Member 323944

MDs are better off than ODs in almost every way except length of training. The only real advantage I see to an OD is that we have a more direct and specialized educational path to doing what ODs do. MDs get more respect, get paid more and get to do more. So its a matter of dismantling your ego and accepting that you may be happy as an OD. If you cannot lose your ego then you will not be happy as an OD. Not saying for you specifically but with people in the field in general. Or if you have an ego you can help make ODs on par with MDs or even superior to them as our training costs less and is becoming more and more equivalent to the MD counter-parts.

The system sucks for everybody in some way. Healthcare is this huge inefficient hole that antagonizes doctors of all types. My friend's brother is an ER physician and he loves practicing medicine but he absolutely hates the system. Its kind of a love/hate relationship that you have to learn how to deal with otherwise you may leave your profession out of depression. That is why fields like dermatology and plastic surgery are so dam competitive because they get straight cash from their patients a lot of the time and they do not usually have to deal with insurance company headaches, and stupid regulations. Its somewhat scary how the best and the brightest doctors train themselves to pop pimples or give women breast implants rather than saving lives because the system is so screwed up. (I know they do more than this like diagnose melanoma and repair deformed body parts)

I am going into it as I suspect many other people are is because I love science and I love learning about the human eye. I basically want to help people see and the administrative/political headaches are just part of the job that we have to learn how to deal with or help overcome. Like the dentists that sued their dental insurance companies and got them to reimburse more and to have less restrictions on dentists.