Student Opportunities

Externships

Many of the IHS Optometry Programs have affiliations with the various schools and colleges of optometry for externship experiences. These are non-paid learning assignments located primarily in rural sites. Some of the rural locations provide housing and meals at no or little cost. No expenses or housing is provided at urban externship sites. For existing clinical rotations, check with your School of Optometry, or contact our IHS Student Coordinator:

Residencies

The IHS offers five Primary Care (disease heavy) Residency Programs. All are associated with Southern College of Optometry. All sites are filled through the ORMS system. For more information on each program check out the Residency Program link on SCCO’s web site. You can also get information from the Residency Program Coordinator for the program you are interested in, or for information on all IHS Residencies contact:

Hospital-Based Primary Care Optometry

This program emphasizes the enhancement of the resident's abilities in diagnosis and management of ocular disease. In addition to patient care, the resident obtains experience in public health eyecare programs that are of particular interest to Native Americans in under-served areas of the Navajo Nation. With an interdisciplinary team approach, the resident will gain extensive experience with management of the patient from a comprehensive health care perspective.

The mission of this program is to provide qualified post-doctoral optometry graduates with an advanced educational experience focused on ocular disease management in a hospital based setting.
The vision of the program is to foster an attitude of lifelong learning that will continue to guide residents beyond the completion of the program, promoting patient centered clinicians who are capable of providing high quality and safe optometric services. Residents will be exposed to the Navajo culture in a fashion that facilitates the development of culturally sensitive, compassionate care.

The training focus is on primary care optometric services with emphasis on ocular pathology, injury treatment and public health preventative care. The program offers extensive opportunity for interdisciplinary consultation and ocular disease management in an isolated rural setting.

The mission of this training program is to provide qualified postdoctoral optometry practitioners with an outstanding educational experience that will nurture their development in to exceptional caring clinicians with broadened general skills and additional specialized skills. The resident is trained to fully integrate their skills within a medical center and public health care system. The program strives to create an atmosphere that fosters an appreciation and a sense of caring for the Native American populace the resident serves.

The emphasis of the program is clinical assessment and management of patients of all ages in an interdisciplinary setting. The resident receives extensive training in, and exposure to, ocular pathology, including therapeutic management of anterior segment disease, diabetic retinopathy, and trauma.

The mission of the optometry residency program is to graduate residents with exceptional knowledge, skills and abilities they competently apply in diagnosing and treating pathology in a culturally and patient sensitive manner, in concert with other health disciplines. The resident’s clinical experience includes direct comprehensive patient care in a multidisciplinary hospital setting with an emphasis on the treatment and management of ocular diseases and injuries in patients of all ages. The location provides a cross cultural experience and allows the resident to experience the unique and ancient Zuni Pueblo culture in the midst of a highly scenic part of the southwest dotted with National Parks and Monuments.

Clinical-Based Primary Care Optometry

The primary focus is on full scope primary optometric care. The program offers extensive experience with interdisciplinary consultation and ocular disease management including, comprehensive therapeutic management of a variety of conditions that affect the eye and its associated structures. In addition, a unique experience of managing urgent conditions will be offered.

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