The next SCOR workshop will be held on October 17, 2025 during the AAO Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. A call for resident nominations will be made to AUPO programs in June, 2025.
AUPO’s Surgical Curriculum for Ophthalmology Residents (SCOR) program is a unique opportunity for PGY4 residents to receive advanced, hands-on, one-on-one training in cataract and anterior segment skills. The program consists of three components: a skills transfer workshop, distance learning and assessments.
This page provides an overview of the AUPO SCOR program.
SCOR Program History
AUPO has been actively working on a standardized surgical curriculum for ophthalmology residents since 2018. The objective is to help programs achieve their goal of training residents who are expected to be competent in a broad range of basic and advanced surgical skills. These efforts were spurred by discussions with the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO), ophthalmology chairs and residency program directors, along with encouragement from industry.
"It was an amazing experience. It exposed me to several topics that I had little to no experience with - iris suturing, intra-ocular suturing, and iridodialysis repair. I had a wonderful time. All of the faculty and staff were amazing to work with. I feel very lucky for being able to attend." - Resident, March 2023, Las Vegas, NV
"This is by far the best opportunity for all residents to grow as an anterior segment surgeon, agnostic of pedigree of prior experience. It meant a lot to me to be mentored one-on-one by such expert, kind faculty and industry reps. Truly a once in a lifetime experience" - Resident, October 2024, Chicago, IL
SCOR Program Mission
The mission of AUPO’s SCOR program is to provide a standardized system of surgical training and assessment of competency for ophthalmology residents.
Root Problems Addressed by the SCOR Program
- The lack of a definition of surgical “competence” creates variability in proficiency among board certified ophthalmologists.
- The lack of accessible educational resources to support surgical competency creates variability in skill sets among board certified ophthalmologists.
- Variability of surgical competency among ophthalmology residents can lead to adverse patient outcomes.
"This is a great lab, very well organized with great proctors and equipment. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend my residents participate." - Las Vegas Faculty, March 2023
"The residents really benefit. I have enjoyed each that I have done with improvements at each time." - Chicago Faculty, October 2024
SCOR Program Goals
To provide:
- Equal opportunity for all ophthalmology residents to access outstanding, standardized surgical training and assessment
- Access to multiple surgical platforms and training in basic and advanced surgical techniques
- Equitable representation of equipment and supplies
- Standardization of objective in-program and in-person assessment
- Data-driven curriculum
- Blended learning (online and in-person) and learner-centric design (built for residents)
Skills Covered
Phaco Lab
- Small Pupil Management with Nuclear Disassembly with Quick Chop Technique
- Stop and Chop with Zonulopathy and Placement of Sulcus IOL
- Nuclear Disassembly with Quick Chop with IOL Explantation
- Use of miLOOP to Fragment Lens
- Anterior Vitrectomy and AC IOL Insertion
Advanced Anterior Segment Skills Lab
- MIGS: Glaukos Istent; Alcon Hydrus; Omni Surgical; Kahook Dual Blade
- Iris Repair and/or Intrascleral Haptic Fixation (ISHF) via the Yamane Technique
Advanced Suturing and Intraocular Knot Tying
- Standard and slip knots with knot tying block with uneven knot tension
- Dangle knot
- Ogawa intraocular knot
- Modified Ahmed-Siepser intraocular knot
- Iridodialysis repair with iridodialysis repair model with horizontal mattress suture
- Iris needle passes and tying
- Torque-anti torque IOL placement principles
- Scleral suture lens placement using gortex suture
Online Resources
All residents and faculty in AUPO member programs may access the educational modules and resources available on the AUPO SCOR learning management system platform. If you do not know your programs access/redemption code, check with your program coordinator or email auposcor@aao.org.
Upcoming SCOR Workshops
- October 17 2025, Orlando, FL
Support
The AUPO Surgical Curriculum for Ophthalmology Residents (SCOR) program is supported by:
- Alcon
- Bausch + Lomb
- Johnson & Johnson
Annual Report
View the SCOR Program 2024 Annual Report.
SCOR Team Leaders
Shahzad Mian, MD, Director
Grace Sun, MD, Skills Transfer Team Leader
Stephen Armenti, MD, PhD, Trainer Team Leader
Susan M. Culican MD, PhD, Assessment Team Leader
Seth Pantanelli, MD, MBA, Multimedia Team Leader
Many volunteers have contributed to the development of this program. Our deepest gratitude to all who have helped make the AUPO SCOR program a reality.
Questions?
Contact the AUPO SCOR office at auposcor@aao.org or (415) 561-8548.