Surgical Training and Past Statistics

Resident Opportunities

While completing a residency at the University of Kentucky, there are hundreds of opportunities to assist in the operating room and to perform surgery.  Our residents exceed the national median on the numbers of surgeries they assist on and perform as chief surgeon.

About the Training

We also have an EyeSi surgical simulator with dedicated simulator and wetlab training during the intern and 1st year of residency; residents are encouraged and able to use the simulator at any point during residency. Upon completion of residency, our residents have gone all over the country and overseas, with about two-thirds going on to complete fellowships. In the last ten years, the University of Kentucky Ophthalmology residents have done fellowships in the subspecialties of: surgical retina, medical retina, cornea, glaucoma, pediatrics, and oculoplastics. Over the past five years, roughly half of our graduates went into academics and the other half private practice. Approximately 70% of graduates during that time joined a practice in the southeast, with the remainder spread across the rest of the US.

Recent Graduates
Resident using equipment during surgical training.

Below is information on recent resident cataract surgeries averages. Data for the most recent year of graduates is not yet available, but both 2021 and 2022 graduates were significantly impacted by COVID related shutdowns and limitations in elective surgeries. The most recent graduates in 2023 all completed more than 200 primary cataract surgeries, suggesting our residents are again nearing historically robust cataract surgical experience.  All of our 2023 residents also graduated certified to independently perform the OMNI canaloplasty system, highlighting the extensive exposure to MIGS surgery.  Despite these obstacles through 2022, all graduates met minimal surgical requirements in all categories and five of seven graduates over those two years went directly into comprehensive practice with surgical competence.

2023-2024 2022 – 2023 2021-2022 2020-2021 2019-2020 2018-2019 2017-2018 2016-2017 2015-2016
UK Mean 228 198 134 172 130 246 231 224 198
National Mean TBA 214 197 197 187 162 219 198 198
ACGME Minimum 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86 86

 

And here are our graduating class means for all surgeries:

Cataract Laser Corneal Surgery Strabismus Glaucoma Retina Vitreous Other Retinal * Oculoplastics and Orbit Globe Trauma
2024 228 89 16 13 37 43 182 73 18
2023 198 84 17 20 23 24 144 62 22
2022 134 70 15 17 11 30 153 53 8
2021 172 96 22 19 20 26 153 69 23
2020 130 84 16 17 10 51 152 57 11
2019 246 84 36 32 15 48 152 62 11
2018 232 89 26 37 22 24 122 84 19
2017 228 90 24 38 13 39 102 87 15
2016 200 108 32 39 20 40 184 102 16
Overall 207 89 27 32 16 40 142 78 14

* Other Retinal is intra-vitreal injections.  Our residents stop tracking these after 150 injections, which they meet during PGY2.