ENT and Ophtho

[BuddyDog]

Hello All-

I am in the midst of decided if I want to take a research block with ENT or ophtho in my upcoming 2nd semester of third year. I've always wanted to do ophtho, but recently rotated on it and really only enjoyed plastics. Always thought retina was cool, but it seemed like it was becoming more and more injections and less and less OR time. OR time is a big factor for me in whatever I do. I found that I loved the variety and necessitated planning stages of oculoplastics. Of course, it seems like the hours of ophtho residency are a bit better than that of ENT, but I wonder if anyone has any idea on the excitement of ENT vs ophtho. It seems, from my limited experience, that ENT may have more variety and more "planning" than optho. Is this true? I'm sorry for the rambling, I'm just trying to get a feel for the two fields. Thank you all so much!

(I know there have been posts on this before- I just feel as if I have unique situation in that I've always loved ophthalmology and been set on it, but just realized that I really only enjoyed oculoplastics and retina [though again, retina seemed as if its more injections than anything else now])

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[RestoreSight]

Hello All-

I am in the midst of decided if I want to take a research block with ENT or ophtho in my upcoming 2nd semester of third year. I've always wanted to do ophtho, but recently rotated on it and really only enjoyed plastics. Always thought retina was cool, but it seemed like it was becoming more and more injections and less and less OR time. OR time is a big factor for me in whatever I do. I found that I loved the variety and necessitated planning stages of oculoplastics. Of course, it seems like the hours of ophtho residency are a bit better than that of ENT, but I wonder if anyone has any idea on the excitement of ENT vs ophtho. It seems, from my limited experience, that ENT may have more variety and more "planning" than optho. Is this true? I'm sorry for the rambling, I'm just trying to get a feel for the two fields. Thank you all so much!

(I know there have been posts on this before- I just feel as if I have unique situation in that I've always loved ophthalmology and been set on it, but just realized that I really only enjoyed oculoplastics and retina [though again, retina seemed as if its more injections than anything else now])

There have been many posts on this subject

If you are looking for a more traditional surgical residency than ENT is a better choice than ophtho. If all you are interested in is the plastic surgery portion of ophtho than ENT is a better choice than ophtho. You can't cherry-pick what you are interested in. If you commit to ophtho you have to have genuine interest in ocular diseases encompassing the entire eye and associated adnexa.

Excitment is relative. I find the procedures of ENT to be less exciting than ophtho, but you may feel differently. No matter how exciting something is, eventually it becomes routine, so ask yourself what kind of routine you want. ENT is a very different lifestyle than ophtho, much closer to general surgery. I disagree about the relative variety aspect you mentioned. Ophtho has tremendous variety, but so does ENT. Also, there is a lot more to retina than injections. Of all the ocular structures, the retina presents some of the most complex pathology and treatments are extremely variable depending on the condition you are treating. There are still many retina surgeons who have full OR schedules.

 

[JMK2005]

There have been many posts on this subject

If you are looking for a more traditional surgical residency than ENT is a better choice than ophtho. If all you are interested in is the plastic surgery portion of ophtho than ENT is a better choice than ophtho. You can't cherry-pick what you are interested in. If you commit to ophtho you have to have genuine interest in ocular diseases encompassing the entire eye and associated adnexa.

Excitment is relative. I find the procedures of ENT to be less exciting than ophtho, but you may feel differently. No matter how exciting something is, eventually it becomes routine, so ask yourself what kind of routine you want. ENT is a very different lifestyle than ophtho, much closer to general surgery. I disagree about the relative variety aspect you mentioned. Ophtho has tremendous variety, but so does ENT. Also, there is a lot more to retina than injections. Of all the ocular structures, the retina presents some of the most complex pathology and treatments are extremely variable depending on the condition you are treating. There are still many retina surgeons who have full OR schedules.

agree with the above. if you are intested in oculoplastics, ENT is a better route with facial plastics.

shadowing is a much different experience than actually doing. ophthalmology can be very boring the medical student because you're not able to participate in the details of the exam and management as readily and all the diagnosis are set. it's a lot more interesting and fun when you're presented with a patient with a chief complaint and you have to come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan yourself. unfortunately, not everything is fixable with glasses.

 

[MstaKing10]

Also, not sure where your opinion of retina becoming less surgical is coming from, but as a retina specialist I can tell you this is simply not the case. While the indications for surgery have changed (and will continue to do so in the future), this is still a very surgical field. You are right in that the medical retina portion of the field has become very reliant on injections in the clinic, however, this is also evolving and makes for an exciting time to be a retina specialist.

All that said, if you are interested in plastics like procedures or more of a general surgery like feel, then ENT or even plastics may be a better fit for you. Also keep in mind that what you see as a medical student is limited. Try to imagine yourself doing something everyday for the rest of your working life and be honest with yourself. Most of us went through the ENT vs Ophtho phase at some point. Both great fields.

 

[ophthope]

Most of us went through the ENT vs Ophtho phase at some point. Both great fields.

Ophtho is still better though.