Duration- 24 months  Selection- by exam followed by interview  They take 2-3 fellow every 6 months Stipend- 55k 1st month is orientation period where you shadow an assigned fellow (of any specialty) in OP and OT. Thereafter you are posted with a cornea consultant every month from 2nd month onwards. No cataract surgeries given in main SN hospital. You have once weekly posting in JCOC (their camp hospital) that you are given cataracts  And also 1 full month JCOC posting. SICS given initially- usually 1 case/week Phaco given only in the last month- only 30 phacos  No training in difficult cataracts or managing complications.   In Cornea, they give you steps initially for all corneal surgeries that are done in the dept. They see a wide variety of cornea and ocular surface cases so exposure is very good. Hectic work environment  Consultants are approachable and eager to teach. Lamellar case hands-on is limited, all fellows may not get. Refractive procedures are done in dept and you work up patients and can train in procedures in wet lab but they do not give hands-on on patients to fellows. Academics- regular classes+ Once a week night duty (emergency/ enucleation call) and Sunday duties once a month. In the last 6 months of fellowship you become an SR and start seeing OP independently and posting cases and you get to fine-tune yr surgical skills in this time. You are an independent corneal surgeon by the time you exit from fellowship. Phaco skills will require further fine-tuning after fellowship, however.

Duration 1.5 yrs 6 months of Gen Ophthal posting+ 12 months of Glaucoma posting Selection- exam + interview Exit exam + 1 fellow taken every 6 months Stipend 40k They take 2 months salary of 80k as caution deposit- (40k taken in 1st month, 20k taken each in 2nd and 3rd months)- this is returned at the end of fellowship  At the start, you are given mostly SICS after 1st month  They start you on trabs also within first few months, mostly SICS trabs.. phaco trabs come later. You get to do around 80-100 trabs. Phaco training given in last 6 months, you get approx 100 phacos.. they may also give you advanced cataract cases based on your proficiency. You are trained to manage complications when you are doing SICS. No topical phacos given. MIGS and GDD exposure+ but you don't get hands-on for MIGS May get a few cases of GDDs. Work timings 8-6 pm On call- you have 2-3 rotations of weekly call in the first 6 months.. and it's literally for 1 whole week (Sun- Sat).. u start Sunday duty at 8 pm do till 8am Monday then off for the day to come back again at 8pm Monday to do call till 8 am Tuesday and so on.. till Saturday. Sunday OP duties (8-1), Sunday camp duties + No admission fees.

Duration 2 yrs Selection- exam + interview Exit exam + 1 fellow taken every 6 months Stipend 40k They take 2 months salary of 80k as caution deposit- (40k taken in 1st month, 20k taken each in 2nd and 3rd months)- this is returned at the end of fellowship  No cataract training  They start you on medical retina work in the initial months (B scans, FFA, lasers, intravit injections etc) You are mostly trained by senior fellows, and they train you to manage OP cases as well as guide you in surgical learning. Consultants are busy seeing private patients. Initially you sit with senior fellows and observe pts in OP, fellows are not allowed to dispose them on their own. They start you on retinal surgeries after around 3 months, you get steps mostly. Independent cases are not commonly given, however it may depend on your proficiency. ROP exposure is less.. initially you observe how it is done, then you are sent to screen babies independently once they are confident in your skills. No lasers given.   By the end of fellowship, you're familiar with retinal surgeries but not enough to be independent.. also the surgery numbers that fellows get are less compared to other institutes like Aravind.

Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, Ocular Oncology & Cataract Fellowship Duration- 2+1 year program (2 year fellowship + 1 year consultancy) Selection is by MCQ + interview in June and December. Stipend was 50k, 60k and 80k for 1st, 2nd and 3rd yr respectively (as of 2025, it was 3 year fellowship so this was the stipend). Now since Consultancy has been incorporated, salary may change. 1 month observation period is given so that fellows can decide if they can continue before that they can exit freely.  After that there is a bond of 2 lacs for quitting. Surgeries offered - DCR, DCT, Evisceration, Entropion, ectropion, excision biopsy, lid reconstruction LPSR, Sling, therapeutic botox, etc Enucleation, exenteration, orbitotomy (depends on surgical skill) Apart from this all the fellows get SICS and phaco and also complicated cataract cases Few complex cases are exclusive to IOL fellows Also, IOL fellows get more number of cataract OTs. Work load is more than sufficient with roughly 2200 daily OPD & 1000 daily surgeries during peak season In the off season, your surgery numbers are almost half After 3 years an average fellow completes around 3k-4k SICS with 500-600 phaco (again depends on surgical skill). We have fellows who have completed more than 8k SICS in 3 years and 1000 phaco So it varies and depends on your surgical skill. There are no night duties or camp duties. You get to see all types of cases, even oncology cases are frequently seen.  Every Tuesday there is department class and Saturday is grand class with all departments. Very non toxic environment. Work timings are usually 7:30 am- 7pm including OPD and ward rounds. To this I would like to add that our HOD Dr. Narendra Patidar is very considerate of his fellows, easily approachable, encourages everyone to take up FAICO exam and teaches a lot during rounds.

