Primary Eye Care Residency Program

Mission

The mission of the residency in Primary Care Optometry at Womack Army Medical Center is to provide advanced clinical training for military optometrists with emphasis on ocular disease and trauma, medical/therapeutic contact lens fitting, and primary vision and eye health care, allowing the resident an increased professional capacity to manage a diverse and complex patient population.

Program Description

This program is reserved strictly for military optometrists and provides you with an opportunity to gain advanced clinical training and expertise in the areas of ocular disease diagnosis and management, vision rehabilitation, and primary care in a hospital-based setting. You will spend a majority of your time at Womack Army Medical Center, working as an integral part of a multidisciplinary team in providing patient care. You will be provided numerous opportunities to co-manage patients with ophthalmology and perform specialty contact lens fits, as well as co-manage with many other specialty clinics within the medical center. Multiple opportunities for continuing education, lectures, and conferences will be provided. A research paper or case report is required, as is a poster presentation at a national optometric meeting. Teaching is another important aspect of this program, with opportunities to become involved in didactic and clinical education of optometry students, optometrists, and other health care providers.

Residency Eligibility Criteria

• Possess a Doctor of Optometry degree (by starting date) from a program accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE).
• Pursue a full and unrestricted optometry license in any U.S. state by starting date (and obtain within one year)
• Competitive GPA 
• Successfully complete parts I, II, III of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry 
• Submit completed U.S. Army application materials
• U.S. Army active duty status
  

 

2022 TRICARE Copayment Increase

Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) worked together on these changes, which Congress passed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018. These changes are part of a larger effort to generate discretionary savings for the DoD to fund improvements in military readiness and to modernize the TRICARE health benefit.

As of 1 January 2022, TRICARE pharmacy copayments will change for all beneficiaries, except active duty service members (ADSMs), dependent survivors of ADSMs, and medically retired service members and their dependents.

Copays for Tier 1 generic formulary drugs, Tier 2 brand-name formulary drugs, and Tier 3 non-formulary drugs are increasing at home delivery and retail points of service.The copayment increases for retail pharmacies and home delivery range from $1 to $8 depending on formulary status.

Military pharmacies remain the lowest cost pharmacy options for TRICARE beneficiaries, who have the option to get generic and brand-name drugs for $0 copayment.

New Copayments

Military Pharmacy Copayments

• Bene­ficiaries can still ­fill their generic and brand-name prescriptions for $0 copayment at military pharmacies.
• Non-formulary drugs may only be filled at a military pharmacy if a military provider prescribed the drug, or if the MTF-enrolled beneficiary was referred by the MTF to an outside provider.​