Ophthalmology Residency Program

2019-2020 Academic Year - 2 (PGY2), 2 (PGY3), 2 (PGY4)
2020-2021 Academic Year - 2 (PGY2), 2 (PGY3), 2 (PGY4)

The Kettering Health Network's Ophthalmology Residency Program is a 3-year advanced program which takes 2 residents per year.

1. Produce ophthalmologists who are highly qualified, competent, compassionate, well-rounded, and ready for a career in community-based surgery.
   
   
2. Expand our residency to support the local demand for ophthalmologists as KHN opens new locations to care for an increasing patient population.
   
   
3. Prepare residents to be competitive applicants for fellowships and have-the- opportunity to pursue a subspecialty interest of their choice.
   
   
4. Train physicians who are involved in Quality Improvement and aware of how to conduct research in a community-based setting.
   
   
5. Continue to train and retain the top-notch graduates of the Ophthalmology Residency Program to meet the Kettering Health Network's overall mission of improving the quality of care throughout the Dayton area and the State of Ohio.

Block Diagram

The curriculum is based on a three-step outline. The first step gets residents familiar with a general ophthalmology clinic setting; the second step provides exposure to subspecialties; and the third step prepares proficiency in ophthalmic surgery.

The first step is typically accomplished during the first year of residency (pgy2). In this first- year residents are exposed to the wide variety of pathology which presents to the state-of -the art residency clinic. This first year provides an excellent foundation. During this first year, our residents become proficient in all the things necessary to be a practicing ophthalmologists. In addition to the clinic experience, residents get exposure to a tried and true didactic program which consistently produces residents who outscore their peer groups. Residents also start their surgical exposure during their first year, becoming proficient in most office-based surgeries and lasers. They also get experience doing intraocular surgery in a, last-is-first technique, and by the end of their first year most residents have done almost all the steps of cataract surgery. Throughout residency they also have-the-ability to practice on a state-of-the art surgical simulator. At the end of their first-year residents take the basic science course in Ophthalmology. During this five week course the residents' only responsibility is to learn.

After returning from the basic science course, residents will start with step two of our curriculum, which is exposure to subspecialties. Residents spend most of their second year in private practices throughout the city learning the ins and outs of each of the subspecialties. Further expanding their general ophthalmic knowledge and possibly fostering their own interests in subspecialization.

By the time our residents reach their third and final year of residency, they are typically ready to practice as medical ophthalmologist. Thus, the third step in our curriculum is becoming proficient in intraocular surgery. Our residents hone their surgical skills in their third and final year and help teach the medical sides of ophthalmology to their junior residents.

Along with spending time in numerous local clinics and hospitals, our residents have many other opportunities available to them:

Textbooks:
Our residents all receive numerous textbooks, in addition to their American Academy of Ophthalmology Basic Science book series.

Meetings:
Residents are provided the opportunity to attend national meetings every year. Some of these include- the American Osteopathic College of Ophthalmology's (AOCO) annual clinical assembly, the AOCO's mid-year meeting (now held every other year) the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting, the Telling Like It Is annual conference and a board review course.

Equipment:
In addition to access to new clinical equipment and the surgical simulator, our residents are also provided with their own portable binocular indirect ophthalmoscope and lenses necessary for an ophthalmologist.

Ophthalmology residents will train at several locations within Kettering Health and throughout the Dayton area:

- Kettering Health Dayton
- Shrimpf Eye Clinic
- Kettering Health Washington Township
- Dayton Children's Hospital
- Miami Valley Hospital
- Cincinnati Eye Institute (CEI)
- Warwar Eye Group
- Dayton Eye Care, Inc.
- Iworks Laser & Vision Care Ctr
- Mehan Eye
- Dayton Vitreoretinal Associates

Residents 2023-2024

Alumni Quotes:

"I'm very proud of my Ophthalmology education at Kettering Health Dayton. Some of the best surgeons I've ever met were there sharing their skills. We consistently got some of the highest test scores in the nation with our dedication to didactics. And the atmosphere of the program led to lifelong friendships with my co-residents and attendings. I cannot imagine getting a better education. After my time spent at Kettering Health Dayton, I was not scared of anything I encountered in private practice."
~ Will Sawyer, DO

"Kettering Health Dayton Ophthalmology Residency, in my experience, has been the most complete residency program I have ever been a part of. Starting with medical school training I have visited ophthalmology programs such as USC Doheny Eye and UCLA Jewel Stein center. I have also spent time at major residency programs such as Cincinnati Eye Institute. With all- of-these experiences I can truly say that Kettering Health Dayton's Ophthalmology Residency Program was by far the most comprehensive clinical and surgical program. It was small enough to have excellent faculty, and in my experience has the most invested program director in the nation. This residency program is unique in its ability to provide a very large swath of clinical variety and surgical variety. Another unique feature of this residency program is that residents have no surgical ceiling. Residents are not discouraged from trying new procedures or giving their patients the latest and greatest treatments to optimize their results. I think this feature alone helps residents be practice-ready immediately after residency for both comprehensive and refractive practices."
~ Kunal Vyas, DO

"In ophthalmology residency, one's goal is to achieve, achieve, and then achieve again and my time in Dayton provided limitless opportunities for success. Surprisingly, it was also the most enjoyable time of my professional career. Kettering Health Dayton Ophthalmology offers its residents the opportunity to succeed at a level comparable to the top 10 ophthalmology programs in the country while having fun! Residents are put through a well-organized and thorough academic education while simultaneously being offered surgical opportunities most early residents are not even exposed to. Graduates from this program universally believe the reason behind the success of Kettering Health Dayton Ophthalmology Residents is the generosity of the Dayton attending community. The program director, Dr. Brian Mihok, is key to this programs ability to continue to improve every year. He is known for his famous line "Make this program better than when you got here" and I feel he achieves this goal every year."
~ Dr. Cameron J. Evans DO

"I graduated from Kettering Health Dayton Ophthalmology in 2011. I went on to private practice which I have been in for the past 9 years. The experience, education, guidance and friendships that I obtained in my 4 years at Kettering Health Dayton - I will be forever grateful. I felt prepared to take care of my patients confidently, and 9 years later I still go back to my education I received at Kettering Health Dayton. The resident clinic has expanded and improved since I graduated in order to give even better exposure and education to residents. I wouldn't change anything about my training and I highly recommend the program to any upcoming student. Thank you to Dr. Peets, Dr. Mihok and all the staff that gave me the gift and honor to be able to practice ophthalmology!"
~ Dr. Karen Dickes

We are looking for self-motivated, and hardworking individuals.

Our residency participants in the San Francisco match: sfmatch.org

More info regarding the Ophthalmology Residency Program is located at:
freida.ama-assn.org

Nadia Adams Horner
Medical Education Program Coordinator in Diagnostic Radiology
Phone: 937-723-4188