Cornea Fellowship Program
ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGY
CORNEA & REFRACTIVE SURGERY FELLOWSHIP
Thank you very much for inquiring about the Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery Fellowship at Cornea Consultants of Albany and the Albany Medical College Department of Ophthalmology. We currently offer a one-year clinical and research fellowship, which we have filled continuously since 1991.
Drs. Robert L. Schultze and Robert Eden maintain a very active referral-based practice and perform approximately 150 transplants a year, as well as other varied anterior segment and reconstructive procedures (DSAEK, DMEK, DALK, PK, etc.). Additionally, we have a busy refractive practice and perform over 1,000 procedures annually. While we serve as the academic division of Cornea and Refractive Surgery for the Medical Center, we also maintain a private office setting (Cornea Consultants of Albany), which will allow you exposure to all possible future practice settings.
We accept one fellow yearly and feel that this ensures the greatest exposure to the varied patient population and allows for maximal surgical experience. As a fellow, you would be working closely with both physicians in addition to maintaining a series of patients as part of your own “practice.” We provide a great deal of clinical and surgical responsibility commensurate with capability.
Our practice is typically involved in many national studies, including the NEI-sponsored CDS (Corneal Donor Study) and Cornea Preservation Time Study, as well as industry-sponsored studies including dry eye (Inspire, diquafasol), and high-risk corneal transplantation (LUX, cyclosporine). You will be expected to participate in ongoing research projects and also develop a project on your own. Upon acceptance of an abstract, we will support travel to AAO and/or ASCRS.
Our fellowship participates with and supports the AUPO – Fellowship Compliance Council (AUPO-FCC). Fellowship guidelines can be found at either www.aupofcc.org or on the Cornea Society website: www.corneasociety.org. We use the SF-Matching CAS application process so you will need to register at www.sfmatch.org to apply. Please make sure you include a copy of your OKAP scores from each year and your SF-Matching number with all of your correspondence.
You must obtain an NYS license and DEA license at least three months prior to beginning your fellowship at our practice. Your ability to obtain licensure is a prerequisite for fellowship funding. Pending prompt completion of all credentialing material, licensure expenses are reimbursed. The salary for this fellowship, as of July 2016, is $47,000 annually and includes personal health insurance.
We will also have you come in for a personal interview with us. We find it most beneficial for you to hold interviews in our office as this gives you, as a potential fellow, more insight into our clinical work and a better feel for our practice. We typically hold these interviews in September and October.
From past experience, the fellowship tends to be a very enjoyable year for our fellow. You will be given substantial responsibility and will be afforded mutual respect. Our offices are all modern, friendly and very enjoyable to work in. Albany is a wonderful place to live with a reasonable cost of living, all the charm of a state capital, and plenty of activities. We look forward to receiving your application and would be happy to discuss our program with you personally.
Warmest regards,
Robert L Schultze, M.D., FACS
Fellowship Director
Director Cornea & Refractive Surgery
Residency Program Director Albany Medical College
Robert A. Eden, MD
Assistant Professor
Fellowship Co-Director
