Clinical
The Department of Ophthalmology provides comprehensive secondary and tertiary level ophthalmological care to the population of Kingston, with tertiary care extending to the population of Southeastern Ontario. Fulfillment of this role relies heavily on adjunct staff. Outpatient clinical and surgical ophthalmic services and consultations are provided in corneal and external disease and other subspecialties through Hotel Dieu Hospital (HDH), with a full service ocular function laboratory providing investigative and therapeutic support for subspecialty services and support for graphics and telemedicine. Emergent ophthalmologic surgery, inpatient services, and off-hour care are provided at Kingston General Hospital

Ophthalmology primarily relies on OR and PACU as well as pharmacy to provide emergency care to its patients.

Research
The Department houses the Cost-Effective Ocular Health Policy Unit at HDH, which receives external funding, and supports full-time registered nurses and ophthalmic technicians. Research is an integral component of the program and staff ophthalmologists provide assistance to residents in their investigative efforts. The Department of Ophthalmology focuses primarily on clinical research endeavours and collaborates on neurosciences research. The Department is involved in a number of externally sponsored clinical trials and takes a role as an accredited satellite digital reading centre (DARC) for a number of multicentre clinical trials.