2 years duration Selection- interview 2 VR fellows and 1 MR fellow taken every 3 months Stipend- 40k in 1st yr, 50k in 2nd yr  No cataract training  First 3 months fellow is posted in General Ophthal units, then from 4th month onwards he is posted in VR dept Once in VR dept, next 3-4 months it's mostly medical retina work- B scans, lasers, intravit injections, you get copious numbers  After 7th-8th month, you start getting steps in retinal surgeries. If your hands are good, you may get to do few simple cases independently even in first year while others may not get even after 1 year.. again, this depends on your skill and also the consultant you are posted with. Macular surgeries are not commonly given, though you may be given the token ILM peeling step for 1-2 cases in the very last month of fellowship. The surgical numbers you get here tend to be less compared to other Aravind centres like Madurai or Coimbatore  Dept is hectic, 400-500 pts seen on average daily  ROP exposure happens in the last 3 months- you are trained to do screenings. No hands-on given for lasers or injections in ROP babies though.  Night duties- once a month Sunday duty- once every 6 months But you may have to do "trial bandage" duty on some Sundays- seeing camp pts and posting for sx Academics- classes + Daily work timings- starts from 7 am, goes late till 8/9pm. VR fellows are the last to leave the hospital. You get exposed to common retinal surgeries by the end of fellowship but most fellows join back as MOs to refine skill and gain further experience.

Duration 2 yrs 6 months of Gen Ophthal posting+ 18 months of Paed Ophthal posting Selection- exam + interview Exit exam + 1 fellow taken every 6 months Stipend 40k They take 2 months salary of 80k as caution deposit- (40k taken in 1st month, 20k taken each in 2nd and 3rd months)- this is returned at the end of fellowship   In first 6 months, you are in Gen Ophthal and see general cases and they start you on SICS as well Phaco is gradually started You join the Paed Ophthal dept after 6th month  Start getting cases after your 2nd-3rd month in paed dept  You get to do squints and paed cataracts mostly, no other surgeries You get more cases of paediatric cataracts in Sankara Blore than other hospitals.. you are also allowed to do independent cases in the end in the free pts  Squints also given but less compared to other places However you are allowed to do simple squints independently and given steps in complex squints No ROP exposure Phaco training given in last 6 months, you get approx 100 phacos.. they may give you advanced cataract cases based on your proficiency  You are trained to manage complications when you are doing SICS  No topical phacos given  Work timings 8-6 pm On call- you have 2-3 rotations of weekly call in the first 6 months.. and it's literally for 1 whole week (Sun- Sat).. you start Sunday duty at 8 pm do till 8am Monday then off for the day to come back again at 8pm Monday to do call till 8 am Tuesday and so on.. till Saturday. Sunday OP duties (8am -1pm) once every 2 months

Duration 1.5 yrs Selection- MCQ exam followed by interview 2 fellows taken every year Stipend 30k in first six months, 40k in next six, 50k in last six months They take 1 lac as caution deposit before you join- this is refunded at the end of fellowship  Cataract training included.. you start with SICS  Phaco training given in last few months, some 100 cases  Advanced cataract cases given but for SICS, not phaco Few topical phacos may be given but only to proficient fellows  After joining the dept, you start getting steps in surgery from your 1st month itself   You get to do squints and paed cataracts mostly.. the numbers you get depends on your skill.. some fellows get to do all kinds of cases while others will not get as many chances. You are allowed to do squints independently by the end and also given paed cataracts if your consultant is confident in your skill No ROP exposure Dept is not hectic, not toxic. Consultants are approachable, you are also expected to do papers and presentations in fellowship, it is a requisite. Work timings 8am -7 pm On call- night duties once a month Sunday emergency duties very few, approx 1-2 Sundays during whole fellowship  Might have to do half day on Sundays if you have postops from Saturdays  All specialty fellows are expected to take enucleation call duties- once/twice a month  Peripheral postings+ which are usually 1-2 months long, mostly managing OP there, no OT chances Neuro-ophthal exposure is also+  Such pts are seen in Paed Ophthal dept itself and managed by them.. VR dept also sees neuro-ophthal cases when it overlaps with presenting condition and may send to Paed Ophthal for opinion or vice versa  Overall a good fellowship, you exit as an independent surgeon who is able to operate squints and paed cataracts on your own. Phaco skill will need refining post fellowship.

