Larkin Community Hospital Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a four-year ACGME-accredited ophthalmology program at Larkin Community Hospital, a community-based, LECOM-affiliated South Miami teaching hospital that builds its clinical training around a network of external sites rather than a single academic center. Residents rotate across VA facilities (Bay Pines, Lee County, West Palm Beach), a pediatric hospital (Nicklaus Children's), a charity clinic serving indigent patients (Caridad Center), and multiple private ophthalmic practices covering oculoplastics, cornea, retina, and neuro-ophthalmology, giving a broad but practice-fragmented surgical exposure with housing provided for out-of-area rotations. Research is institutionally supported through a dedicated Department of Research and Academic Affairs but is not positioned as central to the ophthalmology curriculum itself; the program's stated priority is meeting ACGME requirements and enabling residents to pursue subspecialty fellowships if desired. The resident roster shows a strong representation of DO graduates and international/Caribbean-trained MDs, indicating a program oriented toward comprehensive clinical competency and fellowship readiness rather than a research-heavy academic identity.