Comprehensive Ophthal Fellowship review@ Priyamvada Birla Aravind Eye Hospital, Kolkata

Duration 2 yrs

1 fellow taken per session 

Selection- interview followed by 3 day observership

Stipend 50k 

Over 2 years, you are rotated every 2 months between diff specialities.. there you see OP and also attend OT

You get mostly cataracts in this fellowship, no other surgeries/ procedures 

Surgeries start for fellow after 2nd or 3rd month 

Start with SICS, after about 100 SICS or whenever they feel you are proficient in SICS, they start you on phaco 

OT is twice a week

You get to do phaco in normal... advanced cases are given based on skill.

You get around 70-80 phacos 

(You are given only camp pts to operate and they are more common in winters, cases tend to be lax in summers when it's mostly private pts getting operated)

No training for managing complications per se, usually managed by consultants

No topical phacos.

Classes may happen weekly but it is irregular.

OP starts from 8.30 am, but on days when you have pre-op duty, you have to report by 8.

Work finishes by 5.30 but may go on till 7 pm sometimes (if you have evening op)

On call duty- you share call duties with other speciality fellows so your turn is determined accordingly

Sundays camp duties are frequent, sometimes Sundays in succession.

Dept is very hectic, esp since you have to manage pre-op workup and see post op pts also on your own as well as also see OP.

They also have Cornea, Glaucoma and VR programs but you can do these only after finishing the 2 year Comprehensive program first.