NSUCO - The Visionary Fall 2010

the VISIONARY • Summer/Fall 2010 45 Master, OCT testing, HRT testing, digital optic nerve photography, digital fundus photography, and digital fluorescein an- giography. Additional equipment in- cludes A and B scan ultrasound machines, dynamic contour tonometers, hand-held slit lamp, and tonopen. In the late 1990s, the VAMC Eye Clinic developed a teaching program involving fourth-year optometry students from Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University in Philadelphia. As of the spring of 2009, the academic affilia- tion changed to Nova Southeastern University’s College of Optometry. There is currently one position available each quarter. In March 2007, the Orlando VA Medical Center developed a hospital-based pri- mary care optometry residency program that was granted funding by the VA Cen- tral Office. At that time, NSU agreed to become the academic affiliate for the resi- dency program. Upon its inception, the residency program received candidacy pending status from the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE). The first optometry resident started July 1, 2007. The ACOE conducted a site visit in May 2008, and the Orlando VAMC residency program received full ACOE accreditation status based on that visit as of November 20, 2008. The optometry resident will see approxi- mately 6-to-10 full exams per day and also will deal with follow-ups or walk-ins as needed. Traditional optometric encoun- ters include routine comprehensive exam- inations as well as a high percentage of patients with diabetes with/without retinopathy, cataracts, AMD, glaucoma, and ocular manifestations of systemic dis- eases. The resident also will be seeing low-vision patients and those needing specialty contact lenses as well as those at external optometry rotations (private con- tact lens practice, private optometrist ac- tively involved in pre-/postoperative cataract/refractive surgery care). Opportunities to observe ophthalmolo- gists performing surgical procedures are available, and there will be additional time spent doing observations of primary care providers, dermatologists, neurolo- gists, and radiologists. External ophthal- mology rotations include a private retina specialist, a private cornea specialist, and a private neuroophthalmolgist. The optometry resident actively partici- pates in the weekly Friday afternoon Optometry Conference, which includes a journal club, a lecture by staff op- tometrists, and case reviews. The resi- dent actively supervises the optometry student during the fourth quarter of his/her residency year and conducts a weekly slide quiz. Additional activities include presenting at two different VISN 8 Optometry Resident Grand Rounds as well as at NSU’s Optometry Resident Grand Rounds. The participating resi- dent also is required to attend one major educational meeting (i.e., AAO, AOA Congress, SECO) at his/her own ex- pense during the year and meetings of the Central Florida Society of Optomet- ric Physicians. A publishable quality paper or academic meeting-worthy poster also is required as part of the residency program. Our primary goal is to provide quality eye care to our nation’s veterans. An- other goal we have is to provide a qual- ity learning experience for optometry students and residents. We hope the skills and clinical information you learn here can be used for many years to come in whatever mode of practice you end up choosing. D R . S PALDING “Our primary goal is to provide quality eye care to our nation’s veterans.”