Comprehensive Ophthalmology Fellowship review @ LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad

To get into the fellowship, there is an entrance exam done remotely (online), if you qualify then the 2nd round is in 2 days at Hyderabad centre.

Day 1- There will be MCQ exam 

Day 2- Face to face interview. 

When I did my fellowship entrance, we had to fill in our first and 2nd choice and depending on the MCQ score and interview performance, they announced a list of selected candidates. 

A lot of changes in the fellowship program now. However, the basic outline is that any speciality fellowship you choose, you will have a compulsory rotation in all specialities. One gets good exposure in all specialities, both OP and OT exposure is excellent. However, this depends on the campus you get allotted in and the mentor you are assigned. 

There is compulsory secondary centre posting where one will have to independently handle a peripheral centre- this builds the foundation to run a centre independently in the future. You will be posting and operating cases everyday for 6 months - 1 year.

So before you are posted to the secondary centre, you would have been trained in SICS and Phaco and would be independently operating plus managing complications in your fellow OR.

Constant reviews and evaluations would be done and depending on your performance they will post you in high volume or low volume centre.

Post the secondary centre, your performance would be reviewed and you will have an interview or direct selection to the speciality of your choice. Again, which centre and under which consultant would be decided by the team. 

The final yr one would be proficient in the speciality of their choice (again depends on your mentor and your centre) and the last 6 months, one is treated like a consultant itself. 

Senior doctors are extremely approachable. Anyone can email anyone regarding a case and they respond almost immediately. 

It is a well structured program and working hours from 7am to 8pm on most days and sometimes even later until OT finishes.

Daily morning classes are taken seriously, attendance is reviewed. There will be presentations. Journal clubs and grand rounds.

Overall LVPEI is an excellent centre for overall academic and surgical training. However not everyone fits in easily- there is absolutely no personal time after work and holidays are 10-15 per year. Everyone is a workaholic and if you have similar temperament then it’s the best place to be in. It is entirely the fellow's responsibility to make the most of the fellowship. 

You will have to study and put in a lot of hard work and I’m sure that the fellowship would be fruitful. However if one is looking only for a certificate, then pls don’t choose LVP. 

If you are seeking a job post fellowship then they even take you in.

The whole system is time tested and running successfully, so one will have to fit into the system and cannot question the system. 

I can assure you that there is no rigid hierarchy and no bullying by senior fellows. 

The whole system works on patient care and pt well being. 

Small mistakes which we might not feel significant is reviewed seriously in LVP. Each case you operate will be your responsibility, any issue or complications must be documented well. If there is any lapse in it, then they take it seriously. You cannot fake the outcomes etc. They even monitor your surgical time taken per case etc. 

Overall I think it’s the best institution to do a fellowship.

In LVP everything is given and anything can be done, provided you do it diligently and do it well. 

For some the experience might be too much like repeating PG all over again. They have rules for everything and you will have to obey it. 

Things like no AC in rooms, even in peak summer . 

No washing machine.

No iron box. 

No induction stove.

Food can be a problem as the canteen that caters to pts is same and shuts in the night. 

Things might have changed now .