Ophthalmologist Making Sure You Can See

Ophthalmologist: a medical doctor who provides comprehensive treatment of the eye which includes the structure, function, diseases, and abnormalities.

An ophthalmologist will diagnose, monitor, and medically or surgically treat any eye conditions which a patient may have. They also prescribe vision services for glasses and contacts.

Quick Facts

Competitiveness: Very high

Length of training: 4 years

Number of residency programs: 119

Number of residents in training: 1,387

Number in U.S. currently Board Certified in specialty: 18,000

First year median compensation: $162,500

Mean number of hours per week in patient care activities: 44.4

Residency Information

You will spend 4 years in residency training.

Why Choose

Most physicians choosing this specialty make their decision while in medical school and many liked the relaxed attitude of their instructors. In this specialty you have the opportunity to have complete care of your patients, you make the diagnosis and then can treat using medicine or surgery.

Typical Schedule

In this specialty you will enjoy a schedule which resembles a 9 to 5 job. Days begin at 8:30 AM and end at 5:00 PM and over 80% of your time will be spent in the office. A lot of your time will be devoted to routine eye examinations, refractions, and a few emergencies (foreign objects in the eye and injuries).

Surgery can be done on select days out of the week or for a few hours on each day. You will find your on-call schedule to be light in comparison to other specialties allowing you to volunteer in community preventive programs.

If You're Interested

This is a very competitive field and more people apply than who can be accepted into a residency. If you are set on this specialty it is a good idea to have a lot of elective experiences to be certain of your interest and also so program directors will know you are truly committed to the specialty.

Sadly, physicians in this specialty believe the field has become overcrowded and would encourage medical students to select another specialty because you will be hard-pressed to build a sustainable practice.