COVID-19 Changes
Please contact the respective Residency Coordinator at the individual residency program for the most updated changes made to the application requirements and selection criteria due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID Vaccination Requirements for Residency Programs
Clinical Residency: Enhance Your Skills. Advance Your Career.
Completing an accredited, one-year postdoctoral residency program is a great way to enhance clinical expertise in your chosen optometric specialty. Under the guidance of experienced clinician-mentors, you’ll gain invaluable knowledge and skills through participation in patient care, scholarly activity, and hands-on optometric research.
Be Part of a Rich Tradition
Since 1977, the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) has enjoyed a rich tradition of providing exceptional residency education to qualified optometry-school graduates.
What began as a local, one-residency opportunity has blossomed into dozens of residency programs that today comprise more than 47 positions across the United States in optometric specialties such as:
- Cornea and Contact Lenses
- Low Vision Rehabilitation
- Ocular Disease
- Primary Care
- Neuro-Optometry
- Pediatric Optometry/Vision Therapy
How to Apply
You may contact Assistant Dean of Residencies, Judy Tong, OD, FAAO to learn more or apply for a residency:
- Email: jtong@ketchum.edu
- Tel: 714.463.7568 Fax: 714.872.5683
But before doing so, we ask that you first preview available programs and create a ‘short list’ of opportunities you’d like to know more about.
5 (More) Things to Know About Residency Education
- Residencies in the optometric profession are optional and not required either for licensure or starting a specialty practice.
- Residencies for newly degreed ODs typically run about one year.
- Most often, residencies are located within hospitals, VA facilities, outpatient clinics, or the clinical facilities of participating colleges and schools of optometry.
- Residencies vary within areas of emphasis and typically are identified by specialty or at a location in which the specialty is emphasized.
- All SCCO programs are structured in accordance with the guidelines of the AOA’s Accreditation Council on Optometric Education and are fully accredited or in the process for review.
Residency Program Locations
Click here to download the SCCO 2023 Residency Brochure.
Indian Health Service
Albuquerque Indian Health Center – Est. 2019
Primary Care/Ocular Disease
Christopher C. Cordes, OD, FAAO
Chinle Service Unit IHS – Est. 2008
Ocular Disease
R.Brandon Runyon, OD, FAAO
Gallup Indian Medical Center – Est. 1997
Primary Eye Care/Ocular Disease
Alicia Thibodeaux, OD, FAAO
Lilian Thoi, OD, FAAO
Hu Hu Kam Memorial Hospital – Est. 1996
Ocular Disease
Mackenzie Black, OD
Northern Navajo Medical Center – Est. 1993
Ocular Disease/Primary Eye Care
Shannon Lee, OD
Riverside San Bernardino County Indian Health Inc. – Est. 2020
Primary Care Optometry
Nha-Han Nguyen-Deo, OD
Santa Fe Indian Hospital – Est. 2015
Primary Eye Care/Ocular Disease
June Morikawa, OD
Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation – Est. 2011
Primary Eye Care
Breanne Flores, OD
Zuni Comprehensive Community Health Center – Est. 2011
Ocular Disease
Kieran McMillan, OD
Sophia Ries, OD
Private Practice & Health Maintenance Organizations
Azul Vision / California Eye Specialists - Inland Empire - Est 2022
Ocular Disease
Matthew Diggory, OD
Rex Villegas, OD, FAAO
Azul Vision / California Eye Specialists - Los Angeles - Est. 2019
Ocular Disease
Rex Villegas, OD, FAAO
Kaiser Foundation Hospital / The Permanente Medical Group - Est. 2016
Primary Eye Care
Paul H. Peng, OD, JD
Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles, CA - Est. 2021
Primary Eye Care and Ocular Disease
Jonathan P Christie, OD, FAAO
Kaiser Permanente, Seattle, WA* – Est. 2007
Primary Care Optometry
Gelea Ice, OD
Kaiser Permanente, Tacoma, WA* – Est. 2009
Primary Care Optometry
Rodney Jacob Gunn, OD, FAAO
Northwest Eye Surgeons' Dr. Matthew Niemeyer Memorial– Est. 2022
Ocular Disease
Davina Kuhnline, OD
On-Campus Programs
CCL University Eye Center at Ketchum Health, Anaheim, CA – Est. 1991
Cornea and Contact Lenses
Dawn Lam, OD
POVT University Eye Center at Ketchum Health, Anaheim, CA – Est. 1978
Pediatric Optometry and Vision Therapy
Angela Chen, OD, MS
Veterans Affairs
Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT – Est. 2002
Primary Eye Care/Cornea & Contact Lenses
D. Lee Tanner, OD
Brittany Capstick, OD
Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, Tucson, AZ – Est. 1995
Ocular Disease and Low Vision Rehabilitation
Danielle L. Weiler, OD
Greater Los Angeles / Sepulveda VA Medical Center, North Hills CA – Est. 1992
Primary Eye Care/Ocular Disease
Steven G. Ferrucci, OD
Brenda Yeh, OD
VA Long Beach Healthcare System - Major Charles Robert Soltes, Jr. Blind Rehabilitation Center- Est. 2012
Primary Care/Low Vision Rehabilitation
Edward Chu, OD
VA Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center, Los Angeles, CA – Est. 1979
Ocular Disease/Low Vision Rehabilitation
Diana Wu, OD
VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA – Est. 2006
Primary Eye Care
Katherine Wang, OD
VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System, Las Vegas, NV – Est. 2004
Ocular Disease
Lane Fujimoto, OD
Jennifer Monarrez, OD, FAAO
West Los Angeles VA Health Care Center, Los Angeles, CA – Est. 1983
Primary Care / Ocular Disease
Pauline Ilsen, OD
