Ophthalmologist Career Guide and Counseling

Question: Ophthalmologist?? What clases in high school, and more importantly what major/minor/classes do i take in college to become an ophthalmologist. Also do you know any good colleges to go for this?

Answer: An opthalmologist is still an M.D. just with a specialization. So in high school you need to take lots of math and sciences, in college anything pre-med, then go to med school, then to internship, then residency, then group or private practice, etc. You can google search for med schools with opthalmic specializations, or just go talk to someone who is one, and find out what they think.

Question: What the difference between an ophthalmologist and a orthokeratologist? I have had keratits so I can't see a regular optometrist. My doctor that I have been seeing is a ophthalmologist (eye surgeon) but I was downtown and saw that someone is a orthokeratologist. Obviously my condition shares a root word with one in the other type of doctor. What does a orthokeratologist do, and should I get that person instead of my ophthalmologist?

Answer: I think you should be sticking with your ophthalmologist. They are M.D.s and check your eyes for EVERYTHING. Orthokeratologists specialize in giving you gas permeable hard contact lenses to wear at night so you can see clearly during the day. :)

Question: How do I find a good Ophthalmologist in Southern California? How about California? I wore contact lens for couple of years back in around 2001. After that when I sleep, sometimes I wake up due to pain in my eye, when my eye ball move(probably from rem sleep) and feels like inside of my eye lid is stuck to my eye ball. I immediately get lots of discharge from my eye. After a while(maybe 10 minutes), pain goes away and discharge stops and feel normal and I go back to sleep. I haven't worn contact lens for about 4 years because of it but seems this symptom persists. I only have this problem when I sleep. Sometimes my eyes are very sensative to light as well. How do I find a good Ophthalmologist to treat this symptom? Anywhere in Southern California(LA, OC, riverside, Sanbernardino). Thanks.

Answer: I am good.

Question: What is it like to be an ophthalmologist? I am trying to choose between studying to become an optometrist or an ophthalmologist. What's the difference between the two? Also, what are the working hours like for an ophthalmologist?

Answer: The major difference is that optometrists go to optometrist school; they do the basic eye exam, refraction, and write prescriptions for corrective lens or contacts. They can not prescribe medications. The ophthalmologist is a medical doctor. They attend med school & then do a residency in ophthalmology. They do surgery & prescribe drugs & deal with complex eye problems (such as retinal problems, cornea transplants, optic neural diseases etc). Their working hours depend on their practices.

Question: How much is malpractice for a general family doctor or ophthalmologist? How much is malpractice for a general family doctor or ophthalmologist? Thanks! Yes, I mean how much is the cost of malpractice. Any general estimate will do.

Answer: Do you mean the cost of malpractice insurance? That is highly dependent upon the history of the practitioner, the practice setting, and the volume of patients seen.

Question: How long does it take to be an ophthalmologist? How long does it take to be an ophthalmologist after high school including bachelor school?

Answer: 4 years of medical school then DEPENDS: if you get it as your residency right away after medical school then 4 more years but if you do not then: people either do their residency for 1 year then reapply or complete their residency then apply. Ophthalmology is one of the most competitive residency to get into after medical school.

Question: Is it better to consult an ophthalmologist or an optometrist? My right eye seems to be doing fine but my left eye's vision is not so good. The descriptions for an ophthalmologist and an optometrist seem to have no difference. I want to know who shall I consult.

Answer: Once again, Footprints is right. If you are having problems with vision in your one eye, go to the Optometrist. Have he or she check it out. If it is something that requires treatment beyond the optometrist's capabilities, then he will refer you to an Ophthalmologist. Chances are, that you need some type of corrective lens and if that is the case, trust me...you'll want to see the Optometrist for that, rather than the Ophthalmologist. And besides, most Ophthalmologists will refer back to an Optometrist for the refraction anyway because they know the Optometrist is more qualified in that area. When i worked in an Ophthalmologist's practice, our MD's ALWAYS referred patients back to the referring OD for a refraction (post cataract patients, LASIK patients, etc.)

Question: Anyone gone to see a pediatric ophthalmologist with their baby? My daughter has uneven pupils and my dr already ruled out that it wasn't horners syndrome so he has referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist. Her appointment is tomorrow morning and I'm super nervous as to what they will be doing to her and what the possible outcome will be. It's just weird because the pupil that is bigger is the one that she had the blocked tear duct in which finally unclogged when she was 3 months old, she is now 5 months.So has anyone gone to one and what do they do?

Answer: They start with numbing eyedrops, immediately followed by the dilation drops. They baby might cry at the first drops, as they sting a little, but they are numbing, after all, so the next ones go fine. About 20 - 30 minutes later they will do an exam. I always found it easier on my son and myself to let the nurse hold him, so I wouldn't be in the way. They use a little plastic thing to hold the eyelids open for the exam. It looks more painful than it really is. The whole process is fairly fast, and should be relatively stress free. Good luck!

Question: I was just diagnosed with Diabetes and now my doctor wants me to see an Ophthalmologist? I am a 50 year old female who has just been diagnosed with Diabetes. We are going to try to control it with proper diet for now. My doctor gave me a referral to make an appointment with an ophthalmologist because Diabetes can lead to eye problems. What can I expect from my visit to the Ophthalmologist?

Answer: Your eye doc will dilate your eyes so that he/she can check for retinopathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration. They will either use an "air puff" test for glaucoma or they will numb your eyes and use a different device. They will also test your vision using the eye chart. My doc also took a picture of the back of my eye which is how they discovered my retinopathy. I was then referred to a retina surgeon for laser treatments. I think you will find the following articles helpful as they discuss diabetes and diabetic eye diseases. Good luck! ***21+ years as a Type 1 diabetic with a parent who is Type 2

Question: How to become an ophthalmologist? Do we need to have a medical degree to become one? Or is it like the dentist? Can an optometrist become an ophthalmologist? how??

Answer: You must go to medical school to become an Opthalmologist. It requires a specialty residency program after medical school. An optometrist can only become an opthalmologist by going through the same process.....medical school and residency.