Clinical Fellowships

Clinical Fellowships

• Introduction
• Fellowship Requirements
• Available Subspecialty
• Application Process
• Responsibility of a Clinical Fellow

Introduction

The main idea for these fellowships are to promote and encourage interaction in research and education with ophthalmology institutions throughout the world, the many major academic institutions offer International Ophthalmology Fellowships consisting of one-year programs of study under the supervision of specific institute faculty. Candidates for these international fellowships are often nominated by institutions outside the United States . Some apply to the program on their own. Fellows participate in the clinical and research activities of ophthalmic subspecialties according to their training needs. When training is completed, the International Fellow is issued a Certificate of Fellowship from the institute

Fellowship Requirements

The fellowship in ophthalmology is a full-time commitment. Fellows are usually appointed to the staff of the University. International fellows are required to have a J-1 visa or a H1 B visa depending on the policy of the institution. A J-1 visa sponsored by the ECFMG program (http://www.ecfmg.org/) may qualify. Fellows who plan to have clinical activity must be qualified to obtain a training or permanent medical license from the state. Medical licenses are issued on a state-by-state basis, and the requirements may vary somewhat from state to state. A physician must obtain a medical license from the medical board of the state where he or she plans to practice after completion of residency training and/or certification. Contact the Federation of State Medical Boards of the U.S. , Inc. (FSMB) at the following address (www.fsmb.org) to obtain general information on medical licensure. The International Fellowship in Ophthalmic Pathology may be an exception in some cases.

Subspecialty Areas

Ophthalmology fellowships are offered in the following subspecialty areas:

• Anterior Segment Surgery
• Cornea and External Diseases
• Glaucoma
• Neuro-Ophthalmology
• Oculoplastics
• Ophthalmic Pathology
• Pediatric Ophthalmology
• Retina-Vitreous
• Uveitis- Immunology
• Miscellaneous Fellowships

More information on the available subspecialties, programs and specific requirements can be found at http://www.sfmatch.org/.

Application Process

Each fellowship program has its own fellowship director. Application materials should be sent to the fellowship director or the program co-coordinator. All correspondence regarding a specific fellowship program should be sent to that program. Programs may have specific deadlines and positions get filled up well in advance (in some cases there is a waiting list). We strongly encourage you to visit http://www.sfmatch.org/ and web sites of individual programs. All ophthalmology fellowships are “non-standard subspecialty discipline”. Further information on the application and sponsorship for training in non-standard subspecialty discipline is available at http://ecfmg.org/evsp/nonstand.html.

Non-Standard Subspecialty Disciplines Recognized for Purpose of J‑1 Sponsorship

Glaucoma

Retina/vitreous

Cornea

Pediatric/strabismus

Oculoplastics

Ophthalmic pathology

Neuro-ophthalmology

Uveitis

Ocular oncology

Websites of interest
http://www.ecfmg.org/

http://www.abop.org/

Clinical Responsibilities

Clinical responsibilities of a fellow are usually under direct supervision of one or more full time faculty. Many programs are supplemented by the valuable participation of part-time faculty members adding a flavor of private practice. Most of the fellowships are geared primarily to a broad clinical experience of the specialty with exposure to techniques of clinical research, laboratory research, or both. Some with a special interest in an academic career who need to be firmly grounded in research techniques have tailor-made fellowships, sometimes extending their time an extra 6 or 12 months.

Research

Each fellowship program encourages the fellow to perform at least one research project in order to understand what goes into research and to learn to evaluate the literature better. Most commonly, fellows undertake a retrospective review of clinical records in an effort to generate new knowledge, but they are also encouraged to perform other types of research, such as exploration of questions of natural history, evaluation of diagnostic tests (e.g., disc or nerve fiber imaging, perimetry, electrophysiology), and therapy being studied in controlled prospective studies, especially for those who intend to include research efforts in their future academic career.

Certain fellowships may have protected research time for the clinical fellows while others may be more clinically oriented with fellows doing research at their own time (weekends/evenings). Usually each fellowship has its individual requirements but generally fellows are required to complete one research project during their training and present their findings at a departmental/university research day. Fellows typically attend at least one international conference. This includes the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Ophthalmology and Vision (ARVO) held each spring in Fort Lauderdale , Florida , American Academy of Ophthalmology or a subspecialty society annual meeting. Certain fellowships may offer a fellow according to his or her academic interest a second optional year for research.

Teaching

Usually fellows are actively involved in teaching both the medical students and residents. Many programs will expect their fellows to present at departmental grand rounds multiple times during the year. Dedicated resident and medical students lectures may also be expected from the fellows.