Residency Programs
VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System (VASNHS)
Established: 2004
Positions: Two
Southwest Clinic, Eye Clinic
3880 S. Jones Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89103
Program Faculty
Residency Coordinator: Lane T. Fujimoto, O.D.
Attendings:
- Geoffrey F. Chiara, O.D., FAAO
- Theresa Chong, O.D.
- Lane T. Fujimoto, O.D.
- Russell L. Jew, O.D., FAAO
- Brian S. Kawasaki, O.D., M.B.A., FAAO
- Michelle E. Matson, O.D.
- Paul A. Vejabul, O.D.
Mission Statement
To provide optimal eye care in an advanced clinical and educational setting. The resident will be working as part of an interdisciplinary team and their ability to diagnose and manage ocular disease and the ophthalmic manifestation of systemic disease will be enhanced. Additionally, educational activities will be performed to promote optometric knowledge and research.
Program Description
Program Goals
- To strengthen the resident’s optometric skills and train the resident in advanced competencies in ocular disease and secondary eye care, placing emphasis on the diagnosis and management of ocular disease, ophthalmic manifestations of systemic disease, and ophthalmic side effects of systemic medications.
- To expose the resident to interdisciplinary healthcare in an ambulatory environment.
- To develop the resident’s contribution to optometric education and research through didactic and scholarly activities.
Resident's Objectives
- The resident will be exposed to numerous encounters of direct patient care activities in primary and secondary eye care, to ophthalmic surgical techniques, to a variety of interesting case presentations, and to a variety of health care and ophthalmic literature.
- The resident will complete a thorough and accurate record of examination and be part of an interdisciplinary team.
- The resident will be guided in the process of lecture presentation, gain experience to become a clinical instructor and guided in the process of manuscript publication.
Typical Daily or Weekly Schedule in Clinic
- VA hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Monday, 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday through Friday, and 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday. There are three different schedules that the resident will be required to rotate through depending upon the attending staff to whom he or she is assigned: Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. plus Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., or Tuesday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. plus Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The resident is required to remain until all patient care activities are concluded, which rarely extends beyond an hour.
- Grand Rounds and Residency Conference: The first, second, and third Friday morning of each month from 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and the second Friday afternoon of each month from 12:30 to 4:00 p.m. is reserved for our grand rounds program. A board certified vitreoretinal specialist conducts the rounds. The first Friday afternoon of each month from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. is reserved for our Residency Conference.
- The Eye Clinic is approximately 4000 sq ft. with 8 exam lanes. All of our exam lanes are equipped with either teaching tubes or slit lamp video cameras. The clinic has three Humphrey visual field perimeters, an ultrasonography unit, a digital camera for fundus photography and angiography, a Stratus OCT, a GDx Scanning Laser Polarimeter, an auto kerato-refractometer, and two portable combination pachymeter/a-scan units. There is also a laser procedures room for our retina specialist consultant and a fully staffed optical dispensary.
- A new VA Medical Center is currently being constructed in Las Vegas, which will provide inpatient, outpatient, and nursing home care to the area’s veterans. The new hospital, separate nursing home and ancillary structures are being located on a 150-acre campus in North Las Vegas. It is expected to come online with patient care in early 2012 and the Eye Clinic will double in size from its current capacity. See artist's rendering below.
Rotation through other Services
The resident is expected to observe surgery by a general ophthalmologist at least once during the year (i.e. cataract surgery, blepharoplasty, or possibly enucleation depending on what surgery is scheduled) and to observe surgery at least once by our retina specialist. There are surgeons available for the resident to observe.
Type and Number of Patients
VASNHS supports a predominantly geriatric population in an ambulatory care setting. The resident will be examining approximately 1500 patients at the Eye Clinic of the VASNHS. Approximately 75% of the resident’s time will be spent in direct patient care; other activities include providing clinical preceptorship of 4th year optometry interns, observation of ophthalmic surgery, administrative duties in quality management, didactic, and scholarly activities. The resident will perform full comprehensive primary and secondary eye examinations, consult with various health care practitioners and ophthalmologists in co-management of systemic conditions and ocular manifestations, prescribe oral and topical therapeutic medications, perform minor procedures, perform fluorescein angiography, and order laboratory and radiology studies as indicated for diagnosis and management.
Teaching Responsibilities
The resident will precept 4th year optometry interns during the final month of the residency program under the supervision of residency faculty.
Lecturing Opportunities
The resident will present a case report of interest to residency faculty and 4th year optometry interns during the final quarter of the residency program at the Friday Grand Rounds/Clinical Conference.
Scholarly Activities
- Thesis Paper - A publishable quality paper is required. The resident will be encouraged to submit a poster presentation of their thesis paper that is suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. They are urged to attend the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry.
