My Chances

[UGAmkw]

I am currently wanting to specialize in Ophthalmology when I get out of Med-school. Though i am not in med school just quite yet I am the type of person who has to know what I will be doing. The only two specialties I have found of interest are dermatology and ophthalmology, but heres the kicker, I have quite a bit of eye history which might keep me from ophthalmology and I was wandering if anyone could shed some light on this for me.
When i was 6 i had two cateracts, couple years later the lens was torn and my optic nerve was damaged leaving me with 20/400 in one eye. Then a couple years ago i was diagnosed with RP. As of now my vision is at 20/30 in my left eye with correction and 20/400 in my right eye. My vision has been stable for 2 years thanks to high dosages of vitamin A

 

[JMK2005]

I am currently wanting to specialize in Ophthalmology when I get out of Med-school. Though i am not in med school just quite yet I am the type of person who has to know what I will be doing. The only two specialties I have found of interest are dermatology and ophthalmology, but heres the kicker, I have quite a bit of eye history which might keep me from ophthalmology and I was wandering if anyone could shed some light on this for me.
When i was 6 i had two cateracts, couple years later the lens was torn and my optic nerve was damaged leaving me with 20/400 in one eye. Then a couple years ago i was diagnosed with RP. As of now my vision is at 20/30 in my left eye with correction and 20/400 in my right eye. My vision has been stable for 2 years thanks to high dosages of vitamin A

There's been a few threads regarding the one-eyed ophthalmologist. From those threads, the consensus is that it's possible, but will make life harder. Now 20/30 with RP ... how good of an ophthalmologist can you be in the long run if that good eye goes bad. So, it's hard to answer without knowing what that 20/30 vision will be in 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years.

 

[UGAmkw]

Hopefully the RP will not be a problem, I was first diagnosed 4 years ago, and since taking the vitamin A for about 3 i have not lost any more vision. At one point they almost thought I didnt have it anymore

 

[7ontheline]

I would recommend another specialty. The monocularity makes it hard enough, especially given that you are 20/30 at best with your good eye. Combine that with the degenerative disease and I think that you are better off in another area of medicine. I know your vision has been stable for some time now but are you willing to bet your patients and your career on it? I think you will find that there are a lot of areas of medicine which can be rewarding. Go in with an open mind. As nice as it might be to be sure from the start, you haven't even seen most specialties yet.

 

[UGAmkw]

What about Neuro?

 

[Chorizo Bandito]

Yeah, I'd skip on ophtho if you have an eye history like that. you'd have a tough time finding anyone who will sell you disability insurance.. and you don't want to underestimate the importance of stuff like that!