Phaco training courses after residency

[iballme]

Hi, colleagues! There's a non-ophtho colleague's son who recently finished his ophthalmology residency, but felt the cataract volume wan't enough to give him the comfort level he wanted before joining a practice. He's very open to seeing if there are phaco training programs out there he could go to for a few weeks or months to get some cases under his belt and increase his surgical confidence. I've heard of various places in India but not sure which are the better and worthwhile ones, given the time and expense involved. I wonder if there are similar programs not as far away, eg in Mexico or elsewhere in Latin America, or wherever else?

Anyone who can recommend such a program, please let me know or PM me. Thanks!

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[hello lady!]

Using an international mission trip to get experience doing phaco is unethical. These aren't dogs in other countries - they're an extremely vulnerable population of human beings. Any complications that occur could be disastrous without long-term access to specialists.

If someone comes out of residency under-trained then they need fellowship training or they need to sign on with a group that is willing to mentor them and get them up to speed.

 

[Baller2016]

It isn’t unethical; it’s part of the learning process. A lot of people go to Aravind not only to help an underserved population but also to learn new and refine old surgical techniques. You have experienced mentors teaching you and supervising you. It isn’t any more unethical than doing surgery as a newbee resident with supervision.

But I highly recommend doing a fellowship, particularly an anterior segment fellowship, to truly improve your skills. It will give you more volume and a wider skill set. One year of training will make a lifetime of difference for your career!

 

[iballme]

I agree that mission trips aren't suitable for training. That's not what I was referring to. The phaco courses in India are advertised as training programs by private clinics and hospitals, not by charity eye camps. I'd imagine the docs would have a structured program and provisions to handle complications...I'd think. As baller said above, no different that a resident learning phaco at a training program here.

 

[EyeGuy15]

The answer to this is ridiculously easy. Do a fellowship (cornea, glaucoma, anterior segment). There are so many open spots for fellowships that give fellows an amazing surgical experience that will no doubt enhance his cataract surgery skills. Pure "Phaco-training programs" in the USA do not exist. If someone graduated with weak cataract surgical numbers, they likely graduated with weak clinical volume as well. They are likely deficient in other areas of anterior segment pathology. Just go on sfmatch and look at all the open fellowship spots and research which programs have what he is looking for and shoot off some emails to them. There are a ridiculous amount of open fellowship positions around the country that have cataract surgery as part of the surgical training. This is not rocket science. Your colleague's son definitely knows that doing a fellowship will likely solve all of his concerns, but he seems to just be too lazy to devote one year to a fellowship (as opposed to 1-2 months for "Phaco-training" in another country). The guy is just lazy. Don't waste your time trying to help him.

 

[Lazyeye9]

The answer to this is ridiculously easy. Do a fellowship (cornea, glaucoma, anterior segment). There are so many open spots for fellowships that give fellows an amazing surgical experience that will no doubt enhance his cataract surgery skills. Pure "Phaco-training programs" do not exist. If someone graduated with weak cataract surgical numbers, they likely graduated with weak clinical volume as well. They are likely deficient in other areas of anterior segment pathology. Just go on sfmatch and look at all the open fellowship spots and research which programs have what he is looking for and shoot off some emails to them. There are a ridiculous amount of open fellowship positions around the country that have cataract surgery as part of the surgical training. This is not rocket science. Your colleague's son definitely knows that doing a fellowship will likely solve all of his concerns, but he seems to just be too lazy to devote one year to a fellowship (as opposed to 1-2 months for "Phaco-training" in another country). The guy is just lazy. Don't waste your time trying to help him.

There are phaco programs in India where you can go over there and do a bunch of phacos over a month. Good luck

 

[Bronze Medal]

I don't know anything about phaco training courses after residency, but this thread should serve as a reminder to future applicants that cataract numbers ARE important. Programs with a VA or county hospital where residents do a lot of surgery have a huge advantage. I also agree that any resident who feels that their surgical training is sub-par should pursue a fellowship. I interviewed at a good number of anterior segment fellowships that offered solid cataract surgery numbers for fellows.