A Unique Approach
The Moran Eye Center offers one of the nation’s top educational programs, providing excellent didactic training and extensive surgical experience. We go beyond traditional curriculum to empower residents to innovate and lead the field.
Interactive Learning
A resident-led working group, the Moran Ophthalmology Learning Experience, worked with faculty to swap traditional curriculum for a reverse classroom interactive learning format. Lectures concentrate on in-class group activities such as giving possible diagnoses.
A monthly interactive health politics and leadership curriculum, Training a Complete Ophthalmologist, features tacos and a faculty course leader on topics including quality improvement, the business of medicine, health policy and advocacy, leadership/academics, public health/global ophthalmology, communications, wellness, and research.
High Surgical Volumes
Our clinical faculty members perform nearly 9,000 surgeries per year and see more than 174,000 patients, ensuring residents and fellows have a full range of clinical and surgical experiences.
In three years, one Moran resident, on average, performs about 740 surgeries and procedures. More than 300 are cataract surgeries—86 is the national requirement; 205 is the national average. Board-certified attending faculty supervise all surgeries and procedures. A wet lab gives residents additional opportunities for hands-on experience.
Dedicated Research Time
Residents receive protected research time one-half day each week, and we provide funding opportunities such as the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation. Each year, at least one resident is awarded $15,000, and Moran matches funds for his or her second and third year.
Elective Time
Third-year residents can tailor four months of elective time to hone skills on a subspecialty of interest and participate in international outreach work with Moran’s Global Outreach Division.
Outreach Opportunities
Moran’s Global Outreach Division traditionally travels to 20 countries as remote as Micronesia and as close as Haiti providing eye care, which gives residents and fellows extraordinary opportunities to participate in international electives.
Online Publishing
Residents publish on Moran’s multimedia, peer-reviewed educational website: the Clinical Ophthalmology Resource for Education at morancore.utah.edu.
Quality Improvement
Moran provides residents with protected research time one-half day each week; at least one new resident is awarded $15,000 for research, which Moran matches each successive year.
Continuity Clinic
From day one, interns manage a patient’s care under the supervision of a board-certified ophthalmologist.
Wellness Initiatives
A focus on wellness provides residents with two half-days of protected time each month, as well as a mentorship program, Mocha with a Mentor, bypasses the formal pairing of mentors and residents and allows residents to seek out time with a faculty member they admire.
A resident-led working group, the Moran Ophthalmology Learning Experience, worked with faculty to swap traditional curriculum for a reverse classroom interactive learning format. Lectures concentrate on in-class group activities such as giving possible diagnoses.
Learn More About Our Residency Program
Education Program Resources
News from Moran's Education Program
Past Education Focus Reports
- Education Focus 2023: Making the Rounds with Our Ophthalmic Hospitalist
- Education Focus 2022: Supporting and Connecting Trainees
- Education Focus 2021: The Next Chapter
- Education Focus 2020: Leading Change
- Education Focus 2019: Honing Surgical Expertise
- Education Focus 2018: One Step Ahead
- Education Focus 2016: Explore and Expand in a Top 10 Residency Program
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Education Focus 2015: The Best Kept Secret in Ophthalmology Education
Contact Us
University of Utah School of Medicine
Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
John A. Moran Eye Center
Academic Office
65 Mario Capecchi Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84132
Phone: 801-585-3719
Fax: 801-581-5806
Rachel G. Simpson, MD, Vice Chair of Education
Phone: 801-581-2352
rachel.simpson@hsc.utah.edu
Sravanthi Vegunta, MD, Associate Residency Program Director
Phone: 801-581-2352
srav.vegunta@hsc.utah.edu
Meghan Johnson, Programs Manager, Academics
Phone: 801-213-4044
meghan.johnson@hsc.utah.edu
Chandler Thompson, Executive Assistant
Phone: 801-581-3023
chandler.thompson@hsc.utah.edu
Barbara Korous, Director, Operations
801-585-6143
barbara.korous@hsc.utah.edu