About the Residency Program
The California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) Department of Ophthalmology has a long tradition of caring for the underserved, training residents and fellows to become excellent clinicians and surgeons, and striving for excellence in research, professional development, and community service. CPMC has been serving the eye care needs of the San Francisco Bay Area since 1885. Our mission is to offer high quality service in a compassionate environment stimulated by education and research support.
We welcome three residents every year to train as eye surgeons in the full spectrum of ophthalmology, building hands-on experience in all subspecialties including cornea, glaucoma, retina, uveitis, neuro-ophthalmology, oculoplastics, pediatric ophthalmology, ocular oncology, ophthalmic pathology, contact lens, low-vision, and refractive surgery.
CPMC Ophthalmology Residency Training Program
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SAM REITER: Welcome to the Department of Ophthalmology
at California Pacific Medical Center.
This is a virtual tour of the residency training
program, our facilities, community, and culture.
CPMC Ophthalmology has a long history of training residents
to become excellent clinicians and surgeons.
We match three residents each year,
who will rotate throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area
in order to serve our diverse population that lives here.
We opened a new state-of-the-art facility in San Francisco
in 2018, the Pacific Vision Eye Institute,
which is our home base, to consolidate several vital
features of the residency program into one central
location, including an Education Center for resident education,
the Lions Eye Clinic, the Ophthalmic Diagnostic Services
office, the Pacific Vision Surgery Center,
and many of the practices of our teaching faculty.
Our residents rotate through several sites
to complete their training.
All residents start with a joint PGY-1 internship
with the Department of Internal Medicine, during which they
spend three months with us on the ophthalmology service.
The main hub during PGY-2 year and throughout our training
program is the Lions Eye Clinic in San Francisco.
This is a resident-run clinic where
we care for some of the most vulnerable patients
in our community.
To broaden their experience, our residents
rotate at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, where they learn
advanced cataract techniques, as well as Highland Hospital
in Oakland, which is a county hospital and a Level I trauma
center.
During subspecialty rotations, residents
rotate with nationally respected ophthalmologists
who practice throughout the San Francisco Bay Area
in a variety of practice settings.
The heart of our program is made up
of our devoted faculty, a close-knit group
of ophthalmologists who are deeply committed
to resident education.
We all share in the commitment to caring
for the underserved population of Northern California,
and that commitment is something that we
look for in our applicants.
The history of this department is quite interesting.
We are the oldest ophthalmology department in the West
by many, many years.
We began in 1872 and have had an unblemished and unbroken record
since that time.
We've seen many situations, survived
good times and bad times.
And we are flourishing now with our new space, our new ASC,
and the future looks as good as the past has been.
MYRA SAFO: My primary goal was that I
wanted to find the program that was going to train me the best,
specifically how to be the best surgeon and the best clinician.
MUSTAFA SAFI: Having been in this program for a little
over six months, I feel like I've
developed the skills necessary to not only evaluate
a patient very efficiently, but also
have a very solid understanding of the type of pathology
I'm dealing with.
RONA SILKISS: The uniqueness of our program
is based on our faculty, because our faculty really
treat the residents as if they are colleagues.
And we know that in a very short period of time, they will be.
ANITA AGARWAL: The biggest advantage, I think,
is the fact that they have a lot of people that they learn from.
If you're in university, there may be 15, 20 faculty members,
whereas here, there's probably 40,
50 of us between all of our private practices
and the academic teachings.
MUSTAFA SAFI: The type of relationship is very collegial.
And that really bodes well for the residents
because they feel really comfortable asking
any of the attending physicians any questions,
anything related to ophthalmology,
and they really take you under their wing.
ANITA AGARWAL: They come to our office,
so they see patients with us.
We also operate with the residents.
And we have grand rounds and lectures.
So they learn in different aspects
and different ways of learning.
RONA SILKISS: The residents spend two months working
with me on their oculoplastic rotation
during their first year.
As such, they literally are working
almost as if they were my fellow,
spending every day in the clinic and in the operating
room with me, learning oculoplastic surgery.
ANITA AGARWAL: They're able to do refractive surgery.
They have projects with refractive surgeons,
so they learn a lot of new technology, which
is more than just bread and butter learning
cataracts and regular retinal and other ocular diseases.
MUSTAFA SAFI: So some of the defining qualities of CPMC,
I would say, is the surgical experience.
Truly, you are the primary surgeon
when you're doing any type of surgical case here.
And that is a very unique experience,
that I would say not many programs in the country
have that type of opportunity.
ANITA AGARWAL: And I've seen the first-year residents
come through my ORs within the first month.
And by the time they come into their second year,
they are already proficient with the whole system.
They are able to manage everything.
They're able to set up any kind of follow-up
for patients, any kind of surgery,
any other consultation.
RONA SILKISS: I'm also very interested in research
and encourage the residents to do research projects with me
and have mentored several of the residents
on award-winning Barkan projects.
JONATHAN HERNANDEZ: I'm an alum from our program, which
means that I spend a third of my residency here at Highland.
Highland is a place where young doctors enter as residents
but leave as ophthalmologists.
It's here that we first hang a shingle over a door
with your name, where you have your own patient panel,
and develop strong relationships with patients
from all walks of life.
Here, you'll see incredibly diverse pathology
and be supported by a stellar group of attendings
that are all dedicated to your education.
For generations, this is where CPMC residents
have mastered cataract surgery and have also
been primary surgeons on a wide variety of complex surgeries,
including incisional glaucoma surgery, MIGS,
corneal transplants, eye wall exchanges, to name a few.
Residents on my service operate once to twice a week.
And you do it all while having a good time.
You're going to work hard.
It's hard work.
