Preceptor Interest – RSA Fellowship Network

Thank you for your interest as a Preceptor/Mentor in the Refractive Surgery Alliance (RSA) Fellowship Network and we are pleased to invite you to as a Preceptor/Mentor in the July 2025 - June 2027 Program.

We believe the RSA Fellowship Network is the model for the future of specialist training. The program was designed by a committee of dedicated and highly experienced members of the Refractive Surgery Alliance who came together a few years ago to ask a simple question: What would it take to produce expert refractive surgeons who can lead the field into the future? The discussion led to a series of meetings over server months and the result was: The RSA Fellowship Network - a new and exciting approach to specialist training. www.RSAFellow.com

The RSA Fellowship Network is truly unique. The program is grounded in a standardized curriculum in which Fellows go through their fellowship as a virtual “class” with other Fellows from around the world over Zoom Conclaves that are held every other week. They receive the benefit of a carefully designed, standardized curriculum. Didactic instruction is provided by experienced Academic Directors and expert faculty. All host sites include high-volume private practices run by expert refractive surgeons, the Preceptors. The Fellows receive superior training, and the Preceptors enjoy the support of a rich curriculum with highly motivated fellows. Additionally, RSA Fellowship Network sites work cooperatively to enhance the educational experience for the fellows. The concept of the “Network” is to have both the Fellows and the Preceptors in the Network share resources and opportunities as a group.

The RSA Fellowship Network launched in July 2021 and has been a great success. As we prepare to enter our 5th Year of Programming, we are very pleased to report that we currently have 22 Fellows in 16 Preceptor sites, across 14 countries (United States, Belgium, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Peru, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe) in the current Cohort. The Fellows each complete a supervised research project, participate in additional select Refractive Surgery skills courses, visit other sites in the network to see different practice styles, undergo several evaluations to assess their progress, and much more.

Unlike many other fellowship programs, the overarching purpose of the RSA Fellowship is to help the host practices scale and is designed to train your future associates so you can expand your practice.

The RSA Fellowship Network is extremely fortunate to have as our Academic Director, Helen Wu, MD from Tufts New England Medical Center, who oversees the program curricula. The Network is also very fortunate to an exceptional Associate Academic Director, Giovanni Taibbi, MD, who assist in all aspects of the Program and is the primary instructor for the Journal Club Conclaves. Dan Durrie, MD oversees the Preceptor training, which is an important component of the program.

The RSA Fellowship Network accommodates fellows from both within and outside the “Match” and all over the world. We will be happy to introduce you to potential applicants if you need to locate a fellow.

Funding for the RSA Fellowship Program is crowd-sourced from the participating sites, making the program very affordable and the economic return to the practice is several times greater than the fee to participate.

PROGRAM DURATION

The program and commitment is a two-year commitment. This cohort begins July 2025 and extends through June 2027. First Year Fellows are referred to as "Fellows". Second Year Fellows are referred to as "Associate Fellows". Collectively, both Year 1 Fellows and Year 2 Associate Fellows are referred to as "Fellows"

RSA Deliverables:

As provided for throughout the RSA Fellowship Year, the deliverables from the RSA are as follows:

• Curriculum guide listing the expected academic and clinical content for the fellowship.

• Provision of an Academic Director (Prof. Helen K. Wu, MD) and Associate Academic Director, Giovanni Taibbi, MD) to oversee the curriculum elements.

• Approximately three sessions monthly didactic webinar “Conclaves” where the Academic Director and Associate Directors arrange for the Fellows to learn from many of the most prominent speakers in our field on major topics in refractive surgery. The format of these meetings varies and involves lectures by both the Academic Directors and by outside lecturers, preceptor engagement, case studies, journal club, etc.

• Conclaves are always on a Saturday, and begin at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, unless otherwise noted.

• Guidance and assistance with the design and data analysis for the Fellow’s research project.

• Educational materials, including RSA-produced webinars, and the textbook Refractive Surgery 3rd Edition (Azar, Gatinel, and Taneri) and textbook Ophthalmic Optics and Clinical Refraction (Guyton, West, Miller, Wisnicki) are provided to each fellow.

• Discounted rates for the Fellows participation in RSA “Master of Refractive Surgery” programs, including the MORS programs, Forefront Refractive Surgery (Reinstein), and the PHYSICIAN CEO® program.

