Ophtho programs in Texas

[hobbesiscool]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know which ophthalmology residency programs in Texas are good (ie. Baylor, UT-Houston, UTMB, UTSW, etc?). I was curious to know as I go to med school in Texas, am interested in ophtho as a career choice, and would definitely like to stay close to home for my training. Thanks!

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[Chorizo Bandito]

Baylor rocks. Attendings seem cool and the surg numbers are great. My $0.02 based on one interview day and knowing a guy who went there.

 

[Optometric MD]

Baylor is fairly good. All programs have flaws. UT Houston has some wicked people. Texas Tech is one of the best mediocre programs, which means it may be better than mediocre. UTMB Galveston was awful not too long ago according to rumor, but is now better.

At UT SW, -------- is said to be an excellent cataract surgery teacher... Don't take the last sentence literally. Or maybe, do. He might be good, never saw him do one.

 

[MR1]

My order of preference

1) Baylor - overall excellent program, very well known
2) UTSW - good numbers, very busy, large program
3) A&M - small town, very friendly program, good #'s
4) Tech - small town, nothing close, excellent #'s
5) UT houston - don't know much about it, has to compete with baylor
6) UTMB - haven't heard many good things about it, didn't interview there though

 

[iplas]

UTMB changed a lot in recent years. There's good and bad.

Good:
New chairman (1.5 years) - Stability
More emphasis on research - Good esp if you want to apply for fellowship
New clinic and furnish equipments
MD Anderson rotation - oncology & neuro
Strong retina division with a fellowship

Bad:
Personel changes - New junior faculties +/- on resident teaching
Off site rotation - pedi and cornea
Galveston - if you don't like to live on the island

The transition years maybe tough as the department is rebuilding under new chairman.

 

[mcnabb]

Anyone know anything about the UT-San Antonio program?

 

[arsenalgunner]

UTMB changed a lot in recent years. There's good and bad.

Good:
New chairman (1.5 years) - Stability
More emphasis on research - Good esp if you want to apply for fellowship
New clinic and furnish equipments
MD Anderson rotation - oncology & neuro
Strong retina division with a fellowship

Bad:
Personel changes - New junior faculties +/- on resident teaching
Off site rotation - pedi and cornea
Galveston - if you don't like to live on the island

The transition years maybe tough as the department is rebuilding under new chairman.

Any truth to the rumor Galveston campus will shut it's doors within the next few years & re-open in Austin?

 

[Jokestr]

Seriously doubt Galveston will "shut it's doors"....They are however, in the process of starting residency programs in Austin right now that will be affiliated with the UT system and Galveston school. I don't think there are any short term plans for ophtho slots in Austin but as the program grows that could change. Other residencies such as ob/gyn, surgery, and pre-existing are already getting under way.

 

[Jake the Snake]

My order of preference

1) Baylor - overall excellent program, very well known
2) UTSW - good numbers, very busy, large program
3) A&M - small town, very friendly program, good #'s
4) Tech - small town, nothing close, excellent #'s
5) UT houston - don't know much about it, has to compete with baylor
6) UTMB - haven't heard many good things about it, didn't interview there though

This is interesting. I hear UTSW is head and shoulders over Baylor. UTSW residents supposedly get better medical and surgical training and Baylor ophthalmology is supposedly a stuck up group. Any other thoughts on this?

 

[jbloggs]

I think this ranking might accurately reflect program status a few years ago, but I think with recent changes:

1. Baylor
2. UTSW
3. UTMB
4. Tech
5. A&M
6. UT Houston

 

[mcnabb]

What about UT-San Antonio? Is it worse than these 6?

 

[randomdude00]

I think this ranking might accurately reflect program status a few years ago, but I think with recent changes:

1. Baylor
2. UTSW
3. UTMB
4. Tech
5. A&M
6. UT Houston

Wow...aside from your obvious top 2 (the ordering of which is debatable among many), I have no idea how you came up with this ranking list. UTMB at 3rd baffles me...

