"Providing advanced competency training in eye care through education, scholarship and patient care."

Illinois Eye Institute Based Programs

The Facility
The Illinois Eye Institute is the patient care division of the Illinois College of Optometry. The facility provides primary, specialized, and advanced eye care inone location through the following services: Primary Eye Care, Pediatrics/Binocular Vision, Low Vision Rehabilitation, Cornea Center for Clinical Excellence and the Center for Advanced Ophthalmic Care. A recently remodeled facility, the Illinois Eye Institute has state-of-the-art advanced diagnostic technologies available to enhance patient care; the resident will have the opportunity to become proficient with these procedures. The resident will interact with highly trained faculty from several services, thus gaining a well-rounded
experience.

Primary Care Residency
Pediatrics and Binocular Vision Residency
Cornea and Contact Lens Management Residency
Residency Salary
Low Vision Rehabilitation and Ocular Disease
Extramural Programs
Ocular Disease and Low Vison Jesse Brown Chicago VAMC, and Hines VA Hospital
Primary Care
Refractive Surgery Co-Management and Anterior Segment Disease
Corneal and Refractive Eye Care
Application Procedure

Primary Care Residency
The Primary Care Residency is an accredited 53 week program, which provides an opportunity to expand primary care skills through intensive clinical training and experience from both patient care and didactic activities. The program emphasizes the diagnosis and management of ocular disease, as well as the co-management of patients with oculo-systemic disease. The resident will be trained to provide full scope eye care to a diverse patient population in an excellent multi-disciplinary clinical setting. The resident will have the opportunity to participate in rotations in the Primary Eye Care Service and Center for Advanced Ophthalmic Care which includes clinics in Neuro - Ophthalmology, Vitreoretinal Disease, Glaucoma, Cornea/External Disease, and Emergency Services. The resident is also given the opportunity to expand leadership and formal communication skills through classroom instruction, grand rounds case presentations, formal lectures and group discussion.

Pediatrics and Binocular Vision Residency
This accredited program provides advanced clinical experience in binocular vision and pediatric optometry. The residency offers a special opportunity to develop expertise in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of the following: strabismus and amblyopia; non-strabismic binocular vision disorders; accommodative and ocular motility disorders; vision-related learning problems; and vision care for infants, children, head trauma patients, and those with special needs. The resident has an opportuntiy to provide vision care to a large number of patients from varied socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Other clinical responsibilities include rotations in the Center for Advanced Ophthalmic Care at the Illinois Eye Institute and the Infant Welfare Clinic.

Cornea and Contact Lens Management Residency
This accredited 53 week program is designed to provide advanced experience in the management of anterior segment and contact lens related conditions. This unique program offers the resident experience in a private practice setting, an educational clinic setting and a hospital-based setting. Teaching, education, research and clinical components make for a well-rounded curriculum. Clinical assignments include direct care in the Cornea Center for Clinical Excellence and preceptorship in contact lenses, primary care, external disease and urgent care service. Particular emphasis is on the fitting of specialty contact lenses for conditions including keratoconus, presbyopia, pediatrics, high astigmatism, corneal reshaping, and post-surgical corneas.

Assignments may include working at Weiss Memorial Hospital, the University of Chicago Department of Ophthalmology and the Illinois Eye Institute. This program is offered in coorperation with the Ciba Vision Corporation.


Residency Salary
The resident salary is currently $33,000.

Low Vision Rehabilitation and Ocular Disease
This  53-week program provides an opportunity for the resident to achieve advanced competency in both low vision rehabilitation and the diagnosis and treatment of ocular disease. Training in low vision is offered at the Chicago Lighthouse for People who are Blind or Visually Impaired and the Spectrius Institute, formerly the Deicke Center.

Each of these clinics has an interdisciplinary staff that includes optometrists who are residency or diplomate certified in low vision, licensed clinical social workers, a certified low vision therapist, and/or occupational therapist and an orientation and mobility specialist. Training in ocular disease is offered at the Illinois Eye Institute's Center for Advanced Ophthalmic Care with a focus on those conditions that frequently result in vision loss. The resident will provide patient care in the Center's Vitreo-retinal, Glaucoma, and Urgent Care Services. Rotations in Cornea and External Disease and Comprehensive Ophthalmology are included in the curriculum. Patient encounters will be through both direct care and clinical precepting of optometry students.

