We studied retrospectively the problems encountered by residents learning extracapsular cataract surgery and the variables influencing visual outcomes and complications in 130 patients. Although visual results were comparable to reported series by experienced surgeons, rates of complications were higher with 9% vitreous loss and 17% posterior capsule rupture in the first 25 cases of the average resident's experience. A learning curve depicting when complications occur shows that learning to avoid vitreous loss is a much faster process than learning to avoid posterior capsule rupture. Inter-resident variability in prevalence of complications was large. The axis of postoperative astigmatism was not consistent in residents at this stage of experience. Residents are not accurate judges of the effect faculty attendings have on visual outcomes and complication rates.