Fellowship in Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus
We strive to maintain the same enjoyable atmosphere in the fellowship that we experienced ourselves during a most productive time of our careers. One-on-one contact with faculty - learning, operating, and teaching in the field of pediatric ophthalmology – takes place within a full service ophthalmology department. The Wilmer Institute is directly connected to the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Unlike Children’s Hospital-based eye divisions, fellows are not called for frequent time-consuming “rule-out” consults, and examinations are restricted to those with actual eye disease.
We offer two, full-time, one-year fellowship positions in Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus at the Krieger Children’s Eye Center at the Wilmer Institute.
We have trained over 42 fellows since 1979 from the United States and abroad. They have come from a wide cross section of residency programs, and a few have come from private practice to start a new career. About 40% are now in private practice, with the other 60% in academic positions, including four full professors and five department chairs.
With four full-time and one part-time clinical faculty in our Center, two full-time Ph.D. investigators, and three orthoptists, we provide well-rounded exposure to both the clinical and academic sides of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus.
Dr. David Guyton, our director since 1978, has primary interests in strabismus, ophthalmic optics, and ophthalmic instrumentation (currently vision screening devices). Dr. Michael Repka, with us since 1985, has broad interests in pediatric ophthalmology, clinical trials, and neuro-ophthalmology, as well as in strabismus, cataract, and retinopathy of prematurity. Dr. Kurt Simons, with us since 1984, is an expert in vision screening, clinical trials, stereo techniques, and video/computer instrumentation. Dr. Patrick Tong's research interests are in vision screening and in angiogenesis and control of retinal vascular permeability. Dr. Cameron Parsa provides expertise in neuro-ophthalmology and ophthalmic genetics, as well as in strabismus. Dr. Josephine Ibironke recently joined us and is pursuing a Masters Degree in Public Health.
Time spent with Dr. Guyton will be mostly in strabismus, with a mix of pediatric and adult cases. The adult strabismus cases, comprising approximately half of Dr. Guyton’s practice, provide the fellow a unique opportunity to become familiar with more advanced diagnostic and treatment modalities in strabismus. Adult strabismus is more surgically oriented than pediatric ophthalmology, because of the fewer visits needed to manage amblyopia. Exposure to adult strabismus cases allows the fellow to become comfortable and familiar with surgical techniques needed for re-operations, as well as crucial diagnostic techniques when diplopia is present, such as the Lancaster red-green test. More subtle problems not always easily appreciated in children, such as those of torsional and vertical strabismus, are magnified in adults, and mastery of management techniques in such situations allows for optimal treatment to be applied to all age groups.
Time spent with Dr. Repka will provide exposure to retinopathy of prematurity, pediatric neuro-ophthalmology, and other areas of pediatric ophthalmology including a large proportion of pediatric strabismus. Experience with Dr. Parsa is likewise widely based. Dr. Tong brings the Washington, DC, viewpoint to our fellowship training program, having trained with Dr. Marshall Parks.
Each fellow is involved in four to five surgical cases each week, taking the surgeon’s role in about half of these. There is good experience in a wide variety of strabismus surgery, with heavy exposure to hang-back surgery, cyclovertical surgery, and adjustable sutures in both children and adults. In addition, experience is gained in congenital cataract surgery, nasolacrimal disorders, and ROP screening and treatment. We are privileged to have our pediatric and adult facilities combined in a unified modern child-friendly Center providing excellent exposure to the wide variety of pediatric eye diseases as well as strabismus in adults. Consults are seen with the faculty throughout the Johns Hopkins Hospital, especially in the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, providing good exposure to systemic diseases affecting the visual system. Advantages of this setting include seeing a wide variety of eye disease without the burden of many screening consults. The advantages of ongoing continued exposure to top-flight ophthalmologists in all ophthalmic subspecialities, via daily morning lectures and weekly Grand Rounds, has also been particularly appreciated by our fellows.
Every other week each fellow staffs a half-day pediatric ophthalmology clinic on the resident service, for which he or she has primary responsibility. A certified orthoptist is on hand to help as needed, and one of the senior faculty is always available for consultation as needed. This provides excellent experience in teaching and congenial interchange with the residents.
We encourage academic pursuits during the fellowship year. We host Departmental Grand Rounds four times each year and have at least six Pediatric Ophthalmology Journal Club evening meetings each year. We have a research conference once each month. An average of one-half day per week is available for research. This can be either on projects of your own choosing or on projects we have already started.
We provide a PGY-5 stipend for each of our fellows (plus fringe benefits, including health insurance). The stipend is currently about $45,000, thanks to the Judith and Paul Romano "Binocular Vision and Strabismus" Fellowship Endowment Fund, as well as endowment gifts from Dr. Stewart M. Wolff and funds from Mr. Richard Baks and the Krieger Fund. To help defray part of this expense, the department requires that accepted fellows apply to sources of outside funding when applicable, such as the Heed Ophthalmic Foundation.
U.S.-trained fellows must have a Maryland medical license. Such fellows are appointed as junior faculty members in the “Advanced Standing Training Program” for billing purposes. Fellowship applicants from other countries are not required to obtain a U.S. medical license. They must, on the other hand, have passed Steps 1 and 2 of the USMLE exams (www.usmle.org) and have a valid Standard ECFMG Certificate (www.ecfmg.org) for graduate medical education in the United States. Unlike requirements for residency training programs, Step 3 of the USMLE is not needed for fellowship training, and scores on Steps 1 and 2 are disregarded as long as a passing grade is obtained. Applications from other countries are encouraged, particularly from applicants seeking to return to an academic training program.
We participate in the matching program for pediatric ophthalmology fellowships. Our next available fellowships begin July 1, 2008. Applications should be submitted by September 17, 2007. The match rank list submission deadline for applicants is in December, 2007. You should check directly with the matching program for details:
Ophthalmology Fellowship Match
P.O. Box 7584
San Francisco, CA 94120-7584
phone:(415) 447-0350
www.sfmatch.org
If you are interested in applying for the fellowship as described, we shall welcome a formal application from you. For application, we need, in addition to the information on our application form (and application supplement), at least two letters of recommendation from ophthalmologists who have assisted in your training. (To download these forms, you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer). We invite our most promising applicants for an interview here at Johns Hopkins, which will be necessary for further consideration. Applicants from abroad are sometimes able to interview with us at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in October or November.
Send questions/applications to:
Diane Almony
Wilmer 233
Johns Hopkins Hospital
600 North Wolfe Street
Baltimore, MD 21287-9028
Phone: 410-955-8314
FAX: 410-955-0809
e-mail: dalmony@jhmi.edu
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