Our clinical training residency in veterinary ophthalmology is a three year program satisfying the training requirements needed to attain specialist certification in the European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ECVO) as well as an introduction to clinical research in veterinary ophthalmology.

The programme is well supervised and structured to provide comprehensive training in all aspects of medical and surgical ophthalmology. The programme has a strong emphasis on clinical ophthalmology and it is supported by four Diplomats of the ECVO, two residency trained staff clinicians, four clinical training residents and a team of dedicated nurses. You will spend the majority of your time conducting clinical duties in the QMHA as part of the clinical Ophthalmology Service, managing hospitalized patients and participating in an out-of-hours on-call rota for ophthalmic emergencies under the supervision of a board-certified specialist. Clinical work will focus on our small animal caseload at the QMHA. The service does also consult on ophthalmic cases in the Equine Referral Hospital and for the Farm Animal Service upon request. You will be expected to gradually increase your primary case responsibility for a varied caseload over the course of the programme and to gradually increase your surgical proficiency. You will need to follow instruction on regularly scheduled surgical labs in non-live tissue throughout the period of the residency.

You will also need to achieve the ECVO requirements of publications (currently two publications in peer-review journals) and two oral or poster presentations in international ophthalmology congresses. In addition, you will be closely involved in teaching BVetMed students, interns and other specialties residents during clinical rotations.

The Ophthalmology staff work closely with other clinical staff in the QMHA, including specialists in internal medicine, emergency and critical care, anaesthesia and others providing a multi-disciplinary approach to the patient’s management. You will be expected to rotate through other clinical services as part of your training programme, including anaesthesia, imaging and pathology.

At some point of the programme you will attend the Biannual Magrane Basic Science Course in Comparative Veterinary Ophthalmology, which is held in the USA.

Facilities include dedicated ophthalmology theatre and two consulting rooms with all equipment necessary to perform a thorough ophthalmic exam. Excellence in teaching and clinical research is highly emphasized, with structured time off clinics allowed for study, the completion of research projects and presentation in international veterinary ophthalmology congresses as mandated by the ECVO.

Selection criteria for the Residency in Ophthalmology

Along with the Attributes and Qualifications required it is also desirable if you have:

• Basic ophthalmic examination and surgical skills
• A postgraduate qualification in ophthalmology (e.g. a certificate), having completed an ophthalmology internship or spent time with a board certified ophthalmologist during a rotating internship
• Interest in joining at least one existing research project in veterinary ophthalmology as well as in developing one or more projects during the duration of the residency program with the aim to progress research in the specialty and publish in a peer reviewed international veterinary journal

Further information

• QMHA Ophthalmology Service
• ECVO

If you have any queries about the Ophthalmology Residencies please contact:

Dr Roser Tetas  (rtetas@rvc.ac.uk)

For general information about the Residency programme see: Residencies.

How to apply

For details see How To Apply.