Comprehensive Ophthalmology Fellowship review @ Sankara Netralaya (SN), Kolkata

Duration of fellowship- 18 months 

Selection- MCQ exam and interview

Fellow intake in Jan and July (Selection process starts 1 month in advance)

Stipend- 55k (200-300 TDS deducted)

Fellows per session- 2

Non-refundable application fee

They assess your surgical skills and start cases accordingly. 

Initially, only steps of SICS are given and gradually moved to Phaco (no specific timeline as to when this occurs, esp since this program started only recently in SN, Kolkata)

But you get surgeries from the beginning

Good clinical exposure as you're rotated in different departments.. since it's a tertiary care centre, lots of complicated referrals and routine cases.

Slightly hectic work environment but not toxic. 

There's a robust and very approachable student committee (made up of senior faculty) which deals with any problems in the workplace for fellows and PGs

Training is by consultants

The kind of procedures you are given totally depends on your aptitude & interest. 

But since this is a decade old teaching hospital, you do get to perform procedures like YAG-Caps and PI, USG, retinal lasers, etc

Once phacos are started, you get 2-3 Phacos per week initially 

Phaco training in advanced cataracts (small pupil, pxf, mat cat etc) depends on your consultant's discretion (which depends on your aptitude). But they're not given for all fellows.

Training to manage complications while doing phaco is not very common. Only a few consultants teach you anterior vitrectomy.

Hands-on for topical phaco comes after satisfactory control over local cases. Most fellows who passed out have learnt to do topical cases 

No refractive training included

Peripheral postings are there in the form of mobile eye Sx unit (MESU) camps once or max twice a year in other states. The accommodation there is decent. 

A max of 2 or 3 each of night calls (7pm-7am), ward duty (7am-7pm) and day emergency (7am-7pm)

You will be required to shuttle between 2-3 branches in the city (acc to posting) which are 8-12 km apart. Travel can be burdensome at times. Such postings can also be frequent.

There is also a 2 month mandatory posting in SN Hospital in Chennai (which can occur at any time during fellowship)