But you will grow here.
And you'll find a sense of purpose
that's hard to find elsewhere.
RONA SILKISS: Our residents are very
successful in being able to pursue the things that they
want to do after they finish training.
That could be getting a university position,
working in private practice, increasing their education,
continuing their education by a fellowship program.
And even beyond that, we've graduated several presidents
of the American Academy of Ophthalmology,
including the first female president
of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
and the second female president of the American Academy
of Ophthalmology.
Both of those women came from this program.
MYRA SAFO: When you talk to a lot of attendings
who worked with our residents after they graduate,
they say specifically that we make really great clinicians
because we know how to manage such
a wide range of pathologies, because we've seen it all.
MUSTAFA SAFI: So it's really unique
to have a program where all the residents are
in it to help one another.
RONA SILKISS: We have a great group of residents.
SAM REITER: Thank you for joining us
on this virtual tour.
We hope you've enjoyed visiting us and getting
a feel for the quality of training
that we provide our ophthalmology residents.
If you have any questions or wish to contact us,
you can explore our website or reach out
to our residency coordinator.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SAM REITER: Welcome to the Department of Ophthalmology
at California Pacific Medical Center.
This is a virtual tour of the residency training
program, our facilities, community, and culture.
CPMC Ophthalmology has a long history of training residents
to become excellent clinicians and surgeons.
We match three residents each year,
who will rotate throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area
in order to serve our diverse population that lives here.
We opened a new state-of-the-art facility in San Francisco
in 2018, the Pacific Vision Eye Institute,
which is our home base, to consolidate several vital
features of the residency program into one central
location, including an Education Center for resident education,
the Lions Eye Clinic, the Ophthalmic Diagnostic Services
office, the Pacific Vision Surgery Center,
and many of the practices of our teaching faculty.
Our residents rotate through several sites
to complete their training.
All residents start with a joint PGY-1 internship
with the Department of Internal Medicine, during which they
spend three months with us on the ophthalmology service.
The main hub during PGY-2 year and throughout our training
program is the Lions Eye Clinic in San Francisco.
This is a resident-run clinic where
we care for some of the most vulnerable patients
in our community.
To broaden their experience, our residents
rotate at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, where they learn
advanced cataract techniques, as well as Highland Hospital
in Oakland, which is a county hospital and a Level I trauma
center.
During subspecialty rotations, residents
rotate with nationally respected ophthalmologists
who practice throughout the San Francisco Bay Area
in a variety of practice settings.
The heart of our program is made up
of our devoted faculty, a close-knit group
of ophthalmologists who are deeply committed
to resident education.
We all share in the commitment to caring
for the underserved population of Northern California,
and that commitment is something that we
look for in our applicants.
The history of this department is quite interesting.
We are the oldest ophthalmology department in the West
by many, many years.
We began in 1872 and have had an unblemished and unbroken record
since that time.
We've seen many situations, survived
good times and bad times.
And we are flourishing now with our new space, our new ASC,
and the future looks as good as the past has been.
MYRA SAFO: My primary goal was that I
wanted to find the program that was going to train me the best,
specifically how to be the best surgeon and the best clinician.
MUSTAFA SAFI: Having been in this program for a little
over six months, I feel like I've
developed the skills necessary to not only evaluate
a patient very efficiently, but also
have a very solid understanding of the type of pathology
I'm dealing with.
RONA SILKISS: The uniqueness of our program
is based on our faculty, because our faculty really
treat the residents as if they are colleagues.
And we know that in a very short period of time, they will be.
ANITA AGARWAL: The biggest advantage, I think,
is the fact that they have a lot of people that they learn from.
If you're in university, there may be 15, 20 faculty members,
whereas here, there's probably 40,
50 of us between all of our private practices
and the academic teachings.
MUSTAFA SAFI: The type of relationship is very collegial.
And that really bodes well for the residents
because they feel really comfortable asking
any of the attending physicians any questions,
anything related to ophthalmology,
and they really take you under their wing.
ANITA AGARWAL: They come to our office,
so they see patients with us.
We also operate with the residents.
And we have grand rounds and lectures.
So they learn in different aspects
and different ways of learning.
RONA SILKISS: The residents spend two months working
with me on their oculoplastic rotation
during their first year.
As such, they literally are working
almost as if they were my fellow,
spending every day in the clinic and in the operating
room with me, learning oculoplastic surgery.
ANITA AGARWAL: They're able to do refractive surgery.
They have projects with refractive surgeons,
so they learn a lot of new technology, which
is more than just bread and butter learning
cataracts and regular retinal and other ocular diseases.
MUSTAFA SAFI: So some of the defining qualities of CPMC,
I would say, is the surgical experience.
Truly, you are the primary surgeon
when you're doing any type of surgical case here.
And that is a very unique experience,
that I would say not many programs in the country
have that type of opportunity.
ANITA AGARWAL: And I've seen the first-year residents
come through my ORs within the first month.
And by the time they come into their second year,
they are already proficient with the whole system.
They are able to manage everything.
They're able to set up any kind of follow-up
for patients, any kind of surgery,
any other consultation.
RONA SILKISS: I'm also very interested in research
and encourage the residents to do research projects with me
and have mentored several of the residents
on award-winning Barkan projects.
JONATHAN HERNANDEZ: I'm an alum from our program, which
means that I spend a third of my residency here at Highland.
Highland is a place where young doctors enter as residents
but leave as ophthalmologists.
It's here that we first hang a shingle over a door
with your name, where you have your own patient panel,
and develop strong relationships with patients
from all walks of life.
Here, you'll see incredibly diverse pathology
and be supported by a stellar group of attendings
that are all dedicated to your education.
