Residency Program

In 2020 and 2021, DMEI was ranked in the top 20 residency programs in the nation in the US News & World Report/Doximity survey. Among programs that were associated with a public university, we ranked in the top 10 nationally both years. These rankings are a reflection of the national reputation of DMEI in fulfilling our mission of medical education, patient care, and vision research.

About Our Residency Program

Beginning with Karl Stock, MD, the first graduating ophthalmology resident in 1943, more than 200 ophthalmologists have been trained by the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Oklahoma. Since 1975, the Dean McGee Eye Institute has housed the Department of Ophthalmology for the University of Oklahoma. Andrew T. Melson, MD is the Residency Program Director and Carolyn E. Kloek, MD is the Associate Residency Program Director. R. Michael Siatkowski, MD, MBA is the Chief Executive Officer of the Dean McGee Eye Institute and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology.

Our residency program is three years in length with five residents per year. Patient care is provided in every practice emphasis area of ophthalmology including corneal and external diseases, glaucoma, medical and surgical diseases of the retina and vitreous, orbital and oculoplastic diseases, neuro-ophthalmology, pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus, cataract surgery and intraocular lens implantation, ocular pathology and oncology, contact lenses, trauma, and low vision services. At the Dean McGee Eye Institute, our faculty pledge is to provide residents with the best quality training to prepare them for careers in either private clinical practice or in an academic environment and help them achieve their full potential as a physician, surgeon, and contributor to the profession. In return, we expect residents to devote themselves to the educational process, to their patients, and to the advancement of the field of ophthalmology. An integrated PGY-1 year to contain learning experiences in medicine, surgery, as well as ophthalmology was established in July 2022.

Dean McGee Eye Institute completed an extensive expansion project in 2011. This has doubled the amount of available clinical space and provides additional space for our expanding vision science research department which has been in the top 15 of NEI funding for many years. In addition, the building project has increased the resident clinic space by 50%.

The Dean McGee Eye Institute also offers many opportunities for fellowship training. Fellows are trained in glaucoma, corneal and external disease, (including LASIK & PRK), vitreoretinal surgery, neuro-ophthalmology, and international ophthalmology. In addition, a one-year Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery fellowship is offered on an intermittent basis. All fellows are paid at PGY5/6 salary level as appropriate.