Opthamologists attitude toward optometrists

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Are opthalmologists disrespectful of optometrists? I've heard varying stories. I'd imagine there would be competition, but I hope it would be healthy....am I just too idealistic??

Anyone with information on this please respond.

Ooops, I meant to spell it like "opthalmologists"

Never mind, I guess I spelled it right in the first place. I'll shut up now..

Actually, Ophthalmologists are spelled this way

There are many Ophthalmologists that respect an OD, and some that do not. I guess it all depends on the individual.

The attitudes of OMDs toward ODs, and vise versa, really vary. The 4-5 OMDs I worked with during my 4th year on rotations were all very professional in their relationships with both ODs and the OD students. These were all co-management centers where ODs and MDs worked together, each doing their own thing. These OMDs were optometry friendly because there was no competition between the professions. The MDs did the surgery and the ODs did everything else. I would hope that these MDs wouldn?t choose to work with ODs if they didn?t respect the profession.
?Primary Care Ophthalmologists?, who essentially practice as Optometrists, have a lot more to lose. I think they tend to have harsh attitudes toward ODs. Maybe the newer generation of OMDs will have a better attitude if most of them specialize in surgery and let us to our thing.

hope ya'all don't mind a pre-MD poking his nose around a bit...
my dad is an OD, and I worked with him a bit. When I was in college I shadowed an OMD for a day, and talked to him a bit about the whole OD/OMD thing.... this guy basically did cataract surgery all day, so really liked having a nice relationship with ODs who referred patients to him. But his attitude was still something like "your dad is smart, he must not have gone to medical school because he was poor" (which, as it turns out he basically was - he did two years at the community college a few blocks form his home, then did a BS/OD at Illinois College of Optometry).

just my 2 cents

MD and OD are two different fields. Personally, I never considered Ophthalmology b/c I don't have any desire to do surgeries!

I don't really care how OMD's feel about OD's anymore. This issue used to bug me, but I just let it go. If an OMD wants to look down on an OD, it says a lot more about him than me. I feel that in these days, it is more of a personal issue than a professional issue. Both professions are well-served and financially rewarded for getting along with the other. I'm sure that I will one day work closely with OMD's, and I won't be losing sleep worrying about whether or not they respect my profession. Okay, so I didn't let it go entirely.

Tommy
UHCO 2006

Wow, I just spent an hour reading a thread in the pre-DO forum debating the differences between D.O.'s and D.C.'sd. I must say that I am glad for the relatively low key politics in optometry.

Optometry rules!!!!!

In four years hopefully you can call me doctor.

Also thanks for the info and for putting up with my negligent spelling.

I think, for the most part, ophthalmologists and optometrists have good repoire. As stated in a previous post, OMD's rely on ODs for referrals and vice versa. Ill will sometimes arises over certain turf battles.

In some state legislatures, OD lobbying groups have tried to pass law that expands their scope of practice to include certain laser therapies. This does not sit well with many ophthalmologists becuase of potential increased competition and also because of OD's inability to surgically correct mistakes made by these therapies. This is what several OMD's have told me. I haven't started my training yet so I can't speak first hand.

Is there any state that has succeeded in passing legislation expanding optometry privileges to include laser therapies?

my mom is an OD (she went back to school when i was seven) and she works in a practice with 4-5 ophthalmologists and she is the only OD. she often feels that she is looked down upon by the MD's in the office and when there are emergencies she's always stuck with those and i know she doesn't get treated the way she should be. she's so happy with what she does and she loves her work, but i think she would probably benefit more in a practice with just OD's. maybe this is all also because she's the only woman doctor in the place, but i don't know. she does love her job though, and most of the patients that go to the office would rather see her than the MD's.

anyway, i was just looking around at the boards... i am applying to DO schools this year (osteopathic schools) and i am sometimes worried about the way that an MD might look at me. but i really don't care because i know that this is what i want to do with my life. most MD's think they are better than everyone else, including other MD's (which is one reason why i don't want to be an MD). so i'm not too worried if somebody looks down on me because i'll be a DO instead of an MD... to me, i'm looking at what will make ME the happiest, not what will make everyone else happy.

good luck to you all

Another OD-in-an-OMD-group-practice story: I know an OD (also a woman) who works in a practice with a group of ophthalmologists (also all men), and she told me she feels respected by the MDs for what she does as an optometrist. In her case, she was hired primarily to handle the children's exams because the male doctors weren't crazy about doing exams on screaming kids, but now she sees other patients as well. Her attitude about it is that the OMDs want to get the surgical, or at least "more interesting" pathological cases, so she gets to take the more general cases which allows them time to do that. So they're happy, and she's happy. I asked her if that made her feel like she has a subservient role, but she says it's just a different role. Different training, different role. And like jd star's mom, she has a very loyal patient base that only want to see her.

Originally posted by jd star
i am sometimes worried about the way that an MD might look at me. but i really don't care because i know that this is what i want to do with my life. most MD's think they are better than everyone else, including other MD's (which is one reason why i don't want to be an MD). so i'm not too worried if somebody looks down on me because i'll be a DO instead of an MD... to me, i'm looking at what will make ME the happiest, not what will make everyone else happy.

good luck to you all

Good for you, jd star! Life is too short to spend living out someone else's expectations -- go for what makes you makes you feel happy and what feels *right* for you, and you'll succeed in whatever you do. Good luck!

r_salis -- thank you