For generations, this is where CPMC residents
have mastered cataract surgery and have also
been primary surgeons on a wide variety of complex surgeries,
including incisional glaucoma surgery, MIGS,
corneal transplants, eye wall exchanges, to name a few.
Residents on my service operate once to twice a week.
And you do it all while having a good time.
You're going to work hard.
It's hard work.
But you will grow here.
And you'll find a sense of purpose
that's hard to find elsewhere.
RONA SILKISS: Our residents are very
successful in being able to pursue the things that they
want to do after they finish training.
That could be getting a university position,
working in private practice, increasing their education,
continuing their education by a fellowship program.
And even beyond that, we've graduated several presidents
of the American Academy of Ophthalmology,
including the first female president
of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
and the second female president of the American Academy
of Ophthalmology.
Both of those women came from this program.
MYRA SAFO: When you talk to a lot of attendings
who worked with our residents after they graduate,
they say specifically that we make really great clinicians
because we know how to manage such
a wide range of pathologies, because we've seen it all.
MUSTAFA SAFI: So it's really unique
to have a program where all the residents are
in it to help one another.
RONA SILKISS: We have a great group of residents.
SAM REITER: Thank you for joining us
on this virtual tour.
We hope you've enjoyed visiting us and getting
a feel for the quality of training
that we provide our ophthalmology residents.
If you have any questions or wish to contact us,
you can explore our website or reach out
to our residency coordinator.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CPMC Ophthalmology Residency Virtual Tour
Ophthalmology tour of three clinics where residents will do their training
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JIN CHOI: Hi, my name is Jin.
I'm one of the PGY2s here at CPMC.
Welcome to the Lions Eye Clinic, where we spend
a big chunk of our PGY2 year.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: I'm Sam.
I'm a PGY4 here at CPMC.
This is the home of our CPMC Department of Ophthalmology.
It is also the home of the Lions Eye Foundation, California
and Nevada clinic, where we're able to provide
care for uninsured patients from California and Nevada.
So we're going to show you around our clinic.
We have four exam rooms and one workup room here.
Each exam room has a slit lamp exam that
is in really good condition.
It's really wonderful to have these tools
to examine our patients.
We also have indirect ophthalmoscope,
a computer in each room, and all of the tools
that we might need to perform any sort of ophthalmic exam.
We have interpreter services here.
A lot of our patients speak Spanish or other languages.
And even though a lot of our providers here are multilingual,
we always have interpreter services available.
And it's really nice to be able to have
such wonderful ophthalmic techs here at our clinic
to do the workup for us and make sure
that the patients are ready to go for us.
JIN CHOI: And so this way, we have our conference room.
Here we have a lot of our lectures.
We have a lot of other microscopes and simulators
that we use pretty frequently in order
to be prepared for cataract surgery, corneal suturing,
and all of the other things that we might need to do in the OR.
Here we have our IC.
We each have our own profile.
And so we work with our program director
to make sure we're on track and prepared for our first cataract
surgery.
As a PGY2, we spend a lot of time
here in our micro surgical course, where one of the faculty
will be able to guide us through all the principles
of corneal suturing.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: So as Jin said,
the surgical skills are really important in ophthalmology
and take a lot of practice.
But we also have to do a lot of reading.
And here in the same room, we have a comprehensive library
with various texts from every ophthalmic subspecialty
you could imagine.
Really awesome material here on these shelves.
And we as residents have full access to it.
We can borrow books to take home.
I have referenced some of these books
in the clinic in preparation for a patient I'm going to see
or a new surgery that I've never done before.
Welcome to the laser room.
JIN CHOI: Here in the laser room,
we have our argon laser over here
and the LIO over on the counter.
And we have our YAG laser here.
As early as PGY1, our retina attendings and retina fellows
get us involved getting started on PRPs,
also being able to get started on some YAG lasers.
Over here in the corner, we have our surgical scope.
Even as early as post-op day one on pterygium surgeries,
we can have small detachments of the graft.
We're able to fix that with the suture right here in clinic
and have happy patients.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: Let's move on.
JIN CHOI: Here in the workroom, we
have multiple workstations that the senior and the junior
will be sitting at.
Oftentimes, we'll also have visiting
medical students who come here for their away rotations.
We also have internal medicine interns
who come in for an ophthalmology elective.
Our attendings will also come here often
to review images with us and review patient cases.
And we'll be able to take care of all of the patients
right here in this little space right here.
We also are lucky to have the corner
space here with this wonderful
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: View of the street outside.
It's nice to get some sunshine in here
on those long clinic days.
JIN CHOI: Welcome now to the ophthalmic diagnostic services
suite.
Here we have exceptional diagnostic imaging staff
and equipment to be able to provide high quality
images for all of our patients.
It's really important to have all of these high quality
diagnostic imaging to be able to make accurate diagnoses.
Even when we have patients with far peripheral lesions,
we're always able to get OCT cuts through them
and fundus photos as well, which are
extremely helpful in providing patients with high caliber care.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: We are always
looking at how can we improve our imaging services here.
Ophthalmology relies so much on our imaging,
and the technology is always advancing.
We have newer technologies like OCT angiography,
and we are even in the process right now
of validating a virtual reality visual field
headset that our patients love and is
having really good results.
So I feel very lucky to be learning ophthalmology here
where I have access to such wonderful imaging technology.
JIN CHOI: One of the other things in the Bay Area
is that this ophthalmic diagnostic services
suite is well known for the high caliber of images
that they're able to produce.
And so we get referrals specifically for the imaging
that we're able to provide here within the Bay Area.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: All right.
And now we're back in our lobby of our clinic.
