The Illinois Eye Institute, the onsite clinical training facility for ICO, is one of the largest providers of vision and eye care services in the U.S. and offers students access to more than 90,000 patient visits each year.

With 61 fully-equipped examination lanes, IEI offers students the volume, complexity, and diversity of patient care experiences needed for the development of a well-rounded clinician. Rotations in primary eye-care as well as the optometric specialty services offer students experience in advanced ophthalmic care, contact lenses, low vision rehabilitation, and pediatrics/binocular vision.

In IEI, optometry students begin working closely with patients in the Patient Advocate Program where they assist Primary Eyecare patients as they navigate IEI.  In the second professional year, students expand their role through rotations in the IEI Community Screening Program, Eyewear Center, and early exposure to comprehensive eye examinations in Primary Eyecare.  Then, in the third year, students begin full-time patient care sessions in Primary Eyecare in addition to the continuing didactic program. The entire fourth year is comprised of patient care activities including rotations in primary eye care and the sub-specialty areas both in IEI and on externship.

In addition to the IEI, students also have access to state-of-the-art facilities including the Eyepod and Adams Center for Clinical Learning. Students are also exposed to a wide variety of patient health care delivery systems through externship sites and affiliation with the University of Chicago Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Experience in these varied settings helps develop a primary care optometrist capable of functioning in all types of clinical environments.