Residency in Cornea and Contact Lenses
SUNY College of Optometry, NYC

SUNY College of Optometry 
33 West 42nd St, New York, NY 10036

Program Supervisor
David Libassi, OD
Phone: (212) 938-5872
Fax: (212) 938-4146
Email: dlibassi@sunyopt.edu

Additional Program Faculty
David Ritterband, MD
John Seeder, MD
William Tullow, OD

Description of Program
This 12-month program is designed to enhance the individual's understanding of contact lens design and application, as well as their potential impact on corneal physiology. Through direct patient encounter and supervision of third- and fourth-year interns, the Cornea and Contact Lens resident will gain experience primarily in the fitting of rigid gas permeable and custom soft contact lenses. The resident will work alongside senior Specialty Contact Lens Clinical faculty with extensive experience in fitting all lens designs. The resident will fit, manage and follow clinical cases of keratoconus, irregular cornea, post corneal transplant, rigid and soft prosthetic lenses, high myopia, high astigmatism, pediatric aphakia, as well as some disposable soft spherical and toric lenses. Additional clinical time is scheduled each week for the resident to work with a corneal specialist on the diagnosis and management of patients suffering with anomalies of the cornea.

Educational Opportunities
Didactic educational requirements are primarily fulfilled by the SUNY Friday Program. This program of weekly seminars by select academic and clinical faculty is designed to reinforce the residents' broad clinical experiences. In addition, the contact lens resident will attend an off-campus two-day clinical educational program in the fitting and management of ocular prosthetics. Certification of prosthetic training and subsequent patient care at the university provides the resident with a rare and desirable clinical skill. Finally, residents are encouraged to attend and participate in the American Academy of Optometry yearly educational meeting.

Teaching Responsibilities
The resident will have direct clinical teaching responsibilities, give both minor and major presentations to other residents and selected faculty, as well as present seminars to the third- and/or fourth-year students. 

Research Responsibilities
Working directly with the program supervisor and the coordinator for clinical research the resident will be responsible for conducting his/her own publishable research or actively participating as co-investigator/co-author for an on-going project. Such research will likely involve both clinical as well as laboratory research skills.

Benefits
There is optional participation in a health insurance plan including prescription drug coverage, with a contribution from the employee, depending on the option chosen. Dental care and vision coverage is available through the union representing this position. Residents earn sick leave and annual leave at the rate of 1.25 days per month. Twelve paid holidays per calendar year.

Mission Statement

The Cornea and Contact Lens residency, sponsored by the State University of New York, State College of Optometry, provides qualified optometrists with advanced clinical education in contact lens patient care.  The program will provide four main components; a clinical patient care component, a didactic component that provides advanced knowledge in contact lens care; a teaching component that allows for the acquisition of clinical and classroom educator skills; and research / scholarly activity portion.  The resident is scheduled for direct patient care in both the University Specialty Contact Lens Service and cornea service of Ophthalmic Consultants of New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. Upon completion of the program the resident will be qualified to provide high level patient care in the areas of contact lenses, corneal disease management, and pre / post corneal surgery. It is expected that the graduating resident should be prepared to engage in self-initiated or collaborative research, conduct related scholarly activities, and function as an optometric educator in this field.  

Listed below are the Goals of the residency, the Outcomes and discussion about each of the Program Objectives for the Cornea and Contact Lens Residency (C&CL) position at the State University of New York, State College of Optometry.

Goal 1: To attract and select qualified candidates.

Objective 1.   The Cornea & Contact lens Residency program will be announced in the
College’s advertisement of all its residency positions, in the AOA News
one time per year, and to the presiding SUNY fourth year.
optometry class.

Objective 2. The program will be included in the College’s written material made
available at the luncheon for residency networking at the annual American Academy of Optometry meeting.

Objective 3. The Cornea & Contact Lens Residency Program will be listed and described on the Residency Page of the SUNY College Web Site.

Objective 4. Distribution of SUNY Residency information will be distributed to the faculty of the Contact Lens Service at every school and college of Optometry in North America and Puerto Rico.

Objective 5. To identify qualified optometric candidates.
 

Goal 2:   To provide advanced training in the design and application of specialty contact lenses.

Objective 1.  The resident will examine, manage and provide patient education to no fewer than 365 Specialty Contact Lens patients.  Within this total patient number we expect the resident to see:
Soft Spherical patients    50
Soft Astigmatic patients   15

RGP Spherical patients    100
RGP Astigmatic patients   20
Adult & Pediatric Aphakic patients  10

Keratoconic RGP patients     125
Keratoconic Piggyback patients   20
Post PK fitting     20

Ocular prosthetic      5  

Objective 2. The resident will attend and demonstrate proficiency in the procedures
Covered in the Advanced Clinical Procedures Laboratory for SUNY Residents-Summer 2010. This laboratory, conducted between July and August 2010 was coordinated by Dr. Adamczyk and others to train residents in the use of advanced clinical testing procedures.

Objective 3.   The resident will receive specialized training from Monoplex
Prosthetic Eye Services in the design and fitting of artificial eyes.

Goal 3:   To provide the resident with advanced education in contact lenses.

Objective 1. The resident will attend educational programs for the design and fitting of
advanced contact lens correction. The resident will complete all readings of journal articles, textbooks, and electronic informational services, assigned by the residency supervisor.

Objective 2.  The resident shall attend at least one scholarly meeting devoted to specialty
Contact lens care.

Objective 3.  The resident will attend lecture sessions concerning post refractive surgical
Care and observe at least 1 PRK refractive surgery, 1 Lasik refractive surgery, and 1 Corneal transplant surgery.

Objective  4.  The resident will attend the required 35 hours of Grand Rounds and /or
Workshops as specified in the College's Manual of Procedures for Residency Programs.

Goal 4:   To provide the resident with experience in didactic and clinical
teaching.

Objective 1.   The resident will attend a College sponsored day long class on effective
oral presentations.

Objective 2.  The resident gained didactic experience through the Friday Residents
Academic program. Each SUNY Resident is required to attend the Friday programs and deliver one minor presentation and one major, continuing education style presentation to their peers and college faculty.

Objective 3.  Under the mentorship of the program supervisor and other selected faculty,
the resident will provide clinical and/or laboratory instruction to optometric interns rotating through the Specialty Contact Lens Service for at least 10 sessions during the Fall and 16 sessions during the Winter academic semesters.

Goal 5:   To provide the resident with research/scholarly activity opportunities.

Objective 1.   In early August, the resident, with approval from the resident supervisor,    will identify one or more clinical cases of interest to the resident.  This    subject matter or patient experience will be submitted to the American    Academy of Optometry, with the goal of presenting the results as a poster,   or paper during the fall  meeting.

Objective 2.    The resident will complete a publishable quality paper in accordance with
the policy contained in the College's Manual for Procedures for Residency Programs.

Goal 6:   The resident will provide direct patient care for patients in need of cornea care.

Objective 1.  The resident will provide direct patient care in the cornea practice of New York Eye & Ear Infirmary, Ophthalmic Consultants, for all four quarters of the year.  This exposure will provide the resident with the opportunity to work with corneal surgeons.

Goal 7:   Graduated Cornea and Contact Lens Residents should be comfortable pursuing careers in private practice, academia, and the ophthalmic industry.

Objective 1.   Career paths of past residents will be monitored in an effort to determine
How this year of specialized training has affected their professional success.

Contact Lens Residency Curriculum