Ophthalmology questions

[palma]

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Hey guys,

Just wanted your thoughts on what life is like once you complete an ophtho residency. I am neither a resident nor have applied yet. So once you complete your residency I guess you have the choice of setting up your own practice, working for a hospital or getting more specialized training. My questions are as follows:
How difficult is it to land a job at a hospital?
Are opthalmologists able to set up a practice almost right out of residency (given that they have financial backing, is the residency enough to give you enough experience)?
What are your options if you don't match on your first try (I am also not very familiar with the match process)?

I will definitely be looking into these questions on my own by speaking to other resident and ophthalmologists, but was wondering if other members have looked into them.

Thanks,
Palma

 

[palma]

C'mon, those in the know please help if you can.

 

[Just Applied]

Hey guys,

Just wanted your thoughts on what life is like once you complete an ophtho residency. I am neither a resident nor have applied yet. So once you complete your residency I guess you have the choice of setting up your own practice, working for a hospital or getting more specialized training. My questions are as follows:
How difficult is it to land a job at a hospital?
Are opthalmologists able to set up a practice almost right out of residency (given that they have financial backing, is the residency enough to give you enough experience)?
What are your options if you don't match on your first try (I am also not very familiar with the match process)?

I will definitely be looking into these questions on my own by speaking to other resident and ophthalmologists, but was wondering if other members have looked into them.

Thanks,
Palma

I just finished my intern year and am starting ophthalmology residency in 1 month, so you can take my advice for what its worth. First of all ophtho is an outpt based specialty. Most of the work you will be doing will be in a clinic of some sort. The surgeries may or may not be done at the hospital. Where I am they are mostly done in ambulatory surgery centers, where I believe most of ophthalmology may be heading.

As far as setting up practice, if you have the financial backing, market savy and know how to make great connections, you can do well. In additon it will take some luck and right timeing for everything to go well. Ofcourse, in cities such as NY, LA or Chicago, this may be much harder which is the case for most of medicine.

It depends on the amount you see in residency if you will be ready for the real world.

If you do not match and really know this is for you, you may want to try scrambling for the 1-3 spots that are empty or you can try a pre-residency fellowship

Hope this helps.

-JA

 

[FutureCTDoc]

Hey guys,

Just wanted your thoughts on what life is like once you complete an ophtho residency. I am neither a resident nor have applied yet. So once you complete your residency I guess you have the choice of setting up your own practice, working for a hospital or getting more specialized training. My questions are as follows:
1 How difficult is it to land a job at a hospital?
2 Are opthalmologists able to set up a practice almost right out of residency (given that they have financial backing, is the residency enough to give you enough experience)?
3 What are your options if you don't match on your first try (I am also not very familiar with the match process)?

I will definitely be looking into these questions on my own by speaking to other resident and ophthalmologists, but was wondering if other members have looked into them.

Thanks,
Palma

1 It depends, location, reputation and how good the offer is (i.e. exit opps) determine this. Bascom Palmer can be very selective, a community hospital that wants ophtho doesn't have the same luxury in terms of selectiveness. More often than not people elect to join a group practice after residency or fellowship.

2 My father went to a program that was exceedingly high volume 500 surgeries that the residents performed or were first assists on in their 3 years. This included 30 enucleations at the end of first year, 150 cataracts second, 250 cataracts third and some glaucoma/vitrectomies third year. This is not the norm. Higher volume is always a good thing. Assuming you're going into general a residency should provide more than adequate surgical knowledge. Clinical knowledge is usually good as well upon exit. Exposure to procedures like trebs, gonios etc. is good as I believe that early surgical intervention is superior to the use of pharmaceutical ones. Fellowships are much more variable than residencies. The AAO is good on the residency front, however there are no real requirements for fellowships as there are no board certs, although I suspect that this will ultimately change. If you questions regarding NYC/Philly/Miami programs I know some PDs and chairs so I might know the answer.

3 The options are to do an internship year and scramble/apply again, apply to a backup or find another passion

 

[palma]

Thank you so much for your responses. So, is fellowship without residency a fairly accessible option or do you need special relationship with people? What exactly did you guys mean by scramble for certain positions?

Thanks again,

 

[FutureCTDoc]

Thank you so much for your responses. So, is fellowship without residency a fairly accessible option or do you need special relationship with people? What exactly did you guys mean by scramble for certain positions?

Thanks again,

You can't do a fellowship without a residency. Fellows are chosen based off of LORs from PDs, Programs Rep, Inservice exams, Undergraduate medical education for interviews. Interviews may lead to contracts.

Scrambling means if there are unfilled positions in the match you apply for them.

 

[Just Applied]

What I meant was a research fellowship when I mentioned pre-residency fellowship.

-JA

 

[MstaKing10]

You can't do a fellowship without a residency. Fellows are chosen based off of LORs from PDs, Programs Rep, Inservice exams, Undergraduate medical education for interviews. Interviews may lead to contracts.

Scrambling means if there are unfilled positions in the match you apply for them.

Just to clarify, you can do a fellowship without a US residency as long as you have completed a foreign residency. If you are an IMG (which the OP may be from the sound of things), you can do a fellowship first (research or clinical) in hopes of getting your foot in the door to then apply for a US residency position.

To answer the other questions briefly:
1. Very few ophthalmologist work in a hospital other than an academic position. Depending on your specialty, pedigree and research experience, getting a job may or may not be an easy task.

2. After completing a US residency, most ophthalmologist are ready to start working in terms of clinical and surgical experience. Setting up your own practice however is much more difficult because of finances. The expense of setting up your own practice is astronomical and very few freshly graduated ophthalmologist have the ability to "hang their shingle" and start their own practice right out of residency. Your best bet is to join a group or the like, gain experience and money, and then eventually set up your own shop.

3. Apply again or choose another field. Very few ophthalmology positions go unfilled, thus scrambling is usually not an option. You can do an internship or one year fellowship and re-apply. Sometimes positions open up and you can apply, but these are highly sought after and very competitive. After multiple attempts, your chances dwindle.

 

[VelvetJathbiy]

ophthalmologist refers to a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems. Since ophthalmologists perform operations on eyes, they are considered to be both a surgical and medical specialty.

 

[DKofLV]

ophthalmologist refers to a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems. Since ophthalmologists perform operations on eyes, they are considered to be both a surgical and medical specialty.

Thanks Dr Definition...NOW I know what I do!

 

[MR1]

My father went to a program that was exceedingly high volume 500 surgeries that the residents performed or were first assists on in their 3 years.

Just a side on this, always be careful when someone quotes "or first assist". Assisting on any ophthalmology surgery more than a few times is a huge waste of time. Yes I still like to occassionally sit in with an attending to see how they do things but if that 500 number is 400 assists that is a poor program vs only 100 assists. I know you may have not meant that though

Another add the last post, if you are an IMG that has completed a residency in your country, doing a fellowship here first is a great way to get a residency spot later. Just to make sure you understand though, by doing a fellowship first you must STILL do a residency to practice in the US. I think programs like this b\c you might be on visa and are therefore limited after residency on where you can practice. So if a program gets a "retina trained" resident they may have just secured a retina faculty when they finish.

lastly where did the definition guy come from, that post makes no sense here.