Just across the hall, we have a conference room
where we meet every Monday for our grand rounds presentations
as well as didactic lectures.
So the last stop on our tour is the Pacific Vision Surgery
Center.
As you can see, it's just a short walk
away from our resident clinic, which is really convenient.
I'm able to do cases here on days when I also
see patients in clinic.
This surgery center is dedicated for eye surgery.
So everyone there really knows how
to take care of our patients.
They have a great experience, and it's also a really great
experience to operate there.
As senior resident at our clinic,
you will be doing most of your operating
here at this surgery center.
So that's all we have for you guys today.
It's been a pleasure to show you around,
and we really look forward to meeting you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JIN CHOI: Hi, my name is Jin.
I'm one of the PGY2s here at CPMC.
Welcome to the Lions Eye Clinic, where we spend
a big chunk of our PGY2 year.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: I'm Sam.
I'm a PGY4 here at CPMC.
This is the home of our CPMC Department of Ophthalmology.
It is also the home of the Lions Eye Foundation, California
and Nevada clinic, where we're able to provide
care for uninsured patients from California and Nevada.
So we're going to show you around our clinic.
We have four exam rooms and one workup room here.
Each exam room has a slit lamp exam that
is in really good condition.
It's really wonderful to have these tools
to examine our patients.
We also have indirect ophthalmoscope,
a computer in each room, and all of the tools
that we might need to perform any sort of ophthalmic exam.
We have interpreter services here.
A lot of our patients speak Spanish or other languages.
And even though a lot of our providers here are multilingual,
we always have interpreter services available.
And it's really nice to be able to have
such wonderful ophthalmic techs here at our clinic
to do the workup for us and make sure
that the patients are ready to go for us.
JIN CHOI: And so this way, we have our conference room.
Here we have a lot of our lectures.
We have a lot of other microscopes and simulators
that we use pretty frequently in order
to be prepared for cataract surgery, corneal suturing,
and all of the other things that we might need to do in the OR.
Here we have our IC.
We each have our own profile.
And so we work with our program director
to make sure we're on track and prepared for our first cataract
surgery.
As a PGY2, we spend a lot of time
here in our micro surgical course, where one of the faculty
will be able to guide us through all the principles
of corneal suturing.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: So as Jin said,
the surgical skills are really important in ophthalmology
and take a lot of practice.
But we also have to do a lot of reading.
And here in the same room, we have a comprehensive library
with various texts from every ophthalmic subspecialty
you could imagine.
Really awesome material here on these shelves.
And we as residents have full access to it.
We can borrow books to take home.
I have referenced some of these books
in the clinic in preparation for a patient I'm going to see
or a new surgery that I've never done before.
Welcome to the laser room.
JIN CHOI: Here in the laser room,
we have our argon laser over here
and the LIO over on the counter.
And we have our YAG laser here.
As early as PGY1, our retina attendings and retina fellows
get us involved getting started on PRPs,
also being able to get started on some YAG lasers.
Over here in the corner, we have our surgical scope.
Even as early as post-op day one on pterygium surgeries,
we can have small detachments of the graft.
We're able to fix that with the suture right here in clinic
and have happy patients.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: Let's move on.
JIN CHOI: Here in the workroom, we
have multiple workstations that the senior and the junior
will be sitting at.
Oftentimes, we'll also have visiting
medical students who come here for their away rotations.
We also have internal medicine interns
who come in for an ophthalmology elective.
Our attendings will also come here often
to review images with us and review patient cases.
And we'll be able to take care of all of the patients
right here in this little space right here.
We also are lucky to have the corner
space here with this wonderful
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: View of the street outside.
It's nice to get some sunshine in here
on those long clinic days.
JIN CHOI: Welcome now to the ophthalmic diagnostic services
suite.
Here we have exceptional diagnostic imaging staff
and equipment to be able to provide high quality
images for all of our patients.
It's really important to have all of these high quality
diagnostic imaging to be able to make accurate diagnoses.
Even when we have patients with far peripheral lesions,
we're always able to get OCT cuts through them
and fundus photos as well, which are
extremely helpful in providing patients with high caliber care.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: We are always
looking at how can we improve our imaging services here.
Ophthalmology relies so much on our imaging,
and the technology is always advancing.
We have newer technologies like OCT angiography,
and we are even in the process right now
of validating a virtual reality visual field
headset that our patients love and is
having really good results.
So I feel very lucky to be learning ophthalmology here
where I have access to such wonderful imaging technology.
JIN CHOI: One of the other things in the Bay Area
is that this ophthalmic diagnostic services
suite is well known for the high caliber of images
that they're able to produce.
And so we get referrals specifically for the imaging
that we're able to provide here within the Bay Area.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: All right.
And now we're back in our lobby of our clinic.
Just across the hall, we have a conference room
where we meet every Monday for our grand rounds presentations
as well as didactic lectures.
So the last stop on our tour is the Pacific Vision Surgery
Center.
As you can see, it's just a short walk
away from our resident clinic, which is really convenient.
I'm able to do cases here on days when I also
see patients in clinic.
This surgery center is dedicated for eye surgery.
So everyone there really knows how
to take care of our patients.
They have a great experience, and it's also a really great
experience to operate there.
As senior resident at our clinic,
you will be doing most of your operating
here at this surgery center.
So that's all we have for you guys today.
It's been a pleasure to show you around,
and we really look forward to meeting you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
1 / 2
1 / 2
CPMC Ophthalmology Residency Training Program
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SAM REITER: Welcome to the Department of Ophthalmology
at California Pacific Medical Center.
This is a virtual tour of the residency training
program, our facilities, community, and culture.
