Program Overview

Program Description

The KCVA Ocular Disease Residency with an emphasis in Glaucoma and Vision Rehabilitation is a program that seeks enthusiastic individuals who enjoy learning in an exciting medical center environment. Three residents are selected each year. The program was the first accredited, hospital-based optometry residency program in the United States. As of July 2024, the program has graduated 134 residents. These individuals have gone on to become VA staff, optometry school faculty and deans, department of ophthalmology faculty, and practitioners in OD/MD practices all over the country.

Program Mission Statement

The mission of the Kansas City VA Optometry Residency is to help highly motivated residents become great doctors who are experts in ocular disease, vision rehabilitation, and medical humanities. The program aims to develop residents into doctors who are confident, creative, curious, and intellectually honest; who can think for themselves and learn on their own; who are self-aware and greatly interested in self-improvement; and who are passionate about life-long learning.

Educational Opportunities

Education in Ocular Disease

The Kansas City VA Optometry Residency provides education in ocular disease through a mix of didactic education, self-study, and patient care. The program spends one hour every morning and three hours on Friday afternoons discussing eye disease. The conversations are designed to help residents build new strategies for learning eye disease by providing a framework that can help solve any patient problem.

• Residents will see a wide range of patients with glaucoma, macular disease, cataracts, and diabetes.
• Residents will also gain experience managing other eye problems such as corneal disease, uveitis, neuro optic nerve disease, and diplopia.
• The program aims to develop residents into confident decision-makers by giving them considerable decision-making responsibility for their patients.

Education in Vision Rehabilitation

The Kansas City VA offers a unique education in low vision rehabilitation, providing care to patients with a wide range of vision loss. As a resident, you are an important member of the low vision rehabilitation team, spending about half a day per week working on low vision.

• Residents will work with veterans with mild to profound vision loss, preparing them to provide care for people with a range of visual needs.
• Residents will examine patients, overcome apprehensions about working with visually disabled patients, and learn creative solutions for helping them.
• The optometry staff is available to provide practical patient-care advice, and the program includes weekly conversations and instruction in low vision care.

The Art of Doctoring and Teaching

The program believes that great doctors care deeply about both the science and the art of medicine. The residency year is the right time to explore and clearly define philosophies on doctoring. The program guides residents in developing their philosophies on doctoring, including their purpose, motives, and the type of person they want to be as a doctor.

• Residents will develop thoughtful and clear philosophies on doctoring, helping them make wise decisions in difficult circumstances.
• The program prepares residents to be great teachers, reading books on teaching in medicine and exploring the characteristics of a true teacher.
• Residents will develop their philosophies and voice as a teacher, supervising fourth-year optometry students in the second half of the residency.

Stipend

The stipend for the program is $45,751.

Accreditation

The Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) has granted the Residency Program in Ocular Disease with Emphasis in Vision Rehabilitation and Glaucoma at the Kansas City VA Medical Center the accreditation status of "Accredited." Accredited is a classification granted to an educational program indicating that the program generally meets the Standards for accreditation.