Oculoplasty Fellowship@ Sankara Netralaya, Kolkata

Duration of fellowship- 24 months

Selection- Exam and interview

Fellow intake- 1 fellow per session but this depends on Chennai- some years there may not be any intake for Kolkata branch 

Stipend- 55,000/ month 

Of the 2 yrs, one year will be in Chennai and the other year will be in Kolkata.

First month is orientation period (in Chennai) where you shadow consultants and fellows to understand how the hospital and its system works.

Then you're posted in Orbit dept from 2nd month onwards- you may continue in Chennai or else posted in the Kolkata branch (either for 1 year).

No general Ophthal postings.

You start seeing OP and learn to manage cases.

OT happens twice a week.

There's also cataract OT once a week where you operate camp cases.

If you're a beginner in SICS, they train you from scratch.. liberal hands-on for SICS cases (they operate using Blumenthal method here).

Phaco training also given but only in 2nd yr and numbers are fixed at around 15-20.

In Oculoplasty dept, steps in surgeries are given from 2nd month onwards, but for orbit surgeries and cosmetic procedures, you mostly assist.

You are given independent OP and consultant OT (where you're posted with a consultant) in the last 6 months when you become SR.

You get to do independent cases of DCT/ DCR, frontalis sling surgeries etc in the last 6 months.

Clinical exposure- good

Work environment- 9-5 but you're expected to come well before 9 and finish post ops and other related work before OPD formally starts 

OP tends to be busy, can go beyond 5 pm also.

You also have community centre posting for 1 month in 1st yr and 1 month in 2nd yr where you operate only cataracts.

Peripheral postings also +, can be posted to other SN branches or centres bordering Andhra etc.. how long you're posted there depends on requirement and duty schedule.

Camp duties also every month

Academics- Classes every week

In the year (1st or 2nd) when you have the Chennai posting, you also have a 15 day Pathology posting where you get to gross samples and see histology of many Onco cases, good exposure for Ocular Oncology.

Fellow posting in the Chennai branch tends to be more structured than in the Kolkata branch.