Exciting and New: Ophthalmology Residency Training Program in UMass Chan Medical School

The Department of Ophthalmology at UMass is proud to announce the beginning of our newly Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-approved Ophthalmology Residency Program. “We are committed to exceptional resident education,” the Director of Medical Education for the department, Misha Faustina, M.D., FACS stated.

The objectives of the program include providing excellent comprehensive clinical training in all aspects of medical and surgical ophthalmology and to create an atmosphere and enthusiasm for discovery and service. Two resident physicians will be added annually.  At the start, all applicants must complete a post-graduate (PGY)-1 year of prerequisite training in an ACGME-approved program prior to beginning PGY-2 Ophthalmology Residency positions. 

As the ACGME shifts to a four year ophthalmology training program, UMass is poised to offer an integrated internship in future classes.  “We currently are taking applications for the July 2019 and July 2020 classes.”  

An Association of American Medical Colleges March 2018 report projected needing an additional 6000 Ophthalmologists by 2020 and more than 130,000 MDs by 2030.  With a physician deficit looming, UMass hosts highly qualified, dedicated medical school graduates and now offers 54 ACGME-approved training programs to produce the next generation of physicians. 

What was once a small clinical division, the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, under the leadership of newly appointed Chair, Shlomit Schaal, M.D., recently doubled clinical volume in one year, won the UMass Memorial Innovators of the Year Award followed by a finalist placement for team problem solving by Lean techniques, has recruited new and renowned faculty, and is practicing newer techniques in 3-D surgery and training.  For more information please contact us at umassophtho@umassmed.edu and view our website https://www.umassmed.edu/ophthalmology