 

[Jake the Snake]

From what I hear, the ranking is something like this

1 & 2. UTSW > Baylor
3. UTSA
4. UTH
5. Texas Tech
6. UTMB
7. Texas A&M

UTMB isn't that great yet, what with all the older faculty leaving and all the changes going on. But in time, we may move up on this list. As for right now, I hear UTSW wears the crown in Texas. But maybe Baylor attracts more out of state applicants? They certainly do when it comes to applying to medical school.

 

[MR1]

If I were choosing between UTSW and Baylor I would choose UTSW but you are right either is tops in Texas and both can compete nationally. The rest of them could fall anywhere on someones list as they have their positives and negatives and may have changed alot since I interviewed last year

 

[mcnabb]

Any positives or negatives about UTSA from residents who interviewed there or others who know something about the program? Thanks.

 

[LASIKguy]

Every program is different and you have to find a best "fit".

Baylor (personal experience)
pros: excellent name in eyes, good cataract numbers (150-200) and great glaucoma and peds, great pathology
cons: you operate alone senior yr doing cats. Attaendings are "available" (high complication rate, for me thats a big negative)
You work VERY hard
POOR retina surgical experience

UTSW (personal experience)
pros: decent name in eyes, good cataract numbers (150-200), ok glaucoma and peds, ok retina (open and close NO vits), great pathology
cons: VERY BUSY, chariman makes residents CRY

Texas Tech (personal experience)
pros: Excellent cataract numbers (200-250), excellent retina numbers (40-50 class I vitrectomies), ok glaucoma, BOBBY KNIGHT
Chairman and faculty is super nice, GREAT hours. Only game in town
cons: poor peds, lubbock is ok but middle of no where.

Texas A and M
pros: excellent cataract numbers, ok glaucoma and peds, poor retina
laid back, nice faculty, only game is town
cons: too much supervision, small town, everyone goes to church together!

UTSA - dont know much
ok cataracts, retina (lots of lasers)
unstable faculty at times, good city to live

UTH
ok cataract, lots of clinical faculty or affiliated faculty that you operate with. Baylor stands in front of it, no recognition in houston

UT Galveston -
all CONS bad reputation, urologist was a chairman 2 yrs ago for a long time
unstable department, low numbers, BAD place to live
AVOID

 

[IOP]

Every program is different and you have to find a best "fit".

Baylor (personal experience)
pros: excellent name in eyes, good cataract numbers (150-200) and great glaucoma and peds, great pathology
cons: you operate alone senior yr doing cats. Attaendings are "available" (high complication rate, for me thats a big negative)
You work VERY hard
POOR retina surgical experience


I do agree with certain things that's said about Baylor but in regards to
operating alone, it's absolutely not true. I graduated a few years ago and
know for a fact that attendings are always there. Also have a few friends who are faculty there and can vouch for the fact that residents are never alone doing surgery. In terms of high complication rate, I would like to see
where you got that figure.

You do work hard at Baylor but in return get tremendous number of surgery and laser. Most residents get over 200 cataract cases. I ended up with high 100's but that's with me actively booking different types of surgeries because I didn't want to do any more cataracts.

It's not a perfect program...no program is.

 

[Jake the Snake]

Every program is different and you have to find a best "fit".

Baylor (personal experience)
pros: excellent name in eyes, good cataract numbers (150-200) and great glaucoma and peds, great pathology
cons: you operate alone senior yr doing cats. Attaendings are "available" (high complication rate, for me thats a big negative)
You work VERY hard
POOR retina surgical experience


I do agree with certain things that's said about Baylor but in regards to
operating alone, it's absolutely not true. I graduated a few years ago and
know for a fact that attendings are always there. Also have a few friends who are faculty there and can vouch for the fact that residents are never alone doing surgery. In terms of high complication rate, I would like to see
where you got that figure.

You do work hard at Baylor but in return get tremendous number of surgery and laser. Most residents get over 200 cataract cases. I ended up with high 100's but that's with me actively booking different types of surgeries because I didn't want to do any more cataracts.

It's not a perfect program...no program is.

What are your takes on the retina experience? They don't seem to be heavy in retina from the looks of their website. Also, Baylor seems to be lacking in basic science research.

 

[Jake the Snake]

Can any UTSW residents or alumni chime in?