CPMC Ophthalmology has a long history of training residents
to become excellent clinicians and surgeons.
We match three residents each year,
who will rotate throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area
in order to serve our diverse population that lives here.
We opened a new state-of-the-art facility in San Francisco
in 2018, the Pacific Vision Eye Institute,
which is our home base, to consolidate several vital
features of the residency program into one central
location, including an Education Center for resident education,
the Lions Eye Clinic, the Ophthalmic Diagnostic Services
office, the Pacific Vision Surgery Center,
and many of the practices of our teaching faculty.
Our residents rotate through several sites
to complete their training.
All residents start with a joint PGY-1 internship
with the Department of Internal Medicine, during which they
spend three months with us on the ophthalmology service.
The main hub during PGY-2 year and throughout our training
program is the Lions Eye Clinic in San Francisco.
This is a resident-run clinic where
we care for some of the most vulnerable patients
in our community.
To broaden their experience, our residents
rotate at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, where they learn
advanced cataract techniques, as well as Highland Hospital
in Oakland, which is a county hospital and a Level I trauma
center.
During subspecialty rotations, residents
rotate with nationally respected ophthalmologists
who practice throughout the San Francisco Bay Area
in a variety of practice settings.
The heart of our program is made up
of our devoted faculty, a close-knit group
of ophthalmologists who are deeply committed
to resident education.
We all share in the commitment to caring
for the underserved population of Northern California,
and that commitment is something that we
look for in our applicants.
The history of this department is quite interesting.
We are the oldest ophthalmology department in the West
by many, many years.
We began in 1872 and have had an unblemished and unbroken record
since that time.
We've seen many situations, survived
good times and bad times.
And we are flourishing now with our new space, our new ASC,
and the future looks as good as the past has been.
MYRA SAFO: My primary goal was that I
wanted to find the program that was going to train me the best,
specifically how to be the best surgeon and the best clinician.
MUSTAFA SAFI: Having been in this program for a little
over six months, I feel like I've
developed the skills necessary to not only evaluate
a patient very efficiently, but also
have a very solid understanding of the type of pathology
I'm dealing with.
RONA SILKISS: The uniqueness of our program
is based on our faculty, because our faculty really
treat the residents as if they are colleagues.
And we know that in a very short period of time, they will be.
ANITA AGARWAL: The biggest advantage, I think,
is the fact that they have a lot of people that they learn from.
If you're in university, there may be 15, 20 faculty members,
whereas here, there's probably 40,
50 of us between all of our private practices
and the academic teachings.
MUSTAFA SAFI: The type of relationship is very collegial.
And that really bodes well for the residents
because they feel really comfortable asking
any of the attending physicians any questions,
anything related to ophthalmology,
and they really take you under their wing.
ANITA AGARWAL: They come to our office,
so they see patients with us.
We also operate with the residents.
And we have grand rounds and lectures.
So they learn in different aspects
and different ways of learning.
RONA SILKISS: The residents spend two months working
with me on their oculoplastic rotation
during their first year.
As such, they literally are working
almost as if they were my fellow,
spending every day in the clinic and in the operating
room with me, learning oculoplastic surgery.
ANITA AGARWAL: They're able to do refractive surgery.
They have projects with refractive surgeons,
so they learn a lot of new technology, which
is more than just bread and butter learning
cataracts and regular retinal and other ocular diseases.
MUSTAFA SAFI: So some of the defining qualities of CPMC,
I would say, is the surgical experience.
Truly, you are the primary surgeon
when you're doing any type of surgical case here.
And that is a very unique experience,
that I would say not many programs in the country
have that type of opportunity.
ANITA AGARWAL: And I've seen the first-year residents
come through my ORs within the first month.
And by the time they come into their second year,
they are already proficient with the whole system.
They are able to manage everything.
They're able to set up any kind of follow-up
for patients, any kind of surgery,
any other consultation.
RONA SILKISS: I'm also very interested in research
and encourage the residents to do research projects with me
and have mentored several of the residents
on award-winning Barkan projects.
JONATHAN HERNANDEZ: I'm an alum from our program, which
means that I spend a third of my residency here at Highland.
Highland is a place where young doctors enter as residents
but leave as ophthalmologists.
It's here that we first hang a shingle over a door
with your name, where you have your own patient panel,
and develop strong relationships with patients
from all walks of life.
Here, you'll see incredibly diverse pathology
and be supported by a stellar group of attendings
that are all dedicated to your education.
For generations, this is where CPMC residents
have mastered cataract surgery and have also
been primary surgeons on a wide variety of complex surgeries,
including incisional glaucoma surgery, MIGS,
corneal transplants, eye wall exchanges, to name a few.
Residents on my service operate once to twice a week.
And you do it all while having a good time.
You're going to work hard.
It's hard work.
But you will grow here.
And you'll find a sense of purpose
that's hard to find elsewhere.
RONA SILKISS: Our residents are very
successful in being able to pursue the things that they
want to do after they finish training.
That could be getting a university position,
working in private practice, increasing their education,
continuing their education by a fellowship program.
And even beyond that, we've graduated several presidents
of the American Academy of Ophthalmology,
including the first female president
of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
and the second female president of the American Academy
of Ophthalmology.
Both of those women came from this program.
MYRA SAFO: When you talk to a lot of attendings
who worked with our residents after they graduate,
they say specifically that we make really great clinicians
because we know how to manage such
a wide range of pathologies, because we've seen it all.
MUSTAFA SAFI: So it's really unique
to have a program where all the residents are
in it to help one another.
RONA SILKISS: We have a great group of residents.
SAM REITER: Thank you for joining us
on this virtual tour.
