Residency Programs
General Info
WELCOME to the Residency Webpage of the Southern California College of Optometry. This website is dedicated to the prospective residency candidate that is in search of that unique residency program. Whether you are searching within the Veterans Affair, Indian Health Service, hospital setting, or on our college campus, we have just the program for you.
We invite you to navigate through our website and learn more about each of our residency programs in the area of Cornea & Contact Lenses, Low Vision Rehabilitation, Ocular Disease, Primary Care, or Pediatric Optometry/Vision Therapy. While we encourage you to pay a visit to the program site of interest, we have designed our website to offer you a virtual glimpse of the facility and all the detailed information you need to know to make the right choice.
The mission of the Department of Residency Programs of the Southern California College of Optometry is to establish, promote, and support post-graduate residency training. Residency programs are uniquely designed to advance the intellectual knowledge and enhance the clinical expertise of residents through excellence in patient care, scholarly activity, and research.
Residency Team
| Judy Tong, O.D., F.A.A.O. Director of Residency Programs 714.449.7429 Fax 714.992.7871 jtong@scco.edu |
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| Julie Schornack, O.D., M.Ed. Associate Dean of Clinical Education |
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| Kate Garcia Administrative Assistant 714.449.7496 Fax 714.992.7871 kgarcia@scco.edu |
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Vision Statement
Leader in Postdoctoral Residency Education through Excellence, Diversity, and Opportunities.
History
SCCO has enjoyed a long history of being the leader in providing the highest quality residency education since 1977 with its first residency program in vision training. Since then we have grown in many ways including the number of programs that we sponsor, the total number of residency positions we offer, and the number of states in which we have representation. From a history standpoint, we have established a total of 27 residency programs over a 30 year span. Sixteen of those still exist and are still actively involved in residency training. What began as a novel one residency position postdoctoral education program has now become 18 residency programs strong with 32 residency positions strategically placed in six states including California, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.
Residency Appplication
In order to be eligible to become a resident of one of our residency programs, one must:
- Have earned an O.D. degree, or will have earned such a degree, from an accredited school or college of optometry, by the time of matriculation.
- Be a United States citizen (in most cases).
- Provide proof of legal right to work in the United States.
To jump-start your application process, proceed with the following steps. Please send all documentation to the residency coordinator of the specific residency program.
- Fill out the residency application that is provided on the ORMS website at www.optometryresident.org.
- Submit a letter of intent stating reasons for applying to the specific residency program, what you may gain from the residency experience, and what contributions you may make to the program.
- Arrange for three letters of recommendation. The source of the recommendation letters should provide an overall characterization of your work ethic, clinical and diagnostic aptitude, ability to work with others, and future contributions to the profession.
- Furnish original, complete transcripts of all optometric education.
- Have passed parts I and II of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry. Furnish original copies of those examination results.
- A personal interview will be scheduled by the Residency Coordinator once most or all of the documents have been received.