This site is on hold / not available for AY 2026-2027. This site is first come first serve as it works with other schools. 

The Kernersville Health Care Center is a newer clinic with state of the art amenities, providing eye care services for veterans in the North Carolina, Triad Region. The health care center has an on site laboratory, imaging and pharmacy departments. The eye clinic consists of 20 exam lanes, with 6 full time OD’s.  Eye services include comprehensive primary care, low vision/rehab and a specialty dry eye clinic. Students can also choose to go to Salisbury for specialty contact lens experience. Low vision/rehab is optional. Coordinated care with on site ophthalmology services is also provided. During the rotation, there are weekly journal club/case reviews with staff doctors as well as a weekly residency conference in which the students are exposed to presentations from the Salisbury VAMC optometric residents, students from our sister locations, as well as staff doctor presentations from our various sites within the Hefner VA Health System. Students are required to present a 15 minute case presentation during one of our residency conferences. Our site strives to prepare the students to be independent thinkers, managing complex patients with multiple systemic and ocular co-morbidities and co managing these patients with other specialty and sub specialty providers.

We strive to personalize each students experience with us. Goal statements are made at the beginning of the quarter and revisited at mid-term and final evaluations to assure the student has grown in both both clinical and didactic skills during their time at Kernersville. Our strength is our diverse staff. Each student will have the opportunity to work with each staff member and benefit from the various specialties and clinical experience each has to offer. Optional opportunity to travel to our SBY VAMC for a day of advanced contact lens fitting or to observe with other subspecialties, ie, oculoplastics, dermatology.

Medical students from Wake Forest Baptist Hospital rotate through the eye clinic observing/working with externs.

Learning Objectives:

1. Increase knowledge in managing complex ocular disease cases, while becoming a compassionate doctor

2. Increase efficiency in complex patient care and management

3. Increase knowledge in management of low vision rehabilitation patients

4. Increase exposure to walk in urgent care cases

5. Be willing to ask questions; don’t ever be afraid to be wrong!  know that each patient is a potential learning experience.  Be willing to push yourself to be the best doctor that you can be.