This externship program has a strong emphasis on ocular disease with the provision of primary, tertiary and surgical eye care, sub-specialty eye care and optometric co-management eye care. At Eye Centers of South Florida, externs work directly with some of the finest eye care doctors in South Florida, including comprehensive ophthalmologists, a vitreo-retinal surgeon, an oculo-plastic specialist, and numerous other specialists.

Each doctor is enthusiastic about working with the externs and maximizing their learning potential. Externs will find the environment to provide a unique and exciting educational experience. Maximum effort is made to allow students the opportunity to utilize and build upon the knowledge and skills that they have acquired thus far. Our philosophy is “Learn by Doing” and to expose the student to a broad range of medical eye care experiences. The site offers the students clinical experiences with comprehensive eye exams, follow-up exams, and pre and post-operative care, and the use of specialized ophthalmic equipment (see below).

Externs are encouraged to formulate their own diagnoses and treatment plans prior to presenting the patient to the doctors. Students should manage approximately forty to fifty patients per week. Externs also can observe in-office laser treatments and outpatient ocular surgeries performed utilizing the latest techniques and advances in the field. In addition to patient exposure, educational efforts are supplemented by case presentations by the students, case and slide reviews by the doctors, review of AAO Preferred Practice Patterns, guest lectures on varying ocular disease topics and presentations by company reps on ophthalmic products and services. Not only will externs be exposed to ocular disease, but they will also learn about practice management, professional relations, the optometric referral and co-management system, and managed care issues from our organization.

We feel that each extern contributes directly to Eye Centers of South Florida’s growth and success, and we hope that they would be proud to be a member of our team. Again, our objective is to provide an environment that is conducive to both personal and professional growth. We know that the extern’s experience at our office would be challenging, enjoyable, and rewarding.