University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center Program

Program Identity & Fit

The University of Iowa Ophthalmology Residency is a nationally-recognized, university-based academic program built around a joint internal medicine-ophthalmology internship, a 56,000-square-foot dedicated eye facility, and over 60,000 annual patient visits across comprehensive and subspecialty services including cornea, glaucoma, retina, oculoplastics, neuro-ophthalmology, and pediatric ophthalmology/strabismus. Research is a mandatory structural component, with every resident and fellow completing a project presented at an annual Research Day judged by named awards (P.J. Leinfelder, Brenton), and residents benefit from Carver College of Medicine's substantial NIH funding infrastructure and dedicated research centers (IVR, CPTUL, ILEB). Training incorporates VA experience at both Iowa City and Des Moines, an EyeSi simulator and wet lab for early surgical skill-building, and an optional international ophthalmology elective in the third year. Roughly half of graduates enter private practice directly while the rest pursue fellowship, reflecting a program built to produce broadly competent general ophthalmologists with genuine subspecialty exposure and an embedded research identity.