Duration 1.5 yrs Selection- Interview 2 fellows taken every 6 months  Cataract training included but only one case given per month Initial 2-3 months you are given SICS, then from 4th/5th month onwards, you are given phaco  Phaco also 1 case given per month No training in advanced cataracts or topical phacos  Stipend 30k/month   In Oculoplasty, you get to observe common lid surgeries and DCRs   But hands-on is extremely limited Plasty OT runs every alternate day  Fellows have to scout camp pts to find someone with an oculoplasty condition that needs surgery.. you are allowed to operate such cases (not easy to find such cases)... otherwise you don't get any surgical hands-on in OT since all hospital patients are paying pts..   Dept is not hectic, not toxic Work timings 9-5 pm Except on days when you have to come to hospital early at 7 am to observe Amar sir (Dr Amar Agarwal) operate cataracts, put glued IOLs etc On call- night duties once a month Camp duty once a month Camp postop duty once a month  Evening duty once a month Sunday duty 1-2/ month You do not exit the program as an independent surgeon, will need more training post fellowship.

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)

Duration- 18 months  Selection- by exam followed by interview  They take 1 fellow per session  Stipend- 55k 1st month is orientation period where you shadow an assigned fellow (of any speciality) in OP and OT Thereafter you are posted to different speciality depts for a month for next 17 months No cataract surgeries given in main SN hospital It's in your posting at JCOC (their camp hospital) that you are given cataracts  You get 3 rotations of JCOC posting SICS given initially- 100 cases promised Phaco given only in the last month and in the 3rd JCOC posting- only 30 phacos given No phaco training in difficult cataracts or managing complications  You may get pterygiums and Yag caps as well Hectic work environment  The consultant under whom you are posted with teaches you  Academics- regular classes, fellows attend with PGs, also have to give monthly internal exams You are familiar with SICS and phaco by the end of fellowship but you cannot operate as an independent surgeon, will need more surgical experience post fellowship.

Duration 2 yrs 2 fellows taken every 6 months Selection- exam + interview Exit exam +  Stipend 40k They take 2 months salary of 80k as caution deposit- (40k taken in 1st month, 20k taken each in 2nd and 3rd months)- this is returned at the end of fellowship  In first 6 months, you see only OP and do B scans and OCTs and learn to interpret findings  You also get countless retinal lasers and intravit injections (you'll be fed up of it by the end) OP exposure is very good, you see every kind of retina case here  Surgical hands-on starts after 6th month  Starts with port making steps, then simple vitrectomy, progressing to vitrectomy with small proliferations etc In the last 9 months you get to do macular surgeries, TRD, CRD and even RRD cases Not much of hands-on for SFIOLs or scleral buckles here Uvea and Neuro-Ophthal cases are seen by VR dept so exposure + Limited ROP exposure- you learn a bit of screening but no lasers given  However they are getting a RetCam so that is expected to change No phaco training  Work timings 8 - 8.30 pm (as junior), timings reduce as you become senior 8 - 6/7pm Dept is very very hectic but not toxic, consultants are approachable On call- you have 2-3 duties per month, 1 Sunday duty, 1 weekend duty, 2 night duties No periphery postings, usually no camp duties for VR fellows unless they are short of residents or fellows from other depts Academics- you have once weekly classes plus also the weekly online session with all Sankara branches pan India All in all, very good fellowship with ample cutting chances, you exit as an independent VR surgeon at the end of 2 yrs.

University fellowship- the selection process was on the basis of merit taking in consideration UG, PG and HSC marks. University fellows are admitted on an annual basis but gets delayed by 2 to 3 months in every cycle. The other comprehensive Ophthalmology fellows are taken in randomly on need basis.   Stipend around 30k per month. 4 fellows per year University fellowship is of 1 year, comprehensive is of 1.5 years  Fees- University fellowship follows its norms, 75k to the institute and 25k to the University. Phaco training starts usually 6 months after joining. No other speciality fellows are there. SICS starts in around 2 weeks of commencement of fellowship. You get to see variety of cases. The focus is primarily on phacos. There will be many days when you won't be seeing any OPD primarily at all. Sometimes weeks.  Hectic and toxic both. Work hours frequently goes past routine time, lots of prolonged standing.  They have dedicated senior faculty to train you surgically. 30 to 40 phacos for one year. No complicated cases given, only NS 2, well dilated pupil cases.  Apart from cataract, nothing else. Complication management is done by faculty. No topical phacos given. No refractive training. You have to visit once a week to vision centres if you have been allotted that month. Camp duties every Sunday, night calls every 4 to 5 days. Clinical meet (academics) happens every Wednesday.