Ophthalmology | About Dr. Rodman & Dr. Engelstein

About the Doctors

Harold I. Rodman M.D., F.A.C.S.
Joel M. Engelstein, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Harold I Rodman M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Rodman has been named one of the top ophthalmologists in the Washington DC area by Washingtonian magazine.

Dr. Rodman received his premedical degree at Johns Hopkins University, where he graduated with departmental (biochemistry) honors, and was elected to Phi Lambda Upsilon national honorary chemical society. He obtained his medical degree at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Following a medical internship at Baltimore City Hospitals, he served two years as a Captain in the Army Medical Corp., stationed at the pentagon.

Dr. Rodman then spent a year at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as a fellow in eye pathology. This was followed by residency training in ophthalmology at the Washington Hospital Center. While a resident, Dr. Rodman won first prize in the Dr. Harry Kerr competition for the best research paper by a member of the house staff. He has published papers on glaucoma, cataract and vitreal and orbital diseases. He has taught courses at the American Academy of Ophthalmology and to ophthalmology departments, both locally and in other states.

Dr. Rodman is board certified in ophthalmology. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and of the American College of Surgeons. He is a past president of the Section on Ophthalmology of the D.C. Medical Society and past Vice Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Washington Hospital Center. He is currently a board member of the American Registry of Pathology.

Dr. Rodman is a former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Washington National Eye Center and is currently Director of the Uveitis Clinic at the Washington Hospital Center. He was awarded the Golden Apple for excellence in teaching by the eye residents at the Washington Hospital Center.

Joel M. Engelstein, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Engelstein received his B.A. degree from Columbia University and an M.D. degree with honors from New York University Medical School. He was then an intern and resident in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins. Following this he did immunology research on corneal transplantation at the National Institutes of Health, and a residency in Ophthalmology at the University of Florida. He was a visiting fellow in Corneal and External Eye Diseases at the University of London and Moorfields Eye Hospital in England.

Dr. Engelstein was Chief of the Corneal Service in the Department of Ophthalmology at the Washington Hospital Center for twenty years. He is currently Chief of Ophthalmic Surgical Training at the Washington Hospital Center. He has served as an advisor to the Food and Drug Administration on Ophthalmic drugs, is a past Director of the Lion's Eye Bank of D.C., is a member of the advisory board of the Washington Eye Bank, and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington National Eye Center. He is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American College of Surgeons.

Dr. Engelstein has written and lectured widely on corneal transplantation and cataract and intraocular lens implant surgery. He has edited a book on cataract surgery which has been popular with ophthalmologists in the United States and Japan, and has been translated into Spanish. He is particularly expert in caring for patients with corneal diseases, cataracts, glaucoma, external eye disease, uveitis, and ophthalmic plastic surgical problems. He also performs laser vision correction for patients who want to decrease their dependence on glasses or contact lenses. This procedure is performed at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute.