Mission

To provide intensive, comprehensive clinical and surgical training that prepares graduates for independent, lifelong practice as Navy ophthalmologists capable of delivering high-quality care worldwide, including in austere or operational environments.

Vision

To graduate board-certified ophthalmologists and Naval officers who understand and support military medical readiness, and who are prepared to provide the full spectrum of ophthalmic care globally—both in garrison and on deployment.

Aims

Aim 1:  Clinical and Surgical Excellence

• Produce graduates capable of practicing full-scope, evidence-based ophthalmic care at military treatment facilities.

Aim 2: Academic and Fellowship Preparation

• Prepare residents to match into competitive fellowships and return as Navy teaching faculty

Aim 3:  Operational and Humanitarian Readiness

• Equip residents to provide ophthalmic care in humanitarian, expeditionary, and resource-limited settings.

Didactics include:

• Protected Friday morning academic half-day
• Monthly Grand Rounds
• Monthly M&M
• Subspecialty lectures throughout the week following the AAO BCSC
• Joint lectures with UCSD, MAMC, and Kaiser
• Monthly journal clubs
• Monthly wet labs
• Research curriculum
• Structured Surgical curriculum (wet labs, dissection courses, cataract course, AUPO SCOR curriculum)
• Annual OSCE and Mock Oral boards
• Semi-Annual Research day

Outside courses include:

• Lancaster course
• Cherry Blossom Pathology course
• Ocular Trauma course
• HELPMESEE MSICS course
• Illinois Eye Review course
• Refractive surgery course
• Manhattan Eye review
• NANOS Ophthalmology review series

Residents have full access to AAO resources, Eyesi virtual reality simulators, refractive laser platforms, and dedicated office/surgical training spaces. 

* Supervised comprehensive clinic throughout residency allows trainees to develop continuity of care and progressive independence.

External elective experiences supplement the core educational program at NMCSD by providing exposure to advanced pathology, high-volume subspecialty care, multidisciplinary practice models, and diverse teaching environments. These experiences are selected to enhance clinical and surgical opportunities that cannot be consistently replicated at a single military treatment facility.

These rotations add value as many NMCSD faculty members are the sole subspecialist or provider in their respective discipline. Consequently, the breadth and volume of available experiences may fluctuate due to clinical volume, staffing variability, and military operational requirements. External electives complement—not replace—the core NMCSD curriculum and provide additional exposure to complex pathology and advanced diagnostic, medical, and surgical techniques.

*PGY-2

• UCSD Uveitis: Provides advanced exposure to ocular inflammatory disease, systemic disease associations, retinal imaging interpretation, immunomodulatory therapy, and multidisciplinary management of complex uveitis. The resident attends approximately one half-day per month during their acute care rotation.

**PGY-3

• UCSD Pediatric Ophthalmology: Provides advanced exposure to retinopathy of prematurity and complex pediatric ophthalmic disease. The resident participates approximately one to two days per month during their pediatrics rotation.

***PGY-4

• UCSD Uveitis: Provides advanced exposure to ocular inflammatory disease, retinal imaging, and the multidisciplinary management of complex posterior segment pathology. The resident attends approximately one half-day per month during the retina rotation.
• Kaiser Cornea: Provides exposure to advanced corneal surgical pathology, including corneal transplantation, as well as a high-volume cornea clinic experience. The resident attends approximately four days over the course of the cornea rotation.
• Kaiser Retina: Supplements the NMCSD retina experience through exposure to advanced retinal pathology and the evaluation and management of complex medical and surgical retinal disease. The resident attends approximately twelve days during the retina rotation.

• Primary call is taken from home by PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents.
• PGY-2 residents take call approximately every 4-5th night and one weekend per month.
• PGY-3 residents typically take call every 5th night and one weekend every other month.
• PGY-4 residents are responsible for back-up call.

Refractive Surgery

• Our residents graduate with some of the highest refractory surgery numbers in the country, including LASIK, PRK, and SMILE, directly supporting operational readiness.
• Residents attend the annual Military Refractory Surgery Symposium where they can present research or interesting cases. 

Humanitarian Missions

• Senior residents have been given opportunity to participate in surgical missions in various locations including Panama, Guatemala, and aboard the two Navy hospital ships (USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy).

