Ophthalmology and colorblindness...

[daact]

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im slightly colorblind....i read in a medical speciality book that to be an ophthalmologist...one has to have normal color vision....can i still become an ophthalmologist???

thanks

 

[Andrew_Doan]

im slightly colorblind....i read in a medical speciality book that to be an ophthalmologist...one has to have normal color vision....can i still become an ophthalmologist???

thanks

I know several ophthalmologists who are color blind. They are outstanding clinicians and surgeons.

 

[The Doctor]

Thanks for this info, Dr. Doan. I too am colorblind (a deuteranope) and was wondering if I would be limited in ophthalmology. I had read online http://www.aao.org/careers/envision/practice.cfm (near the bottom) that ophthalmologists should ideally have color vision and that abnormal vision could impair clinical abilities, so it is reassuring that others have been successful in this situation. Do you think these individuals have had to overcome obstacles or are they limited in terms of diagnoses and procedures?

 

[FutureOph123]

certain programs require proof of adequate color vision; one program even tested me on the interview day.

 

[DrEyeBall]

These rules are made by people who have no idea what it is like to be color "deficient". With the possible exception of some very mild changes sometimes seen in choroidal neovascularization, it has never been a problem for me. I am not sure if it could have hurt me if I wanted to do retina but I did not anyway.