Residency Placement

Western University of Health Sciences is one of the largest graduate schools for the health professions in California with eight colleges of health sciences (optometry, osteopathic medicine, graduate nursing, dental medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, biomedical sciences, and veterinary medicine) and is dedicated to inter- professional education. The residency faculty have decades of clinical and educational expertise in their areas of vision rehabilitation and have trained not only optometrists but also other health care professions in the collaborative care of mutual patients.

The Vision Rehabilitation (VR) Residency program is based out of our main academic clinic in Pomona, California but the residents may also rotate through our satellite clinic in Los Angeles and/or rehabilitation hospital/clinics in the Southern California area. The VR residency program will have two residency positions in two separate tracks.

For Position 1: NOR-VT position:

This VR Residency track with emphasis on Neuro-Optometric Rehab (NOR) and Vision Therapy (VT) will provide the resident with experience in diagnosing and treating traumatic brain injury or stroke patients as well as patients of all ages with eye teaming or binocularity dysfunctions in both the live and virtual setting through innovative patient care technologies. This program will educate the resident on the inter-professional collaborative nature of NOR and VT and how to navigate across health professions to provide optimal patient centered care. The resident can customize their residency experience through the selection of an elective clinical and/or laboratory teaching assignment.

For Position 2: NOR-LVR position:

This VR Residency track with emphasis on Neuro-Optometric Rehab (NOR) and Low Vision Rehabilitation (LVR) will provide the resident with experience in diagnosing and treating traumatic brain injury or stroke patients as well as visually impaired or legally blind patients of all ages. The resident will have firsthand experience in prescribing assistive devices (low and high tech) and navigating the interprofessional space to provide optimal patient centered care. The resident can customize their residency experience through the selection of an elective clinical and/or laboratory teaching assignment.

Typical Weekly Hours and After-Hours Responsibilities:

Approximately 40 hours per week. Share after hours on-call assignments with faculty. Participation in community screening activities will be required on periodic basis.

Residency Director: Loretta Ng, OD, FAAO

Residency Supervisor: Valerie L. Quan, OD, FAAO

Learn more about program

• Program Length: 12 months
• Start Date: July 1st
• Positions: 2 (1 per track)
• Compensation: $42,000 plus fringe
• Hours Per Week: 40 + (exempt employees)
• Accreditation Status: Candidacy Pending
• Application Deadline: January 31
• ORMatch Matching Service: Yes

Selection Procedure and Admissions Criteria:

1. Selection Procedure and Admission Criteria:

• Submitted all required documentation to ORMatch (insert link) by January 31:
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Letter of recommendation from 3 appropriate individuals
  • NBEO scores
  • Optometry school transcripts
  • Letter of intent
  • Candidates must follow the guidelines established by ORMatch. This matching service is utilized for all optometric residency programs in North America
• Successfully graduated from an Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) accredited school or college of optometry
• Legally authorized to work in the United States
• Preference given to those who passed Parts 1, 2, 3 and TMOD of NBEO prior to start of program.
• Candidates will be evaluated based on interview, interest in the program area, prior academic and clinical performance (GPA, NBEO), letters of recommendations and interpersonal skills.
• Resident is required to comply with WesternU’s employee immunization/vaccination policies, except for limited exemptions.

Application Materials and Procedures:

• Apply through ORMatch. All documentation including transcripts, NBEO scores, 3 letters of recommendation and letter of intent should be submitted through ORMatch and copies sent to Residency Coordinator/Supervisor

Requirements for Completion:

• The resident must have at least scored “Above Expected Level” in 70% of the general skills evaluation and “Met” 70% of the advanced core competencies at the final clinical evaluations as per the Residency Supervisor in consultation with resident’s faculty.
• The resident will maintain an accurate record of patient contacts (Resident’s Patient Log) which will be reviewed by the Residency Supervisor routinely.
• The resident is required to submit an abstract for poster or presentation to a national optometry meeting (AAO, AOA, COVD) by end of May.
• The resident will present a 30-minute lecture at annual Residents CE Program at WUCO by end of June.
• All residents are required to attend a minimum of twelve (12) hours of lectures and/or workshops as part of the Residency Professional Development Program with documentation supporting attendance or completion.
• The resident must have passed all parts of NBEO and obtain licensure in the state of California.
• Upon successful completion of the program curriculum, the Residency Supervisor and the Director of Residency will recommend the granting of a certificate of completion to the Dean of the College of Optometry and Provost of Western University of Health Sciences.

*Resident is required to be fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, subject to limited exemptions per WesternU’s employee policy

Residency Director:
Loretta Ng, OD, FAAO
Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs
ngl@westernu.edu
(909) 706-3734

Residency Supervisor:
Valerie Quan, OD, FAAO
Chief of Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation
valeriequan@westernu.edu
(909) 469-8754

Residency Faculty:
Bradley Habermehl, OD, FCOVD, Chief of VT
Serena Sukhija, OD, FAAO, Chief of LVR
Valerie Quan, OD, FAAO, Chief of NOR