Extramural Programs

Ocular Disease and Low Vision
Jesse Brown Chicago VAMC, and Hines VA Hospital
This fully accredited residency program offers a unique training opportunity by providing extensive clinical experience in the management of ocular disease as well as comprehensive low vision. Each resident can anticipate providing direct care to over 1500 patients, of which 95% have ocular disease which the residents manage. State of the art diagnostic equipment (including digital photography (including UBM), optical coherence tomography, and ultrasonography) is routinely utilized. Experienced optometric and medical faculty and staff, including all ophthalmic sub-specialties and blind center rehabilitation teachers, are involved in education of the residents. Although the program emphasizes clinical care, there are abundant research and educational opportunities including participating in Grand Rounds and other conferences at the University of Illinois and the Illinois College of Optometry. For more information please visit
www.chicagovaoptometryresidency.org

 
Refractive Surgery Co-Management and Anterior Segment Disease
Davis Duehr Dean
Davis Duehr Dean is located in the capital city of Madison, Wisconsin, and is the largest eye care group in the state, with over 60,000 patient visits annually. Established 85 years ago, the clinic consists of 23 ophthalmologists and 11 optometrists. The refractive surgery center has a MEL 80 Zeiss excimer laser, as well as a Visx Custom View Wavescan system on site. The clinic maintains a fully accredited ambulatory surgery center. Wisconsin has progressive legislation regarding optometric therapeutics and all instruction is within the scope of practice allowed by state law.

This 12-month program provides advanced clinical training in surgical co-management and treatment of ocular disease. One half of the resident's training is concentrated in refractive and cataract surgery co-management, including pre-operative evaluation and post-operative care of patients undergoing LASIK, LASEK, PRK, clear lens extraction, phakic IOL’s, and accommodative IOL’s,. Significant additional time is spent with the cornea specialist providing experience in diagnosis and management of cornea and external disease, as well as complicated contact lens fitting. First-hand experience with wavefront technology, anterior segment OCT, Pentacam topography system, Orbscan, and other new technology is available. Sub-specialty rotations in oculo-facial plastics, glaucoma and retina clinics are part of the core curriculum.

 
Corneal and Refractive Eye Care
Minnesota Eye Consultants
Minnesota Eye Consultants main facility is located in Minneapolis, MN with four additional clinics in the suburban metro area.  The central clinic is located adjacent to the Phillips Eye Institute, a premier full-service ophthalmic subspecialty facility, which performs over 6000 major surgical cases per year. 

This accredited program offers the resident a unique opportunity to interact with highly trained faculty, including optometrists, and fellowship-trained subspecialists in cornea, external disease, refractive surgery, glaucoma and oculoplastics.  The training is intense in disease and care of the anterior segment and will include cornea, external disease, refractive surgery, pre- and postoperative cataract care, and glaucoma.  In addition to clinical training, the resident has the opportunity to participate in a variety of clinical research projects and didactic activities.

Application Procedure

Application is made through the Optometry Residency Matching Service (ORMS) as outlined below.

1. Contact the program coordinator declaring your interest in applying.

2. Assemble a packet that contains your: a) curriculum vitae; b) NBEO scores; c) Optometry school transcripts and; d) Brief statement of interest.

3. Submit the above materials to the program coordinator prior to February 1.

4. Arrange for three (3) letters of recommendation to be forwarded to the program coordinator on or before February 1.

5. Visit ORMS website (www.orms.org) and submit to ORMS your application including all appropriate fees before February 1.

6. Arrangements for on-site interviews will be made.

7. After completing the interview process, complete the Applicant's Ranking Form. Submit form on or before the ORMS-published deadline.

 
Index of Residency Programs Illinois College of Optometry

Intramural Programs
(Illinois Eye Institute)
Primary Care
Low Vision Rehabilitation & Ocular Disease
Pediatrics & Binocular Vision
Cornea & Contact Lens


Extramural Programs
Low Vision Rehabilitation & Ocular Disease
Jesse Brown Chicago VAMC & Hines VA, Chicago, IL

• Extramural Programs
• Low Vision Rehabilitation and Ocular Disease

Primary Care

• Refractive Surgery Co-Management

Refractive Surgery Co-Management & Anterior Segment Disease

• Davis Dueher Dean, Madison, WI

Corneal and Refractive Eye Care

• Minnesota Eye Consultants, Minneapolis, MN

 
For further information, please contact the Residency Director:

Stephanie Messner, O.D.
Illinois College of Optometry
3241 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616 312-949-7015
smessner@ico.edu

 
ICO Residency Class of 2009-2010

Primary Care
Dr. Eric Chen
Dr. Achyut Desai
Dr. Eric Drey
Dr. Erica Ittner
Dr. Snehali Upadhyay  

Pediatric Optometry and Binocular Vision
Dr. Rachael Beatty
Dr. Benjamin Leishman

Cornea and Contact Lenses
Dr. Zanna Kruoch

Low Vision Rehabilitation and Ocular Disease
Dr. Natalka Manastersky
Dr. Vladimir Yevseyenkov

Refractive Surgery Co-management and Anterior Segment Disease - Davis Duehr Dean, Madison, WI
Dr. Katie Greiner

Corneal and Refractive Eye Care - Minnesota Eye Consultants, Minneapolis, MN
Dr. Jacob Kozisek

Ocular Disease and Low Vision Rehabilitation – Chicago Veterans Affairs sites
Dr. Jennifer Einhorn
Dr. Jessica Johnson
Dr. Ellen Shorter