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What is the one attribute that makes eye residents great?
July marked the start of my 13th year teaching ophthalmology residents, and I hope that I can continue doing it for at least another 30. Working with these bright young minds has become the highlight of my week, which is a mix of my private, non-academic practice and part time with UCLA residents at a large county hospital.
After working with about 100 residents, all from the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, I have found that every single one has blossomed into a proficient cataract surgeon, and many have become truly outstanding surgeons. Certainly, surgical skill has a bell curve like most other things in life, but it's a tight curve, and even two standard deviations below the mean is still at a level of surgical proficiency.
But surgery is only one aspect of ophthalmology, even if I enjoy spending time in the operating room more than in the clinic. Often the bigger challenge is the clinic. In the same length of time, 3 years, these ophthalmology residents must now learn much more than compared to just 10 years ago. For example, there is an art and science to reading OCT scans and administering intravitreal injections of anti-VEGF medications — something that wasn't widespread a decade ago. And with the increase in the geriatric patient population, we have seen the volume of clinic patients and surgical cases more than double during that time.
There's no question that anyone who has landed an ophthalmology residency spot is smart and talented. But there is one differentiating factor — and that is attitude. It's as simple as that. The residents who have the attitude of being enthusiastic, hard-working, diligent, driven, pleasant and truly caring have the recipe for future success.
Fortunately, the vast majority of residents with whom I've worked have this attitude, and that makes me happy because I don't worry about the future, when I may be the patient. Every year, the ophthalmology residents have become better and better: 95th+ percentile board scores, Alpha Omega Alpha honors in the junior year of medical school and multiple graduate degrees are now par for the course. I've worked with many residents who have done or will go on to do truly remarkable things in ophthalmology, and a large part of that success is their attitude.