[Text on screen: The Ohio State University 
Wexner Medical Center 
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences]

[Text on screen: John Welling, MD 
Cornea, Cataract, and Refractive Surgery Specialist] 

John Welling, MD: Hey, I'm John Welling. I'm a cornea, cataract, and refractive surgery specialist in Medford, Oregon, and completed my ophthalmology residency at Ohio State in 2014. Ohio State has a ton to offer in terms of residency training. I think that a couple of points stand out to me as being really significant factors in helping prepare me for my own career.

First of all, I had somewhat of an unusual path after residency. I went on to complete a cornea fellowship at Emory University, and then went on to do an international fellowship with The Himalayan Cataract Project through the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake. I spent the majority of that year in Nepal, Ghana, and Ethiopia with my wife and two kids, which is really a dream-come-true experience for me, and has kind of set the foundation for the global work that I've been able to do since that time.

And so, you know, residency at Ohio State was a really solid foundation for me to prepare me for what I would need to know and experience prior to having that sort of experience afterwards. You know, one of the huge strengths of Ohio State's program is the breadth of pathology, and the volume of cases, and the volume of surgery that you're exposed to.

So, because Ohio State has such a huge catchment area, you get complex referrals from all over the state and also from surrounding states. And because of its status as a level one trauma center, by the time you're done, there isn't anything that you haven't seen. And I've seen numerous, really rare cases in my training—some of which I may never see again—but also, a lot of stuff that has really, really helped prepare me for the complexity of working in the developing world, the complexity of practicing in a more rural area of the country, where—I mean, right now—I see referrals from three and four hours away, and Ohio State really prepared me well for that.

I was able to go and to present research at American Academy of Ophthalmology, ASCRS—American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons—and international ophthalmology conferences, all while I was still a resident. And those experiences, those presentations, and publications really helped me, strengthening my CV for fellowship application, both for cornea and also for the international fellowship.

And I know that Dr. Hendershot and the current residency program leadership there is working hard to make those international experiences accessible to residents who want to do them and are very supportive of that. 

During my third year at Ohio State, I had the chance to organize an international ophthalmology symposium where we brought in Dr. Geoff Tabin from the Himalayan Cataract Project and invited all of the Ohio State alumni and other people on campus interested in global medicine. And were able to raise a bunch of money to help support future residents to do international work. 

You know, the funding and the support there in the department is unique among most residency programs, and I think one of the many ways that Ohio State helped to support and prepare me for my future, for which I'm very grateful.

All right. Go Bucks.

[Text on screen: The Ohio State University
Wexner Medical Center
Department of Opthalmology and Visual Science]