The Oculoplastic and Orbital Surgery Fellowship Program is comprised of clinical training and research components. The position title for the fellow is clinical associate, which allows the participant to function as a junior faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology. There are two tracks available.

Track 1: The fellowship program typically consists of a one-year period of clinical training emphasizing oculoplastic surgery, orbital oncology and cosmetic laser surgery.

Track 2: The Oculoplastic and Orbital Surgery Service now offers an additional option for those candidates who desire a more serious academic track by extending the fellowship to a fully funded two-year fellowship program. The additional year of the two-year program is largely dedicated to specific training and projects involving basic science or clinical research in areas involving oculoplastic, orbital or cosmetic laser surgery. 

Clinical training: The clinical demands provide a stimulating environment for learning and gaining clinical and surgical skills. Clinical training includes time spent in the office with the patients of the attendings on the service: Julie A. Woodward, MD, Parag Gandhi, MD, and Michael Richard, MD, as well as other members of the Duke Eye Center.

The clinical fellow will assist in 500 to 1,000 surgical procedures during the year and function as the primary surgeon in 100 to 200 surgical procedures consisting of blepharoplasty, ptosis repair, orbital surgery, lacrimal surgery and cosmetic laser surgery. Additionally, the fellow is an integral part of the service and participates in all aspects of case clinical management. The clinical and surgical exposure to an extremely wide variety of pathology involving the eyelids and orbit as well as many cosmetic procedures are considered major strengths of the fellowship.

Research: Opportunities exist within the Department of Ophthalmology as well as other services within the medical center including Neurosurgery, Otolaryngology, Dermatology and Plastic Surgery.

Basic requirements:

• Full North Carolina medical licensure (not a training license). 
• Clinical positions cannot be offered to individuals who are international medical school graduates because these individuals do not qualify for full North Carolina licensure.
• To be accepted as a fellow with any citizenship other than United States’ citizenship will require working with the North Carolina Medical Board and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
• Applicant must be H1-B eligible or have a green card to become an oculoplastic fellow

For more information contact program coordinator Toni Scarlett at Duke Eye Center, DUMC Box 3802, Durham, NC 27710, by telephone 919-684-4224 or email at scarl009@mc.duke.edu