Prisma Health-University of South Carolina School of Medicine Columbia Columbia Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a university-affiliated, community-rooted ophthalmology program built around a mission to train "excellent primary care ophthalmologists" for an underserved urban and rural referral base, with heavy exposure to diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, and other high-burden conditions in health-professional-shortage areas of South Carolina. Training is anchored by a strong VA partnership (WJB Dorn VAH) alongside Prisma Health clinics, giving residents graduated surgical autonomy from year one through chief year, supported by 24/7 wet lab access and a structured BCSC/OKAP-driven didactic curriculum. Research is a mandatory but supportive component rather than the program's core identity: each resident completes an original project and at least one scholarly product over three years, presented at graduation, reflecting an "applied" rather than investigator-track research culture. The program's emphasis on general ophthalmology, rural/underserved eye care, primary eye care mission, and steady community-based surgical volume signals a preference for residents oriented toward comprehensive clinical practice rather than subspecialty academic research careers.