Mass Eye and Ear Glaucoma Fellowship

[Mass Eye and Ear Glaucoma]

The Mass Eye and Ear glaucoma fellowship is expanding from 2 to 3 fellows for the 2020-2021 year, and we'd like to share some information based on the experiences of recent classes of fellows. We hope to see many of you for interviews!

Strengths:

1. The glaucoma faculty are collegial and treat fellows respectfully at all times; fellow education is a primary mission aim of the service.
2. Fellows get a broad experience with good surgical volume in both traditional trabs/tubes as well as MIGS
3. 100+ primary cataracts, and most are combined with angle-based procedures.
4. 12 different attendings trained at a variety of top fellowships (Bascom, Duke, MEE, Tufts/OCB, UCLA, Wills, Wilmer) will expose you to a variety of surgical techniques.
5. Attendings are dedicated to teaching and go out of their way to discuss interesting cases and glaucoma literature. They are also invested in providing career mentorship and overall life advice, making fellows aware of job, research, and funding opportunities.
6. Complex pathology that comes through MEE eye-specific emergency room will make you prepared for anything.
7. Graduated autonomy helps fellows develop into independent glaucoma specialists over the course of the year, but help is available as needed.
8. For about half of the year, fellows spend one half session weekly as ED attendings. This will keep you up to date on non-glaucoma ophthalmology and is an opportunity to teach residents and stay fresh for boards.
9. Salary of > $60k is higher than many comparable programs, and weekend moonlighting opportunity as ED attending pays well.
10. Call is split 3 ways and is very manageable. Residents handle most patients in the ED.
11. Research is well supported if you want, but it is not required. A review article on a topic of your choice is required.
12. Boston is wicked awesome.

Weaknesses:

1. With 12 attendings, the volume with any individual attending is lower than in smaller programs. Fellows spend a little more effort reviewing each attending's surgical technique preferences prior to cases since they are operating with different people. This could also be viewed as an advantage as there are opportunities to see many ways to operate.
2. All surgical cases are staffed by an attending, so fellows don't get an opportunity to have complete surgical autonomy operating alone, though attendings are more hands off as the year progresses. Fellows don't have the opportunity to staff resident phaco/glaucoma/globe cases because the chief resident (a graduate of the residency who stays another year) handles all trauma call for the entire year.
3. There is no dedicated fellows’ clinic, but there ED follow-ups and urgent patients and occasional post-op's from glaucoma attendings, as well as urgent referrals from other services. There is no dedicated resident glaucoma clinic opportunity to teach. However, fellows are sometimes simultaneously in the same attending clinic as a junior resident and can teach the resident as well.
4. While the VA provides a high number of lasers, the OR surgical volume there is lower than at MEE, though fellows do get a good number of phaco, iStent, and ECP at the VA. This will be improving, and once the program goes to 3 fellows, the VA will be one third of the fellowship.
5. The MEE rotation can be intense due to busy clinics and OR with occasional calls from the ED and other services about urgent patients, but it's balanced by much less intense weeks at the VA. This should improve when there are three fellows and two are rotating at MEE at any given time.

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[Mass Eye and Ear Glaucoma]

The Mass Eye and Ear glaucoma fellowship is welcoming applications for this upcoming cycle. Full details are available at https://www.masseyeandear.org/education/ophthalmology/fellowships/glaucoma. We anticipate expanding to 13 faculty members by the time fellowship starts in July 2021, so there will be plenty of volume to keep you busy and learning.

We have now expanded to 3 fellows, and so far, this has improved the fellowship dramatically. Fellows continue to have high surgical volumes, and now they get more continuity of care after surgery, plus an even wider exposure to the large and diverse faculty. Instead of splitting time 50/50 at MEE and the VA like when we had 2 fellows, fellows now spend 2/3 of the year at MEE and 1/3 of the year at the VA, where they are staffed by MEE and Boston University glaucoma attendings.

Massachusetts has done well (knock on wood) with containing COVID-19, and our volume has returned close to normal. During COVID-19, we started online glaucoma rounds to supplement fellow/resident education, and these continue once or twice per month with interactive talks given by faculty at 6pm on Thursdays. If you are interested in joining, you can use the Zoom links to 'Mass Eye and Ear Glaucoma Rounds' at Harvard Ophthalmology Calendar

 

[Mass Eye and Ear Glaucoma]

The Mass Eye and Ear glaucoma fellowship is welcoming applications for this upcoming cycle, to start fellowship July 2023. Full details are available at Glaucoma Fellowship | Mass. Eye and Ear.

We have positions available for 3 fellows again in 2023-2024. Primary surgical numbers are expected be over 50 trabs, 50 tubes, 150 phacos, and 100 MIGS. We have 13 faculty members and anticipate expanding soon, to take advantage of the clinical space renovation that is expected to finish this year, before new fellows would start. Fellows spend 2/3 of the year at MEE and 1/3 of the year at the VA but also operate every week at MEE during the VA rotation.

Recent graduates of our program have gone on to private practice, Kaiser, and academic positions at Tufts, Michigan, and Mass Eye and Ear.

Salary follows the Mass General Brigham PGY scale and is expected to be approximately $90k next year (Salary | Partners Graduate Medical Education).

 

[visco]

This is great. Would love to see more fellowships promoting their programs like this. It's hard to find the information applicants really care about by just reading a program's website.