 

[IOP]

What are your takes on the retina experience? They don't seem to be heavy in retina from the looks of their website. Also, Baylor seems to be lacking in basic science research.

Although retina admittedly is not one of the stronger departments at Baylor, residents have done extremely well in the retina match. Last year one matched at Casey in Oregon and the other at Jules Stein. No one went in to retina the year before but in the recent years residents have gone to Bascom Palmer, Iowa, MCW etc.

If you are into basic science research in retina, Baylor is not the place for you, although basic science research in cornea and glaucoma are strong.

 

[jbloggs]

Although apparently not recognized by many people on THIS board, retina at UTMB is very strong, having matched one of their residents at Bascom in this year's match. In the last couple years they have acquired multiple NIH grants for retina research projects going on in their AMD center. Again, a lot of progress has been made in the last two years to really improve the program from many aspects. Other non-retina matches for this year included Mass Eye and Ear and UTSW.

 

[IOP]

Did the person match into medical retina or surgical retina? Because I was told BPEI filled all the surgical spots internally.

 

[ophth_not_opth]

I won't comment on ranking Baylor v. UTSW v. other programs, but I have to take exception to LASIKguy comments regarding Baylor. Having recently graduated from there, I will say that there was an attending present for all of my cases. Granted, there comes a time in residency when you no longer want them there, and then they sit and work on a the computer in the corner. Nonetheless, this whole rumor of cases being unsupervised at Baylor is complete and utter nonsense.

Secondly, I too would like to see LASIKguy's data regarding the residents' complication rate. We recently compiled (real) resident data over the past 4 years, and the overall rate compared very favorably(i.e. better) to generally accepted complication rates for cataract surgery. Feel free to email me for specific numbers. I don't mean to say that the residents don't have complications, but to suggest that they are unusually high is asinine.

To the third point, yes, you do work hard at Baylor. You see a lot of patients and you do a lot of surgery. Having said that, you are trained well and graduate with great clinical competence. I did not feel that I worked inordinately hard compared to my friends in other programs. And even having said that, I don't think working hard is a bad thing with respect to residency--it'll never be as grueling as other specialties and there's only a limited time to learn the material. Regarding call(because many of us consider that as part of working hard), it's every 6th night for two years(second year is less busy than first), and as a 3rd year, I took only backup call every other week for 4 months. Nothing for the other 8. Not too bad.

Finally, regarding the retina service, undoubtedly the timing of two faculty departures was difficult for the program. I think this is being addressed by the recent hiring of a new faculty member and the impending addition of a couple more. Nonetheless, they have managed to keep the level of resident teaching high. I graduated with 11 primary buckles and 24 core vitrectomies(including a couple nonclearing vit hemes from start to finish). I also did a few silicone oil removals. True, I never did the air/fluid exchange or a membrane peel. I'll add that I was interested in retina, and made my interests known. If that's your idea of a poor retina experience, fair enough. As an aside, I have since moved on to a fairly competetive surgical retina fellowship, and have not found my knowledge base to be lacking.

I think that these boards are a useful resource, and appreciate LASIKguy's opinion. I felt compelled to reply only because some people use these forums to make important choices, and I disagreed with his assessment. I'm not sure what the nature of his personal experience is, but I was a resident there.

Thanks.

 

[Jim998877]

I won't comment on ranking Baylor v. UTSW v. other programs, but I have to take exception to LASIKguy comments regarding Baylor. Having experience is, but I was a resident there.

Thanks.

with so many crappy programs, baylor certainly isn't one of them!

 

[thackl]

Since I have family and property in Lubbock.... TTU Ophtho is #1

 

[LASIKguy]

I rotated at the Baylor program as a student and i still stand-by my comments.

The senior at Ben Taub was operating by himself on Mondays when the plastics attending walked in the room and said " how are you doing" ? The senior resident said "fine" and then the plastics attending left and went to clinic. You can call this staffed surgery but in my book that is not staffing. This was every Monday, not just one day. This was several yrs ago so things might have changed now.
When seniors operate alone, the complication rate is higher than when surgeries are staffed, you have more dropped lenses and posterior capsule tears. I saw several dropped lenses during my short time there.