Officer Training

• Senior residents attend the Department Head Course towards the end of their residency training. This assists in preparing them for their next roles in running a clinic and provides instruction on leadership and administrative tasks.
• An Operational Medicine Symposium is held annually. 

Ophthalmology Residents are required to maintain certification in Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support or Advanced Cardiac Life Support throughout their residency training.  

USU Ocular Trauma Course

A week-long annual course held every spring at USUHS in Bethesda, MD. PGY-3 residents attend in preparation for their senior year trauma rotation at Loma Linda University. Residents receive lectures from all the ophthalmology subspecialties and practice with animal models and simulated tissue models learning globe repair techniques including laceration repair, enucleation, and evisceration.

Lancaster Course

PGY-3 residents complete a comprehensive, structured, protected multi-week didactic curriculum to ensure foundational didactics are given across all required domains. 

Illinois Eye Review Course

PGY-4 residents complete a structured, foundational board-review course prior to graduation. The Illinois Eye Review course is a comprehensive, high-yield national review course designed specifically to prepare graduating Ophthalmology residents for the ABO WQE.  

Cherry Blossom Pathology Course

Annual three-day course attended by all residents. Held virtually and hosted by the Cherry Blossom Ocular Pathology Organization.

Refractive Surgery Course

PGY-3 residents attend this three-day course held in the spring which combines didactics and wet labs, resulting in certification on various refractive surgery laser platforms.

Cataract Course

This annual course, which all residents attend, has a combination of didactic training with afternoon wet labs using various modalities on cow and pig eyes. Residents practice various techniques such as corneal incision, capsulorhexis, hydro dissection, lens removal, lens placement, phacoemulsification and suturing. Industry representatives bring additional modalities and new equipment for trial and simulation training.

HELPMESEE Manual Small Incision Cataract Course

PGY-3 residents attend this course for surgical simulation and to learn the basics of MSICS surgery.

**Residents also enjoy the opportunity to attend surgical training courses around the country offered at various locations and times of year.

Cataract Surgical Simulation

• Eyesi Ocular Surgical Trainer – high fidelity virtual reality simulator for intraocular surgery training. Residents complete a training syllabus prior to starting cataract surgery.
• Cataract Course- hosted labs using various modalities. Residents practice various techniques such as corneal incision, capsulorhexis, hydro dissection, lens removal, lens placement, phacoemulsification, and suturing.

Oculoplastic Surgery Simulation

• Orbital Dissection Course (ODC) – annual course. This one-day course has a combination of didactic training with wet labs on cadaveric tissue. Residents get the opportunity to review anatomy and practice skills such as suturing, flap creation, dissection, enucleation, evisceration, eyelid laceration repair, and fracture management.
• Lateral canthotomy/cantholysis (LCC) Training System – cadaveric models used to simulate retrobulbar hemorrhage requiring LCC
• Ocular Trauma Course

Open Globe Injury

• Ocular Trauma Course- week long annual course where residents practice with models and simulated tissue models learning globe repair techniques including laceration repair, enucleation, and evisceration.

Ophthalmology Skills

• Eyesi Indirect Ocular Trainer – augmented reality simulator providing diagnostic training for retinal exams

Perform LASIK, PRK, and SMILE refractive Surgery

• Laser Suite – residents are able to perform actual refractive surgery on simulation models
• Perform Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery and Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery
• Katena Anterior chamber simulators
• Virtual reality simulator (HelpMeSee) at the Ocular Trauma Course

Leadership is a vital quality for our graduating residents and is thus discussed and emphasized throughout residency. Senior residents each serve as a chief, responsible for leading the department weekly meetings and representing the residents in faculty and GME meetings. Residents attend the Department Head course prior to graduation, preparing them for their next assignment. Optional leadership reading materials are available to our residents via the CNO Professional Reading Program. There are opportunities for residents to hold leadership positions within NMCSD GME (house staff officer, resident membership on all GME subcommittees, etc.). Our program has also been successful in sponsoring and supporting our residents in national leadership positions to include resident representative to the ACGME Residency Review Committee, American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) resident leadership positions.

The NMCSD Ophthalmology Residency Program provides a structured longitudinal research curriculum designed to equip residents with the knowledge and skills necessary to critically appraise the medical literature, conduct meaningful scholarly activity, and contribute to the advancement of ophthalmology. Through six faculty-led sessions delivered throughout the academic year, residents receive practical instruction in research methodology, study design, biostatistics, scientific writing, presentation skills, and academic career development. The curriculum emphasizes the complete research process—from developing a research question and obtaining IRB approval to preparing abstracts, manuscripts, and scientific presentations—while fostering lifelong habits of evidence-based practice and scholarly inquiry.

By graduation, all residents are expected to have participated in scholarly activity and developed the foundational skills necessary for academic medicine, military research, and continuous quality improvement. Residents also receive individualized mentorship from faculty throughout project development, IRB submission, data analysis, manuscript preparation, and dissemination of scholarly work.

Quality improvement and patient safety education is given at quarterly meetings in the department. Updates to current QI initiatives are given at these meetings. Each resident takes part in and often leads a QI initiative and presents at the quarterly meeting at least once during their residency. Past examples of such initiatives include generation and deployment of a surgical checklist to prevent wrong site wrong implant errors, development of clinic protocols for disease screening such as keratoconus and diabetic screenings.

• During second year of residency, one or two residents are selected to attend the Mid-Year Forum where important issues in ophthalmology are discussed with Congress in Washington, D.C.
• Residents may attend the annual AUPO meeting to learn about and discuss careers in academic ophthalmology.
• Funding may be available for residents to attend at least one professional conference during residency when presenting a scholarly activity. Residents have given national lectures, research podium presentations, held national leadership board positions, and taught procedural courses at AAO, ASRO, ASOPRS, ASCRS, NANOS, AUPO and ARVO.
• Numerous professional development opportunities are available at the hospital to include the USUHS Faculty Development Roadshow and military career development/mentorship.
• Residents may attend local procedural courses during their second year and an OKAP review course in San Antonio during their third year.

• Loma Linda University
• Naval Refractive Surgery Center, Point Loma (San Diego)
• University of California San Diego (UCSD)
• Kaiser Permanente

Our program offers rotations to third and fourth-year medical students. Rotations are four weeks (one block) long and include exposure to acute care, trauma, subspecialty clinics, and the OR. Students also participate with the residents in academics, labs, and simulation time.  

Please visit our Medical Student Rotation informational page to see a listing of available medical student rotations offered at NMCSD.

If you would like to schedule an interview with the Ophthalmology Residency Program, please email the program at: dha.san-diego.San-Diego-NMC.list.nmcsd-ophthal@health.mil

Program graduates take the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) written examination and oral exam. These exams are offered annually. To become fully board certified, applicants are eligible to take board certification exam three months following graduation. Applicants who pass the written board are eligible to sit for the oral board. Board eligibility is described on the ABO website. Graduates remain board eligible for up to seven years following completion of the residency.

Our program provides rotational opportunities for medical students, Physician Assistant students, Independent Duty Corpsmen (IDC) students, and residents from other services and training sites. Our residents are the primary teachers for these rotators.

Residents are offered opportunity to teach courses at local, regional, national, and international conferences including ophthalmic trauma, emergency eye care, ophthalmic procedures, grand rounds case presentations.

• Comprehensive Ophthalmology
• Cornea
• Glaucoma
• Neuro-Ophthalmology
• Oculoplastics
• Ocular Pathology
• Pediatric-Ophthalmology
• Vitreoretinal Surgery

Residents have the opportunity to select mentors from the faculty on staff at NMCSD to provide additional career guidance.  

Resident well-being is an important part of our program. Acknowledging that residency can be a particularly stressful time, we utilize the services of the performance psychologist who has provided coaching and individual sessions for the residents. Journal clubs are hosted by various staff every 1-2 months and are often associated with social gatherings or other team building activities such as pickle ball or golf tournaments. Department picnics and gatherings are held throughout the year. Once a year we attend Padres games as a group. Annually we celebrate together at the Holiday party and at Resident Graduation. Residents participate in weekly basketball games. The House Staff Council and GME department host a wellness symposium each year at the hospital that our residents participate in as well.