ASCO Residency Titles and Descriptions

There are many di­fferent areas that you can specialize in during a residency – the “Category” title most accurately reflects the content of the majority of the program’s clinical and didactic curricula. A program may have a substantial portion (≥ 30%) of the clinical and didactic curricula devoted to an area of emphasis.

Category:

  • Primary Care Optometry: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the assessment and treatment of eye, vision and systemic conditions. This shall include the promotion of health maintenance and disease prevention.
  • Pediatric Optometry: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the assessment and treatment of eye, vision and systemic conditions in the pediatric population.
  • Cornea and Contact Lenses: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the diagnosis, management and treatment of conditions related to the cornea and advanced contact lens care.
  • Vision Rehabilitation: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the recognition of ocular and neurological conditions that impact vision and function and the identification of management strategies including therapy, devices, training and interprofessional collaboration that promote independent living.
  • Ocular Disease: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the diagnosis, management and treatment of ocular disease.

Emphasis Areas:

  • Primary Care Optometry: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the assessment and treatment of eye, vision and systemic conditions. This shall include the promotion of health maintenance and disease prevention.
  • Pediatric Optometry: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the assessment and treatment of eye, vision and systemic conditions in the pediatric population.
  • Family Practice Optometry: Devoted to topics and practice broadly represented in general optometric care. The patient population will include an age range from pediatric to geriatrics.
  • Community Health Optometry: Devoted to community based optometric care with an emphasis on public health, health care systems and cultural issues that impact care.
  • Geriatric Optometry: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the assessment and treatment of eye, vision and systemic conditions in the geriatric population.
  • Cornea and Contact Lenses: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the diagnosis, management and treatment of conditions related to the cornea and advanced contact lens care.
  • Ocular Disease: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the diagnosis, management and treatment of ocular disease.
  • Refractive and Ocular Surgery: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to refractive and ocular surgery.
  • Anterior Segment: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the diagnosis, management and treatment of diseases and conditions of the anterior segment.
  • Glaucoma: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the diagnosis, management and treatment of the glaucomas.
  • Retina: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the diagnosis, management and treatment of diseases of the posterior segment.
  • Neuro-Optometry: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the area of neuro-ophthalmic disease.
  • Vision Rehabilitation: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to the recognition of ocular and neurological conditions that impact vision and function and the identification of management strategies including therapy, devices, training and interprofessional collaboration that promote independent living.
  • Vision Therapy and Vision Rehabilitation: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to dysfunctions of the eye movement, accommodative, binocular and perceptual systems, reduced visual acuity and compromised visual fields.
  • Low Vision Rehabilitation: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to low vision patients.
  • Brain Injury Rehabilitation: Devoted to topics and practice relevant to assessment, management and interdisciplinary rehabilitation of patients with brain injury and neurologic disease.