to satisfy their personal needs and interests. Residents typically choose to pursue one primary clinical interest and one or two secondary clinical interests. Clinics include:

  • Ocular Disease Diagnosis and Management
  • Contact Lenses
  • Vision Therapy / Pediatrics
  • Vision Rehabilitation / Geriatrics
  • Primary Vision Care

Residents primarily provide patient care at Cherokee Nation Hastings Hospital Chester Pheiffer Optometry Clinic and Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry in Tahlequah, OK. Residents also occasionally provide patient care in the NSUOCO Rural Eye Program; clinics in Cherokee Nation outpatient facilities located in Salina, OK, Stilwell, OK, Muskogee, OK, Sallisaw, OK and Jay, OK. The residents provided evening and weekend emergency room eye care at Cherokee Nation Hastings Hospital approximately one week per month and need to be within 15 minutes of the hospital while on call.

In addition to providing direct patient care, residents may participate in grand rounds, ophthalmological observation, and hospital rotations. A regularly scheduled residency seminar promotes literature review and study. Teaching is another important aspect of this program, with opportunities to become involved in didactic and clinical education of optometry students, optometrists, and other health care providers. Each resident is also required to submit a research paper, literature review, or case report, and paper presentation or publication is encouraged.

Expected weekly hours of duty are 40 hours per week plus evening and weekend emergency room eye care at Cherokee Nation Hastings Hospital. Attendance of continuing education may lengthen the weekly hours of duties.

Please see the NSU Staff Handbook for specific information regarding health insurance provided.

Residents are provided leave benefits. Residents receive 10 days of vacation. They accrue personal leave (which includes sick leave, personal business leave, bereavement leave, military leave, and jury duty leave) at the rate of 12.0 hours per month. NSU is closed for several holidays (3 days at Thanksgiving, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Spring Break (2 days), Fall Break (2 days), and Fourth of July holiday. At the beginning of the year, residents are assigned which holidays they are on call. Residents are asked to volunteer for which holidays they prefer to be on call for first. If volunteering fails to cover all holidays, then names are drawn to determine who receives which holidays. If the resident is not scheduled to be on call, the resident is not expected to be at work on these holidays and they are not taken from his or her vacation. Residents also receive professional leave to attend continuing education meetings. The amount of professional leave each resident receives is at the discretion of the Residency Supervisor. The Supervisor encourages attendance at Continuing Education courses. Please see the NSU Staff Handbook for a more in-depth discussion of personal leave and holidays.

Specific requirements are in place for program completion and awarding of the Certificate of Residency. The requirements are as follows:

  • Completed publishable quality paper (research paper, literature review, or case report), all Patient Encounter Logs with encounter types, and all Residency Activity Logs.
  • Completed exit evaluations (Evaluation of Clinical Supervisors, Evaluation of Residency Program Supervisor, Evaluation of NSUOCO Residency Director, and Residency Program Evaluation).
  • Passage of NBEO Part I, II and III including passage of the TMOD.

ASCO Information Sheet

E-mail the Family Practice Supervisor, Alissa Proctor O.D.

NSUOCO student Brent Wichert performing gonio exam.
 

 

 

Mission, Goals, Objectives

Mission

The mission of the Residency in Family Practice Optometry is to provide advanced clinical training for post-graduate optometrists, allowing residents upon completion of the program to pursue professional opportunities which require a high level of clinical expertise.

Goal A

Provide appropriately supervised clinical educational experiences with emphasis in the area(s) of primary care optometry selected by the resident.

Objectives:

  • Provide the resident a minimum of 1200 patient encounters.
  • Provide the resident exposure to a high diversity of clinical conditions within his/her area(s) of emphasis.
  • Encourage appropriate referral and co-management of patients with other health care providers.
  • Allow the resident to participate in the clinical supervision of optometry students.

Goal B

Stimulate scholarly development in the resident.

Objectives:

  • Encourage lecture and workshop presentations in the form of continuing education, grand rounds, optometry classroom, etc.
  • Stimulate life-long learning by keeping the resident active in critically reviewing ophthalmic literature.
  • Allow the resident to attend continuing education courses.
  • Require completion of a research paper, literature review, or case report of publishable quality by the end of the residency program.

Goal C

Stimulate a commitment to service in the resident.

Objectives:

  • Enhance the resident's active involvement in the optometric community by encouraging membership and participation in optometric organizations.