• RSA Administrative support for the Fellowship Program.

PROGRAM FORMAT (GENERAL) - SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Here is a general view of how the program lays out:

• Conclaves: “Didactic Conclaves” are held two (2) Saturdays a month x 12 months, and include supplemental pre-reading materials, papers, videos, etc… depending on the topic of the week. Conclaves run for 3 hours and begin at 11:00 AM ET. Fellows are also assigned case reports to prepare, present and discuss at each Conclave. Case selection is on a rotating basis and consistent with the topic of the week.

• Journal Club Conclaves: “Fellow JC Club” are held one (1) Saturday monthly for x9 months. Journal Club Conclaves run for 90 minutes and begin at 11:00 AM ET. This is the Fellows’ own monthly Journal Club – independent of the one RSA Journal Club held every 2 months on a Tuesday. The intent of the Fellows Journal Club is to learn how to critically review, discuss, and critique articles, papers, and peer-review publications and to understand study design and how to write papers for publication. Fellows are assigned papers to present for each Journal Club on a rotating basis.

• Research Project: Each Fellow will design and complete a Research Project each year on a topic of their choosing. Each will prepare the research project for publication submission and/or for presentation at a major ophthalmic/optometric meeting. All will present their findings in June of each year.

• Surgical Logs: Each Fellow will be required to keep a Surgical Log of all surgical procedures they participate in as the primary surgeon, assistant surgeon, or as observer. The RSA Fellowship has a proprietary online Surgical Log Software App which each Fellow will be enrolled in, to enter their aggregate procedures.

• Ancillary programs: All Fellows will participate in any Master of Refractive Surgery (MORS) programs offered throughout the course of their Fellowship, as well as any Forefront Refractive Surgery programs, if they have not already been completed. Fellows will participate in the PHYSICIAN CEO® Program, at a separate fee, and at a reduced rate for Fellows, when it becomes available again once the new building is complete, anticipated to be January of 2028. All Ancillary programs, including the PHYSICIAN CEO Program are additional costs/fees, over and above the RSA Fellowship Network Fee.

PROGRAM FEES*

RSA Fellowship Network Program Fees* are broken out as follows:

I CONFIRM MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE FEE STRUCTURE FOR THE RSA FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM*

I CONFIRM MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE FEE STRUCTURE FOR THE RSA FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PRECEPTOR/MENTOR?

“Preceptor/Mentor Interest Registration" is now open! Complete the items below and we will contact you to discuss participation in the RSA Fellowship Network.

PRECEPTOR INFORMATION

PRECEPTOR FULL NAME & CREDENTIALS:*

First Middle Last Credentials (MD, DO, MBBS, etc...)

CERTIFYING BOARD*

Please provide the name of the board which awarded your certification(s). i.e. ABO for American Board of Ophthalmology or MBBS for Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery.

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS (if Any)

Please provide any Academic Appointments, Titles, etc...if any

PERSONAL EMAIL:*

Enter Email Confirm Email

PERSONAL CELL PHONE NUMBER:*

PRACTICE / SITE INFORMATION

PRACTICE NAME*

PRACTICE ADDRESS:*

Street Address City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

PRACTICE PHONE NUMBER:*

PRACTICE WEBSITE:*

HAVE YOU INDENTIFIED YOUR FELLOW TO BEGIN IN JULY 2024?*

No, not yet.
YES! Through the "Match".
YES! Independently, outside of the "Match".

PRACTICE INFORMATION

PROCEDURES PERFORMED IN MY PRACTICE*

To better understand the scope of your practice, please indicate the procedure offerings in your practice:

APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF CORNEAL REFRACTIVE PROCEDURES PERFORMED IN MY PRACTICE IN ONE YEAR*

APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF LENS BASED REFRACTIVE PROCEDURES PERFORMED IN MY PRACTICE IN ONE YEAR*

NUMBER OF SURGEONS IN MY PRACTICE*

ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT INFORMATION

NAME OF ADMINSITRATIVE CONTACT @ MY PRACTICE*

ADMINISTRATOR EMAIL ADDRESS*

Enter Email Confirm Email

DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?

Email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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RSA Fellowship Network - Preceptor Interest

PRECEPTOR INFORMATION

PRACTICE / SITE INFORMATION

PRACTICE INFORMATION

ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT INFORMATION

*