Washington University-B-JH-SLCH Consortium Program

Program Identity & Fit

Washington University/B-JH/SLCH is a tertiary/quaternary academic ophthalmology program embedded in a department ranked 10th nationally in NIH ophthalmology funding, with 24 research faculty and dedicated protected research time (50 half-days across PGY-2 rotations) built directly into the clinical curriculum. The program trains residents through a graded-autonomy model at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children's Hospital, producing a notably high rate of academic leaders (32 alumni have become department chairs), and expects every resident to develop a first-author research project presented at Grand Rounds and, if funded, at national society meetings. Subspecialty depth spans glaucoma, retina, oculoplastics, pediatric ophthalmology, ocular oncology, neuro-ophthalmology and cornea, supported by endowed research prizes, a T32 vision science training grant, and infrastructure (imaging, molecular genetics, biostatistics cores) more typical of a basic-science powerhouse than a purely clinical residency. The department explicitly frames itself as "residency-comes-first" but treats research productivity and eventual fellowship/academic leadership as core outcomes rather than optional add-ons.