Clinical Fellowship · 1-Year Program
Cornea, External Disease & Refractive Surgery Fellowship
The Proctor Foundation and UCSF have a long tradition of training clinicians in the art of medical and surgical cornea. We particularly enjoy mentoring fellows interested in academic careers.
What Makes This Fellowship Unique
Balanced exposure to refractive surgery, complex corneal surgery, and medical cornea. With outstanding clinical and surgical training, exposure to diverse faculty, unique research opportunities, and a complex patient population, our fellows finish well equipped to obtain their first job and manage complex medical and surgical cornea and uveitis.
Average Surgical Volume Per Fellow
~70
Cornea transplants (penetrating & endothelial)
~65
Refractive cases as primary surgeon
~35
Ocular surface procedures
~10
Sutured intraocular lenses
Cornea Fellowship Faculty
Mentorship from a faculty with diverse interests including corneal transplantation, refractive surgery, dry eye, ocular inflammatory disorders, and complex intraocular lens management.
Curriculum & Opportunities
Didactics
Dedicated didactic sessions
Wednesday noon conference, cornea clinic, Kodachrome, and Grand Rounds every week.
Research
Mentored research project
Fellows complete a mentored research project during the fellowship year with guidance in study design, implementation, and analysis. Work is presented at the fellowship graduation ceremony.
International Opportunities
Global ophthalmology exposure
Fellows can participate in research with the International Programs group in Nepal, India, Thailand, Ethiopia, and Niger.
National Meetings
ARVO & AAO support
Support to attend professional meetings. Fellows present at ARVO and are expected to submit a publication by year's end.
Eye Banking
Immersion opportunities
Several eye banking immersion opportunities with SightLife and Sierra Eye Banks.
PROSE
West Coast PROSE site
UCSF houses one of only two PROSE sites on the West Coast, allowing fellows to gain experience managing patients with this device.
Clinical Rotations
Fellows learn in three distinct practice settings, with time roughly split into thirds across the year.
Rotation One
Proctor Medical Group
Proctor faculty teach fellows about the diagnosis and management of infectious and inflammatory eye diseases, including complex external disease and uveitis. Each Wednesday afternoon throughout the year is devoted to a teaching clinic attended by numerous Proctor faculty. During this clinic, faculty, fellows, and residents examine a relatively small number of patients with complex diseases, and the entire afternoon is spent discussing the diagnosis and management. Few fellowship programs offer such in-depth, one-on-one teaching.
Rotation Two
UCSF Department of Ophthalmology
Fellows spend approximately 3.5 days per week with UCSF cornea faculty for 6 months of the year. This is a very busy clinical and surgical service where fellows spend approximately 2 days per week in the OR and are exposed to the entire breadth of complex corneal surgery including DSAEK, DMEK, DALK, PKP, Boston Keratoprosthesis, limbal stem cell transplantation, sutured lenses, pterygium surgery, and ocular surface tumors and lesions. Each attending on the cornea service has a different approach to corneal surgery, which is an ideal learning environment.
Rotation Three
Kaiser Permanente
Fellows rotate with cornea specialists at Kaiser Redwood City, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Oakland. Fellows perform approximately 2 corneal transplants per week at Kaiser including DSAEK, DALK, and PKP. This is an opportunity to practice outside of the academic setting and to see more routine cornea patients.
Refractive Surgery Intensive
US Navy Refractive Surgery Program · San Diego
While there is opportunity to perform refractive surgery on the UCSF Department of Ophthalmology rotation, the majority of refractive surgery experience is gained during a 2-week intensive refractive course at the US Navy Refractive Surgery Program in San Diego, CA. Fellows receive intensive instruction in the use of various corneal imaging devices for refractive surgery screening and typically perform 40–50 cases in the laser suite.
Applications
How to Apply
The Cornea Fellowship uses the SFMatch matching system. View our program profile on SFMatch to apply: www.sfmatch.org.
Application Deadline: September 3, 2024
Interview Day: October 10, 2024
Eligibility: Clinical Fellowship Training is available to U.S. citizens and permanent U.S. residents only.
Program Contact
Sarah Lopez, OD
Francis I. Proctor Foundation
490 Illinois St., Floor 2
San Francisco, CA 94143-0944