- Journal Review - The resident will participate in a journal review, in which journal articles are requested and reviewed from the Southern California College of Optometry Library on a monthly, quarterly, or other applicable interval determined by the publication of the journal. The resident will set up a journal routing list with the SCCO library at the beginning of the residency. In addition, attending staff may assign the resident articles for review.
Additional Employment Opportunities
N/A
Stipend
The annual salary is established by the Office of Academic Affairs, VA Central Office and is currently set at $30,099.
Benefits
| Health | Optional health insurance coverage is offered; biweekly premiums will be deducted. Long-term disability insurance is not provided. |
| Holidays | Each resident will have 10 paid federal holidays during the residency year. |
| Educational Travel | “Authorized Absence” leave is granted for attendance at a professional continuing education conference such as the American Academy of Optometry or American Optometric Association annual meetings. |
| Vacation | Each resident accrues a yearly total of 13 days of annual leave and 13 days of sick leave. Unused annual leave is reimbursed after the conclusion of the year. |
| Liability | The VA provides malpractice coverage for VA-related patient care only. The resident must seek other malpractice insurance for any external clinical settings the resident chooses to participate in. |
| Continuing Education | The resident can attend SCCO sponsored continuing education courses at no cost on a space available basis. |
| Information Resources | Library resources are available to the resident through SCCO and the VA. |
Prerequisites
- Earned an O.D. degree, or will have earned such a degree by the time of graduation, from an accredited school or college of optometry.
- If the applicant is a citizen of a country other than the United States, that applicant may not be eligible for residency consideration.
- Applicant must have taken and passed the TMOD and Basic and Clinical Sciences portions of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry, and furnish official copies of the results of this examination
- Applicant must apply through the Optometric Residency Matching Services, Inc. (ORMS) and follow the application guidelines. The application deadline is February 1.
- A personal interview is required.
- Applicants should send application matching materials to Optometric Residency Matching Services, Inc. (ORMS).
- Three letters of reference are required from full-time faculty members who have been most responsible for the clinical education of the applicant.
- Applications will be evaluated by the Veterans Affairs Residency Admissions Committee, which then recommends for appointment of the most qualified applicant to the Dean of Academic Affairs, SCCO. The chosen applicant is then offered a written contract from SCCO for the residency position.
- If accepted, the applicant must provide official NBEO and official transcripts of their optometric education and submit them to the Director of External Programs at SCCO.
Program Accreditation
Fully Accredited to April 2012
Housing
The Eye Clinic is centrally located and in close proximity to convenient housing options.
Local Activities & Attractions
While Las Vegas is primarily known for its Hotels and Casinos, it is also conveniently located near many national and state parks, which offer a variety of recreational activities. Below is a sampling of the local attractions:
- Lake Mead
- Las Vegas Motor Speedway
- Las Vegas Strip
- Las Vegas Wrangler Hockey
- Mount Charleston
- Red Rock Canyon
- UNLV Performing Arts Center
- Valley of Fire State Park
For other local activities and attraction please visit the website of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Former Residents Testimonials – Contact Info
2009-2010 Residents
Lauren Evans, O.D. (Lauren.Eyedoc@gmail.com)
Ashley Swalla, O.D. (dr.ashleyswalla.od@gmail.com)
2008-2009 Residents
Rodel Divina, O.D., M.S. (rodel_divina@hotmail.com)
Michelle Matson, O.D. (michelle.matson3@va.gov)
2007-2008 Residents
Alissa Nagel, O.D. (anagelod@gmail.com)
Kashif Qadeer, O.D. (kqadeer.2007@scco.edu)
2006-2007 Residents
Edeline Lu, O.D. (elu@scco.edu)
Peter Nguyen, O.D.
2005-2006 Resident
Vivienne Velasco, O.D.
2004-2005 Resident
Josephine Vu, O.D.
Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to contact current and former residents to get their perspectives on the program. Current residents can be contacted at 702.636.3023. Please contact Dr. Fujimoto at 702.636.3023 or lane.fujimoto@va.gov for questions or to obtain current residents' e-mail addresses. Email addresses for former residents are listed above.
For more Information:
Lane T. Fujimoto, O.D.
Residency Program Coordinator
VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System-Southwest Clinic
Optometry Section (05-123)
PO Box 360001
North Las Vegas, NV 89036
702.636.3023
Email: lane.fujimoto@va.gov
Judy W.H. Tong, O.D.
Director of Residency Programs
Southern California College of Optometry
2575 Yorba Linda Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92831-1699
714.449.7429 • Fax: 714.992.7811
Email: jtong@scco.edu