Residency Program in Primary Care and Geriatric Optometry at the St. Louis Veteran's Affairs Medical Center
Description
of Program:
This Residency
provides advanced clinical training in primary care optometry with an
emphasis on geriatric patients and diseases of the elderly. Extensive
clinical experience is gained by providing care to the St. Louis VA Medical
Center's patient population of adult and elderly patients. A strong point
of the program is the one-on-one interaction with the program's experienced
faculty. The Residency is associated with the medical center’s
Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC). The St. Louis
GRECC and the twenty-four other GRECCs across the nation are recognized
as leaders in advancing geriatric care. The program has areas of flexibility
that can be adapted to meet the particular interests of the resident.
Program Mission Statement
The mission of the Primary Care Residency at the St. Louis VA Medical Center is to inspire and develop capable and skilled optometric practitioners. The Primary Care Residency fulfills its mission through a post-graduate training program structured for the resident’s attainment of advanced competencies in primary care optometry, working within a multi-disciplinary setting and emphasizing an older adult patient population. The residency will at the same time fulfill the Medical Center’s commitment to provide high quality eye care to our veteran patients.
Educational Opportunities:
The primary means of learning and skill development
is direct patient care. Because of the nature of the veteran population
and the treatment programs available at our medical center, the resident
is exposed to a wide range of medical and ocular diagnoses. A number of
other activities are built into the program to broaden the overall learning
experience. During the year the resident:
- participates in optometry conferences and grand rounds
- attends geriatric and ophthalmology grand rounds and seminars, and also continuing optometric/medical education
- supervises fourth year optometry students training at the VA Medical Center
- develops scholarship and literature research skills by working on a paper of publishable quality.
The resident's schedule is comprised of four full days a week in clinical care and approximately one full day for independent study and professional development.
Teaching
Responsibilities for Resident/Graduate Student:
Resident supervises optometry students providing patient care in the
clinic during the second half of the residency. The number of patient encounters
gained in this manner is small compared to the number of patients directly
seen by the resident.
Research
Responsibilities:
Resident has the opportunity to perform a clinical research study.
Program Coordinator:
Steven J. Grondalski, O.D.
Optometry Residency Coordinator
Email Steven.Grondalski@med.va.gov
Voice (314) 652-4100 ext 5-3619
FAX (314) 289-6581
St. Louis VA Medical Center, Eye Clinic
915 Grand Avenue
Saint Louis, MO 63106