The ophthalmology department at the University of Manitoba has created a new residency program to help provide eye care to the province’s senior population, which is expected to almost double in the next two decades.

On Feb. 24 the U of M unveiled the new Ophthalmology Residency Program during a press conference at the Buhler Eye Care Centre of Excellence.

The program is a five-year training course that will teach residents to be ophthalmologists and will be exclusively located at Misericordia Health Center in Winnipeg.

Ophthalmologists treat conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration.

The program is run by the U of M and has been accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the body that supervises all medical specialty training programs in Canada.

“This program was created because of the anticipated future need for ophthalmologists due to the aging demographic patterns in Canada,” said Dr. Lorne Bellan, ophthalmologist and chairman of department of ophthalmology at the U of M.

“The content involves extensive training in supervised clinics where the residents will treat patients with eye conditions, and surgical training in mock operating rooms,” said Dr. Bellan.

He added that residents will be assisting and then performing surgeries in real operating rooms under the supervision of a staff ophthalmologist.

He said the large enthusiastic faculty is a strength of the program.

Dr. Bellan also said the Misericordia Health Centre site makes an ideal location to train residents because of the high volume of surgeries.

The program received approval from the Royal College to start accepting candidates in the spring of 2011.

Dr. Bellan said the first resident was matched to the program on July 1, 2011 and one new resident will be accepted per year.

In an email response U of M President David Barnard said the creation of the new residency program will not only allow future ophthalmologists to train at home, but also decrease provincial wait times.

“Our students will train with recognized pioneers and specialists, learning techniques and procedures to provide high quality care and treatment to patients in Manitoba,” he said.

Barnard said the program will benefit both students and their patients, advancing the U of M’s reputation as a trailblazer in medicine and health care.

Bryan Kroeker, a second-year student in the faculty of medicine, said the new program is a good idea because it will retain Manitobans.

“The program would help to retain people that I know would want to go in ophthalmology but wouldn’t have the availability of a residency program,” he said.

It is beneficial to expand residency programs to all the possible areas and add more spots, he added.

To be eligible for the program students must have either successfully completed medical school in Canada or be international medical graduates with landed immigrant status in Canada.

Interested candidates must send their application to the Canadian Residents Matching Service.