I'll be a first year this fall. Thru undergrad, I always thought the eye was very pretty and did a good deal of benchwork research in optho.
Here are some of my concerns please
a) explain how legitimate it is
b) what i can do about it as an opthalmologist

1. High legal liability. One false move during an eye surgery and the patient could lose vision in one eye = lost half is vision. Lawsuits would be steep.
2. "With Optometrists performing many of the functions once reserved for Ophthalmologists, the field is rapidly becoming over-staffed." --Getting a Residency (sort of covered in the horror stories thread sort of not)
3. Being a surgeon and/or performing procedures would gradually turn me into a tomboy and worsen my temper

I'll be a first year this fall. Thru undergrad, I always thought the eye was very pretty and did a good deal of benchwork research in optho.
Here are some of my concerns please
a) explain how legitimate it is
b) what i can do about it as an opthalmologist

1. High legal liability. One false move during an eye surgery and the patient could lose vision in one eye = lost half is vision. Lawsuits would be steep.
2. "With Optometrists performing many of the functions once reserved for Ophthalmologists, the field is rapidly becoming over-staffed." --Getting a Residency (sort of covered in the horror stories thread sort of not)
3. Being a surgeon and/or performing procedures would gradually turn me into a tomboy and worsen my temper

I am currently shadowing two great ophthamologists and I can assure you, they are in demand. It is not uncommon for them to see 100 patients a day (8 hours) on office days. I feel like I am at a track meet when I am shadowing them.

1. High legal liability. One false move during an eye surgery and the patient could lose vision in one eye = lost half is vision. Lawsuits would be steep.
2. "With Optometrists performing many of the functions once reserved for Ophthalmologists, the field is rapidly becoming over-staffed." --Getting a Residency (sort of covered in the horror stories thread sort of not)
3. Being a surgeon and/or performing procedures would gradually turn me into a tomboy and worsen my temper

1. Ophthalmologists don't actually have that bad malpractice. Its worse than, say, FPs but not near as bad as OBGYNs. And consider, not many patients actually die during eye surgery.... most other surgeons are not so lucky.

2. Residencies are super competitive, and there aren't a huge number of MDs about doing eyes. I've never seen a bored ophthalmologist. The one I work for sees about 70 patients per day in clinic and is booked up 2 months for cat sx. As for the optometrist aspect, I wouldn't worry too much on that one. ODs have to fight WAY too hard to get surgery (the Oklahoma OD association went bankrupt after that battle). As long as MDs stay on top of things, you'll always have plenty of patients.

3. I don't know about to say, but I would think that surgery doesn't make you have a short fuse; but that people with short fuses go into surgery since your patients are asleep most of the time you're with them.

Just my 2 cents, go into whatever you love; the rest will attend to itself.

One must remember that everything has its ups and downs. This is very true in medicine also. The best thing is to find a field u like and stick with it like white on rice. This way even when the $$ falls you will be content doing what you like. When the $$ increases then you will have the best of both worlds. Like VA Hopeful Dr said: "go into whatever you love; the rest will attend to itself."

3. Being a surgeon and/or performing procedures would gradually turn me into a tomboy and worsen my temper

a bad temper comes from within. there is no causal relationship between being a surgeon and having bad temper. i know many surgeons with great personalities and a few internists and pediatricians with bad ones.