Even if you do a lot of cases and have good outcomes, you need to have attendings in the OR because they stop you from acquiring bad habits or running into complications. Residency is about learning from experienced attendings and not to do cases by yourself.

The retina department is weak currently due to the lack of faculty. I cant imagine any of their retina attendings would have patience to sit with the residents and do cases when they are already overworked and don't even have time with their fellows.

 

[Jake the Snake]

I rotated at the Baylor program as a student and i still stand-by my comments.

The senior at Ben Taub was operating by himself on Mondays when the plastics attending walked in the room and said " how are you doing" ? The senior resident said "fine" and then the plastics attending left and went to clinic. You can call this staffed surgery but in my book that is not staffing. This was every Monday, not just one day. This was several yrs ago so things might have changed now.
When seniors operate alone, the complication rate is higher than when surgeries are staffed, you have more dropped lenses and posterior capsule tears. I saw several dropped lenses during my short time there.

Even if you do a lot of cases and have good outcomes, you need to have attendings in the OR because they stop you from acquiring bad habits or running into complications. Residency is about learning from experienced attendings and not to do cases by yourself.

The retina department is weak currently due to the lack of faculty. I cant imagine any of their retina attendings would have patience to sit with the residents and do cases when they are already overworked and don't even have time with their fellows.

My, those are harsh words. I guess I'll just have to see for myself when I hit the interview trail. As someone who wants to stay in Texas, UTSW and Baylor are top notch in my book. But from my current point of view, it's all based on hearsay, much of which I gather from this forum.

 

[ophth_not_opth]

LASIKguy,

I appreciate your comments, and am in no way trying to discount your opinion. I'm not sure how long ago your rotation was, but this runs very contrary to my experience, my having recently graduated. Please don't think I'm trying to say that it's a perfect program. It's certainly not--though I'm not sure that such a place exists. Anyway, there has been a concerted effort over the past few years to improve staffing, and I'll say that I've never done a case more involved than a bleph alone(even that was marked in front of staff). I absolutely agree with your assessment that having staff is essential, and could not be critical of my staffing in the slightest. I was staffed for every case unless I asked them not to be present. Who cares if you do 300 phacos if you never learn the appropriate techniques.

I'm sorry that you feel that there are more complications there than average. I flatly disagree with your assessment. I've got data to back it up. Then again, a few years ago, a more thorough first year wet lab experience was instated, and surgical complications improved(this is compiled data that is finding its way to publication).

You're right that the retina section is rebuildling. I agree that they are overworked. Nonetheless, resident education remains a priority, and I was staffed on the procedures that I previously mentioned. I did express intrest in doing retina cases, though I did not make any special efforts other than speaking up.


Anyway, as you can gather, I rate my experience there very highly. I'm sorry that your experience there was less than impressive, and your feelings seem to be different from mine. At least we agree on some fundamentals to resident education. I'm happy to answer any and all questions.

 

[IOP]

I rotated at the Baylor program as a student and i still stand-by my comments.

The senior at Ben Taub was operating by himself on Mondays when the plastics attending walked in the room and said " how are you doing" ? The senior resident said "fine" and then the plastics attending left and went to clinic. You can call this staffed surgery but in my book that is not staffing. This was every Monday, not just one day. This was several yrs ago so things might have changed now.
When seniors operate alone, the complication rate is higher than when surgeries are staffed, you have more dropped lenses and posterior capsule tears. I saw several dropped lenses during my short time there.

Even if you do a lot of cases and have good outcomes, you need to have attendings in the OR because they stop you from acquiring bad habits or running into complications. Residency is about learning from experienced attendings and not to do cases by yourself.

The retina department is weak currently due to the lack of faculty. I cant imagine any of their retina attendings would have patience to sit with the residents and do cases when they are already overworked and don't even have time with their fellows.

It's probably not a good idea to generalize a month of rotating through a residency to the whole residency experience there. You must have rotated at Baylor quite a few years ago since I was a senior there about 5 years ago and had all my cases staffed. I do agree with your sentiments about resident education.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Please post your input in our new program compendium. Pick the program in the table of contents and post your comment in the program thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=470595

Thanks!