We hope you've enjoyed visiting us and getting
a feel for the quality of training
that we provide our ophthalmology residents.
If you have any questions or wish to contact us,
you can explore our website or reach out
to our residency coordinator.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SAM REITER: Welcome to the Department of Ophthalmology
at California Pacific Medical Center.
This is a virtual tour of the residency training
program, our facilities, community, and culture.
CPMC Ophthalmology has a long history of training residents
to become excellent clinicians and surgeons.
We match three residents each year,
who will rotate throughout the greater San Francisco Bay Area
in order to serve our diverse population that lives here.
We opened a new state-of-the-art facility in San Francisco
in 2018, the Pacific Vision Eye Institute,
which is our home base, to consolidate several vital
features of the residency program into one central
location, including an Education Center for resident education,
the Lions Eye Clinic, the Ophthalmic Diagnostic Services
office, the Pacific Vision Surgery Center,
and many of the practices of our teaching faculty.
Our residents rotate through several sites
to complete their training.
All residents start with a joint PGY-1 internship
with the Department of Internal Medicine, during which they
spend three months with us on the ophthalmology service.
The main hub during PGY-2 year and throughout our training
program is the Lions Eye Clinic in San Francisco.
This is a resident-run clinic where
we care for some of the most vulnerable patients
in our community.
To broaden their experience, our residents
rotate at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, where they learn
advanced cataract techniques, as well as Highland Hospital
in Oakland, which is a county hospital and a Level I trauma
center.
During subspecialty rotations, residents
rotate with nationally respected ophthalmologists
who practice throughout the San Francisco Bay Area
in a variety of practice settings.
The heart of our program is made up
of our devoted faculty, a close-knit group
of ophthalmologists who are deeply committed
to resident education.
We all share in the commitment to caring
for the underserved population of Northern California,
and that commitment is something that we
look for in our applicants.
The history of this department is quite interesting.
We are the oldest ophthalmology department in the West
by many, many years.
We began in 1872 and have had an unblemished and unbroken record
since that time.
We've seen many situations, survived
good times and bad times.
And we are flourishing now with our new space, our new ASC,
and the future looks as good as the past has been.
MYRA SAFO: My primary goal was that I
wanted to find the program that was going to train me the best,
specifically how to be the best surgeon and the best clinician.
MUSTAFA SAFI: Having been in this program for a little
over six months, I feel like I've
developed the skills necessary to not only evaluate
a patient very efficiently, but also
have a very solid understanding of the type of pathology
I'm dealing with.
RONA SILKISS: The uniqueness of our program
is based on our faculty, because our faculty really
treat the residents as if they are colleagues.
And we know that in a very short period of time, they will be.
ANITA AGARWAL: The biggest advantage, I think,
is the fact that they have a lot of people that they learn from.
If you're in university, there may be 15, 20 faculty members,
whereas here, there's probably 40,
50 of us between all of our private practices
and the academic teachings.
MUSTAFA SAFI: The type of relationship is very collegial.
And that really bodes well for the residents
because they feel really comfortable asking
any of the attending physicians any questions,
anything related to ophthalmology,
and they really take you under their wing.
ANITA AGARWAL: They come to our office,
so they see patients with us.
We also operate with the residents.
And we have grand rounds and lectures.
So they learn in different aspects
and different ways of learning.
RONA SILKISS: The residents spend two months working
with me on their oculoplastic rotation
during their first year.
As such, they literally are working
almost as if they were my fellow,
spending every day in the clinic and in the operating
room with me, learning oculoplastic surgery.
ANITA AGARWAL: They're able to do refractive surgery.
They have projects with refractive surgeons,
so they learn a lot of new technology, which
is more than just bread and butter learning
cataracts and regular retinal and other ocular diseases.
MUSTAFA SAFI: So some of the defining qualities of CPMC,
I would say, is the surgical experience.
Truly, you are the primary surgeon
when you're doing any type of surgical case here.
And that is a very unique experience,
that I would say not many programs in the country
have that type of opportunity.
ANITA AGARWAL: And I've seen the first-year residents
come through my ORs within the first month.
And by the time they come into their second year,
they are already proficient with the whole system.
They are able to manage everything.
They're able to set up any kind of follow-up
for patients, any kind of surgery,
any other consultation.
RONA SILKISS: I'm also very interested in research
and encourage the residents to do research projects with me
and have mentored several of the residents
on award-winning Barkan projects.
JONATHAN HERNANDEZ: I'm an alum from our program, which
means that I spend a third of my residency here at Highland.
Highland is a place where young doctors enter as residents
but leave as ophthalmologists.
It's here that we first hang a shingle over a door
with your name, where you have your own patient panel,
and develop strong relationships with patients
from all walks of life.
Here, you'll see incredibly diverse pathology
and be supported by a stellar group of attendings
that are all dedicated to your education.
For generations, this is where CPMC residents
have mastered cataract surgery and have also
been primary surgeons on a wide variety of complex surgeries,
including incisional glaucoma surgery, MIGS,
corneal transplants, eye wall exchanges, to name a few.
Residents on my service operate once to twice a week.
And you do it all while having a good time.
You're going to work hard.
It's hard work.
But you will grow here.
And you'll find a sense of purpose
that's hard to find elsewhere.
RONA SILKISS: Our residents are very
successful in being able to pursue the things that they
want to do after they finish training.
That could be getting a university position,
working in private practice, increasing their education,
continuing their education by a fellowship program.
And even beyond that, we've graduated several presidents
of the American Academy of Ophthalmology,
including the first female president
of the American Academy of Ophthalmology
and the second female president of the American Academy
of Ophthalmology.
Both of those women came from this program.
