Optometry Residency Class of 2023: Dr. Ryan Keenan

Ryan Keenan, OD ‘22, ‘23Resident, knew he wanted to get into healthcare when he entered college and explored several professions through volunteer opportunities. At the end of his junior year, he started looking for a job that also would give him some healthcare experience. His friend worked for an optometry practice and was able to secure him a position. That started his interest in eyecare and his decision to apply to optometry school.

After finishing his undergrad degree at Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore, he applied to a couple optometry programs specifically on the east coast. He was familiar with Salus because the optometrists at the eye clinic where he worked, all went to Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University.

“Where I worked was actually an externship site for fourth year optometry students and they also had an optometry residency program,” said Dr. Keenan. “When I applied, PCO/Salus was the school I wanted to go to.”

Residency was something he wanted to do even when he applied to optometry school.

“The place I worked was a residency site and the optometrists there were residency trained. I saw the doctors’ scope of practice and training and that was how I saw myself - how I wanted to practice in the future,” Dr. Keenan said.

Dr. Keenan had an interest in neuro-ophthalmic disease and neuro from his didactic coursework  at PCO/Salus. His grandfather was a neurosurgeon and growing up he was his role model. It was one of the main reasons he took an interest in the brain and eventually the connection between the brain and the eyes.

But until attending PCO/Salus, he didn’t realize the amount of crossover between neuro and the eyes.

“Knowing that, I chose my fourth-year rotation in the neuro-ophthalmic disease service at The Eye Institute and really enjoyed the complex cases and the whole neuro team – they were really awesome to work with,” he said about the reasons why he applied.

So far, his residency has been great – it is everything he expected and more. He loves working with the neuro team as well as the complexity of the cases.

“The more you get these cases, the more everything you’ve learned up to that point clicks. Applying it is very useful. You take a leap to be a better clinician,” said Dr. Keenan.

The neuro-ophthalmic residency is two years. The first year is spent primarily in The Eye Institute, which is the program’s main clinical facility, seeing patients and improving skills. The second year of the residency is spent rotating with other neuro specialists that they corroborate with – such as neurology, neurosurgery, radiology.

As for his career goals, Dr. Keenan wants to be able to do what he’s doing now and use his training in either a hospital setting or academia.

“The experience we get as students gives us the tools and the ability to practice the full scope of optometry. It really prepares you for practicing on your own. Being able to manage and provide the highest of care in your chair,” he said. “I don’t know about any setting in particular but somewhere that allows me the fullest scope. It’s what I find interesting – why I wanted to do the two-year residency.”