Does pursuing medical school make sense for someone with low vision?

[jack85082]

Hi all,

I apologize if I make any faux pas. I’m new to the forum, and I really needed to ask this question as I couldn’t find any good information about it elsewhere online.

I am a rising college freshmen interested in applying to and attending an MD school in hopes of eventually practicing medicine. The issue is that, because I have oculocutaneous albinism, my vision is impaired. To clarify, I have low vision; I am not totally blind. I can read, write, interact with people normally, and even work in the lab without too much trouble. I just need things to be magnified sometimes.

I understand that my visual limitation likely eliminates certain specialities, especially any type of surgery. This reality isn’t really an issue for me as I always saw myself practicing Emergency Medicine or Dermatology. However, can anyone offer opinions on my ability to perform in MD school and actually practice medicine and see patients? I would rather set realistic expectations now than get my hopes up.

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[Goro]

You should be fine. Do well and ask for any documented accomodations

 

[Franzd'Epinay]

This reality isn’t really an issue for me as I always saw myself practicing Emergency Medicine or Dermatology.

You can definitely be a doctor. Depending on the degree of your visual impairment, EM and Derm may not be the best fields, as they are both fairly visual fields. You can figure out if they are reasonable options once you rotate through those fields during medical school, though.