MYRA SAFO: When you talk to a lot of attendings
who worked with our residents after they graduate,
they say specifically that we make really great clinicians
because we know how to manage such
a wide range of pathologies, because we've seen it all.
MUSTAFA SAFI: So it's really unique
to have a program where all the residents are
in it to help one another.
RONA SILKISS: We have a great group of residents.
SAM REITER: Thank you for joining us
on this virtual tour.
We hope you've enjoyed visiting us and getting
a feel for the quality of training
that we provide our ophthalmology residents.
If you have any questions or wish to contact us,
you can explore our website or reach out
to our residency coordinator.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CPMC Ophthalmology Residency Virtual Tour
Ophthalmology tour of three clinics where residents will do their training
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JIN CHOI: Hi, my name is Jin.
I'm one of the PGY2s here at CPMC.
Welcome to the Lions Eye Clinic, where we spend
a big chunk of our PGY2 year.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: I'm Sam.
I'm a PGY4 here at CPMC.
This is the home of our CPMC Department of Ophthalmology.
It is also the home of the Lions Eye Foundation, California
and Nevada clinic, where we're able to provide
care for uninsured patients from California and Nevada.
So we're going to show you around our clinic.
We have four exam rooms and one workup room here.
Each exam room has a slit lamp exam that
is in really good condition.
It's really wonderful to have these tools
to examine our patients.
We also have indirect ophthalmoscope,
a computer in each room, and all of the tools
that we might need to perform any sort of ophthalmic exam.
We have interpreter services here.
A lot of our patients speak Spanish or other languages.
And even though a lot of our providers here are multilingual,
we always have interpreter services available.
And it's really nice to be able to have
such wonderful ophthalmic techs here at our clinic
to do the workup for us and make sure
that the patients are ready to go for us.
JIN CHOI: And so this way, we have our conference room.
Here we have a lot of our lectures.
We have a lot of other microscopes and simulators
that we use pretty frequently in order
to be prepared for cataract surgery, corneal suturing,
and all of the other things that we might need to do in the OR.
Here we have our IC.
We each have our own profile.
And so we work with our program director
to make sure we're on track and prepared for our first cataract
surgery.
As a PGY2, we spend a lot of time
here in our micro surgical course, where one of the faculty
will be able to guide us through all the principles
of corneal suturing.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: So as Jin said,
the surgical skills are really important in ophthalmology
and take a lot of practice.
But we also have to do a lot of reading.
And here in the same room, we have a comprehensive library
with various texts from every ophthalmic subspecialty
you could imagine.
Really awesome material here on these shelves.
And we as residents have full access to it.
We can borrow books to take home.
I have referenced some of these books
in the clinic in preparation for a patient I'm going to see
or a new surgery that I've never done before.
Welcome to the laser room.
JIN CHOI: Here in the laser room,
we have our argon laser over here
and the LIO over on the counter.
And we have our YAG laser here.
As early as PGY1, our retina attendings and retina fellows
get us involved getting started on PRPs,
also being able to get started on some YAG lasers.
Over here in the corner, we have our surgical scope.
Even as early as post-op day one on pterygium surgeries,
we can have small detachments of the graft.
We're able to fix that with the suture right here in clinic
and have happy patients.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: Let's move on.
JIN CHOI: Here in the workroom, we
have multiple workstations that the senior and the junior
will be sitting at.
Oftentimes, we'll also have visiting
medical students who come here for their away rotations.
We also have internal medicine interns
who come in for an ophthalmology elective.
Our attendings will also come here often
to review images with us and review patient cases.
And we'll be able to take care of all of the patients
right here in this little space right here.
We also are lucky to have the corner
space here with this wonderful
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: View of the street outside.
It's nice to get some sunshine in here
on those long clinic days.
JIN CHOI: Welcome now to the ophthalmic diagnostic services
suite.
Here we have exceptional diagnostic imaging staff
and equipment to be able to provide high quality
images for all of our patients.
It's really important to have all of these high quality
diagnostic imaging to be able to make accurate diagnoses.
Even when we have patients with far peripheral lesions,
we're always able to get OCT cuts through them
and fundus photos as well, which are
extremely helpful in providing patients with high caliber care.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: We are always
looking at how can we improve our imaging services here.
Ophthalmology relies so much on our imaging,
and the technology is always advancing.
We have newer technologies like OCT angiography,
and we are even in the process right now
of validating a virtual reality visual field
headset that our patients love and is
having really good results.
So I feel very lucky to be learning ophthalmology here
where I have access to such wonderful imaging technology.
JIN CHOI: One of the other things in the Bay Area
is that this ophthalmic diagnostic services
suite is well known for the high caliber of images
that they're able to produce.
And so we get referrals specifically for the imaging
that we're able to provide here within the Bay Area.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: All right.
And now we're back in our lobby of our clinic.
Just across the hall, we have a conference room
where we meet every Monday for our grand rounds presentations
as well as didactic lectures.
So the last stop on our tour is the Pacific Vision Surgery
Center.
As you can see, it's just a short walk
away from our resident clinic, which is really convenient.
I'm able to do cases here on days when I also
see patients in clinic.
This surgery center is dedicated for eye surgery.
So everyone there really knows how
to take care of our patients.
They have a great experience, and it's also a really great
experience to operate there.
As senior resident at our clinic,
you will be doing most of your operating
here at this surgery center.
So that's all we have for you guys today.
It's been a pleasure to show you around,
and we really look forward to meeting you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
JIN CHOI: Hi, my name is Jin.
I'm one of the PGY2s here at CPMC.
Welcome to the Lions Eye Clinic, where we spend
a big chunk of our PGY2 year.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: I'm Sam.
