The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology (AUPO) are proud to present this year’s Straatsma Award for Excellence in Resident Education to Fasika Woreta, MD. The award recognizes and celebrates Dr. Woreta’s achievements as a residency program director in ophthalmology.
Dr. Fasika Woreta is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and the Eugene de Juan Professor of Ophthalmic Education at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She received a medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a masters of public health degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She completed her internship in internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, followed by an ophthalmology residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute and a corneal fellow at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. Dr. Woreta returned to Wilmer as Assistant Chief of Service in 2013 and has served as a primary surgical teacher of anterior segment surgery since then.
She was appointed associate residency program director in 2014 and residency program director in 2019. Her national education roles include being a member-at-large of the Program Directors Council of the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology and co-chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee for Residency Education Subcommittee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She was the recipient of the Johns Hopkins Physician of the Year Award in 2019, the Women in Ophthalmology Educators Award in 2020, and the Johns Hopkins Institute for Excellence in Education’s Teaching Award in 2021. Her national leadership roles include being chair of the National Medical Association Ophthalmology section, chair of the American Society of Ophthalmic Trauma, and secretary of the Maryland Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. She has multiple publications in education related to DEI, surgical teaching, and residency selection.