FELLOWSHIPS

Eligible candidates for Fellowships are young ophthalmologists who graduated from the ESASO programme with the Diploma of Specialist Superior in Ophthalmology (DiSSO) and are willing to pursue their careers to reach a higher level of specialisation. Accredited university hospital departments and selected institutions train them according to the curricula of the ESASO Fellowships to ensure that expected outcomes are reached and set objectives are achieved.

ESASO Fellowship

The standard full-year Fellowship includes a portfolio of project-based components maintained by the institutional partners of ESASO, securing its guidelines on quality, innovation, productivity and social and ethical behaviour. These Fellowships are either in Medical or Surgical Retina or Corneal and Refractive Surgery planned in 2013/14. During the first trimester, the Fellow will achieve proficiency in the execution techniques for diagnostic procedures; will be involved in clinical/treatment decisions; and will master a good theoretical knowledge of operating techniques. In addition to the work-based experience, the Fellow will develop the research programme over the course of the year. The second trimester will allow the Fellow to further build skills for the execution of all diagnostic procedures, to achieve a competent autonomy in handling the clinical and therapeutic aspects of a patient’s care, and to begin executing surgery procedures under the programme director’s supervision. In the final trimester, the Fellow will achieve a thorough knowledge and mastery of the technical skills and of the diagnostic and clinical routines, acquire a sound proficiency in surgery procedures as confirmed by the number of operations carried out and complete her/his research programme. They will also gain generic organisational and leadership skills.

ESASO Clinical Product Development Fellowship

The ESASO Leadership Training Programme for Clinical Product Development is a Fellowship that is part of ESASO’s Advanced Specialist Training Programme. The course curriculum and practical experience offered is essential for those who wish to become leaders in the ophthalmic device/pharmaceutical industry. The ESASO Fellowship for Clinical Product Development will foster the creation of a global leadership team in this segment of the healthcare industry, with special emphasis on representation in emerging markets. The programme also will enhance partnerships with academic institutions from which Fellows have been recruited.

Visiting Fellowship and Hands-on Training in Cataract Surgery

In Spring 2013, ESASO signed its collaboration agreement with the L V Prased Eye Institute (LVPEI), Hyderabad, India. The aim of the partnership is to combine their specificity curricula in order to create a part of ESASO’s specialised postgraduate training programme for young ophthalmologists specialising in cataract surgery. This short-term Fellowship is designed as a special hands-on training on cataract surgery that will be held at LVPEI. ESASO will send one young ophthalmologist to LVPEI on a monthly basis. The duration of this Fellowship is four weeks. Eligible candidates must be subscribed in the ESASO modular programme and must have completed at least one module (preferentially a module on cataract surgery). The Fellow will be accompanied by a tutor surgeon and will be performing at least one cataract surgery daily. In minimum the fellow will complete 24 surgeries in cataract phacoemulsification with IOL implantation at the end of the four weeks. Weekly, the fellow will report his/her activities to the Head Office in Lugano. The Visiting Fellowship and Hands-on Training in Cataract Surgery will be certified by ESASO and LVPEI. * Apply for the ESASO educational programme and see the ESASO website for more information (www.esaso.org).