Optometric Residency

Apply to the Optometry Residency

Residency applicants apply through ORMatch. All supporting documents (including optometry school transcripts, three letters of recommendation, CV, NBEO scores, and a brief letter of intent concerning their goals for residency training) are sent directly to the program coordinator via ORMatch. Completed applications are reviewed, and select applicants are invited for an on-site or zoom interview with the optometric team and one ophthalmology representative. Selection of candidates is made through ORMatch and is in accordance with its guidelines. Selection criteria and processes are reviewed on an annual basis by the residency coordinator.

Applicants to the program must have received their Doctor of Optometry degree from a school or college of optometry accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education prior to the beginning of the residency. In accordance with the ��ɫ�� policy concerning resident selection, residents are not selected regarding sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, or any other applicable legally protected status.

The deadline for application is Jan. 31, 2026 for the next available position that will start July 1, 2026. The optometry residency position is filled through the Optometry Residency Match system (ORMatch). Qualified applicants will be contacted to schedule an on-site interview once their application is complete.

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Mission Statement

The Residency Program in Ocular Disease at the University of Kentucky Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (��ɫ��) provides qualified optometrists with advanced clinical education in the treatment and management of ocular disease in an acute care, hospital based setting that results in the attainment of advanced competencies in clinical eye care. Residents completing the program are uniquely qualified to deliver and coordinate eyecare in a hospital or multi-disciplinary setting.

Program Overview

The ocular disease residency at the University of Kentucky Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences is designed to provide the optometric resident with a wide range of clinical experience in the treatment and management of ocular disease. The department provides outpatient and consultative ophthalmology services to the Chandler Medical Center at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Sub-specialty care is provided in the areas of retina, neuro-ophthalmology, glaucoma, cornea, oculoplastics, and pediatrics. The resident provides coverage for the Urgent Care Clinic, which covers walk-in patients, urgent referrals from other services, and established patients with new onset of ocular complaints, among others. The resident provides advanced ocular disease care, including frequent consultation with the sub-specialties listed above. The resident also attends weekly fluorescein conferences, grand rounds presentations, and other didactic lectures presented by the ophthalmology faculty, optometry faculty, and other trainees.

The residency offers a competitive stipend, vacation and sick leave, and includes health insurance benefits along with a $500 educational expense allowance for travel, books, etc.

Optometric Curriculum

The clinical curriculum consists of staffing the Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) within the University of Kentucky Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. The resident is the primary eye care provider for all patients presenting to the department of ophthalmology for acute care. Patients present as walk-ins, telephone triage patients that were advised to be seen urgently, consults/referrals from other providers within the University of Kentucky Medical Center, and outside providers referring patients to our clinic. Close supervision by the program director and UCC faculty within the first three months of the residency gives way to more autonomy as the resident progresses. The resident evaluates all UCC patients and obtains consultation as necessary from faculty and subspecialists within the department. In addition, the resident is provided a schedule template in order to appoint follow-up evaluations of patients seen in the UCC. This enables the resident to receive first-hand experience in the assessment of a wide variety of ocular disease and immediate consultation with the appropriate subspecialists as necessary, as well as continuity of care as the resident is allowed to evaluate the success of recommended treatment at follow-up examinations.

Didactic/scholarly activities include attendance of weekly fluorescein angiography conference, grand rounds, and other lectures as provided by faculty members in their respective specialties throughout the year presented by the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences as part of the ophthalmologic residency curriculum. In addition, weekly optometric intern conferences are held (when students are present) during which the resident presents lectures or case reports and supervises the optometric intern journal club sessions. A publication quality paper in the form of a case report, research, or clinical topic is due at the completion of the residency.

The optometric residency in ocular disease position at the University of Kentucky Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences is affiliated with the University of Indiana School of Optometry and is accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education.

Training Facilities

In the spring of 2017, the department moved across South Limestone Street to a brand new 5-story medical office building. The department of ophthalmology is housed in the top two floors and includes 50 state of the art universal exam rooms and equipment; badge-restricted faculty offices with adjacent resident offices, a resident library and universal wetlab/surgical training/pathology room. The 32,528 square foot eye clinic contains 50 examination lanes, 27 procedure/diagnostic rooms, digital fluorescein system, Humphrey automated visual field instruments, pentacam corneal topography, Heidelburg OCT imaging system, B-scan ultrasonography, Optos wide field photography, and Electroretinography testing system. Our hospital uses Epic electronic health records with all testing integrated into Epic vis DICOM imaging systems. Epic allows the resident to communicate with several specialites throughout the hospital and have access to all medical records for patients.

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