Frequently Asked Questions
Why did you choose your specialty?
This area of medicine offers a combination of medical and surgical treatments to help patients with eye problems, of which there is no shortage. It is personally rewarding to help patients maintain and even improve their quality of life—people value their vision. There are many opportunities to apply our training in international settings and the developing world. There is opportunity to identify life- threatening systematic and neurologic disease through eye exams.
What is your residency program’s orientation and focus?
The program’s mission is to produce skilled and competent comprehensive ophthalmologists and to prepare residents to be competitive for subspecialty training programs if they are interested in pursuing further training. We do this in a supportive and collegial environment that strives to learn what is known and contemporary, but also to provide and generate new knowledge to provide better diagnosis, treatment and prevention of visual disorders. Trainees are encouraged to follow their own carefully chosen path to create a career tailored to their needs and interests. Edmonton provides a mid-size program, a large catchment area and an excellent surgical load without the impersonal nature of large programs with fellows.
What is the availability of experience in subspecialty areas during training?
There is substantial exposure to the following subspecialty areas to achieve good comprehensive training, while also allowing residents to make informed career choices: oculoplastics, glaucoma, uveitis, neuro-ophthalmology, cornea and external disease, retina.