I'm a PGY4 here at CPMC.
This is the home of our CPMC Department of Ophthalmology.
It is also the home of the Lions Eye Foundation, California
and Nevada clinic, where we're able to provide
care for uninsured patients from California and Nevada.
So we're going to show you around our clinic.
We have four exam rooms and one workup room here.
Each exam room has a slit lamp exam that
is in really good condition.
It's really wonderful to have these tools
to examine our patients.
We also have indirect ophthalmoscope,
a computer in each room, and all of the tools
that we might need to perform any sort of ophthalmic exam.
We have interpreter services here.
A lot of our patients speak Spanish or other languages.
And even though a lot of our providers here are multilingual,
we always have interpreter services available.
And it's really nice to be able to have
such wonderful ophthalmic techs here at our clinic
to do the workup for us and make sure
that the patients are ready to go for us.
JIN CHOI: And so this way, we have our conference room.
Here we have a lot of our lectures.
We have a lot of other microscopes and simulators
that we use pretty frequently in order
to be prepared for cataract surgery, corneal suturing,
and all of the other things that we might need to do in the OR.
Here we have our IC.
We each have our own profile.
And so we work with our program director
to make sure we're on track and prepared for our first cataract
surgery.
As a PGY2, we spend a lot of time
here in our micro surgical course, where one of the faculty
will be able to guide us through all the principles
of corneal suturing.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: So as Jin said,
the surgical skills are really important in ophthalmology
and take a lot of practice.
But we also have to do a lot of reading.
And here in the same room, we have a comprehensive library
with various texts from every ophthalmic subspecialty
you could imagine.
Really awesome material here on these shelves.
And we as residents have full access to it.
We can borrow books to take home.
I have referenced some of these books
in the clinic in preparation for a patient I'm going to see
or a new surgery that I've never done before.
Welcome to the laser room.
JIN CHOI: Here in the laser room,
we have our argon laser over here
and the LIO over on the counter.
And we have our YAG laser here.
As early as PGY1, our retina attendings and retina fellows
get us involved getting started on PRPs,
also being able to get started on some YAG lasers.
Over here in the corner, we have our surgical scope.
Even as early as post-op day one on pterygium surgeries,
we can have small detachments of the graft.
We're able to fix that with the suture right here in clinic
and have happy patients.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: Let's move on.
JIN CHOI: Here in the workroom, we
have multiple workstations that the senior and the junior
will be sitting at.
Oftentimes, we'll also have visiting
medical students who come here for their away rotations.
We also have internal medicine interns
who come in for an ophthalmology elective.
Our attendings will also come here often
to review images with us and review patient cases.
And we'll be able to take care of all of the patients
right here in this little space right here.
We also are lucky to have the corner
space here with this wonderful
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: View of the street outside.
It's nice to get some sunshine in here
on those long clinic days.
JIN CHOI: Welcome now to the ophthalmic diagnostic services
suite.
Here we have exceptional diagnostic imaging staff
and equipment to be able to provide high quality
images for all of our patients.
It's really important to have all of these high quality
diagnostic imaging to be able to make accurate diagnoses.
Even when we have patients with far peripheral lesions,
we're always able to get OCT cuts through them
and fundus photos as well, which are
extremely helpful in providing patients with high caliber care.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: We are always
looking at how can we improve our imaging services here.
Ophthalmology relies so much on our imaging,
and the technology is always advancing.
We have newer technologies like OCT angiography,
and we are even in the process right now
of validating a virtual reality visual field
headset that our patients love and is
having really good results.
So I feel very lucky to be learning ophthalmology here
where I have access to such wonderful imaging technology.
JIN CHOI: One of the other things in the Bay Area
is that this ophthalmic diagnostic services
suite is well known for the high caliber of images
that they're able to produce.
And so we get referrals specifically for the imaging
that we're able to provide here within the Bay Area.
SAMANTHA BUTTERFIELD: All right.
And now we're back in our lobby of our clinic.
Just across the hall, we have a conference room
where we meet every Monday for our grand rounds presentations
as well as didactic lectures.
So the last stop on our tour is the Pacific Vision Surgery
Center.
As you can see, it's just a short walk
away from our resident clinic, which is really convenient.
I'm able to do cases here on days when I also
see patients in clinic.
This surgery center is dedicated for eye surgery.
So everyone there really knows how
to take care of our patients.
They have a great experience, and it's also a really great
experience to operate there.
As senior resident at our clinic,
you will be doing most of your operating
here at this surgery center.
So that's all we have for you guys today.
It's been a pleasure to show you around,
and we really look forward to meeting you.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
CPMC residents spend the majority of their time at the Pacific Vision Eye Institute (PVEI), which opened in 2017 with support from the Pacific Vision Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the CPMC Department of Ophthalmology. PVEI, a state of the art facility that houses multiple ophthalmology clinics including Lions Eye Clinic and an ambulatory surgery center, is the home of the CPMC Department of Ophthalmology.
Our residents also rotate in a variety of locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area to enrich their experience, including Highland Hospital in Oakland, Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco, and CPMC faculty offices throughout the region. In every setting that work is performed, education is at the core of our mission to provide outstanding eye care, not just for today, but for the future.
Ophthalmology Clerkship
In addition to residency training, we offer a robust ophthalmology clerkship for medical students interested in gaining early clinical exposure, mentorship, and practical experience across these subspecialties.
Living in San Francisco
Live and work in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. From outdoor adventures in protected national landscapes to world-class museums and dining, San Francisco is a city like no other.
Contact Us
Program Coordinator
Fernarem "Deedee" Solis
415-600-3930
SolisF@sutterhealth.org
Program Director
Samuel Reiter, M.D.