Optometry vs Ophthalmology (and a little psychiatry)

[vashp2029]

I'm a junior and I want to become some type of doctor. I've limited my choices to a few things that I find really interesting. To be specific, I find the study of optics and eyes interesting, but I also find the study of how people think and our subconscious very interesting. Because of this, I've thought of going into either optometry, ophthalmology, or psychiatry.

While ideally I'd like to go to med school and go into ophthalmology, it seems like a stab in the dark considering I had a rocky start to undergrad (really low freshman/sophomore year GPA). Since psychiatrists also need to go to med school, I'm faced with the same dilemma. I've began bringing up my GPA but I have some tough courses on the horizon (organic chem at my university is well known to be the toughest course we have available). Also, even if I were to get a 3.8 for the remainder of my semesters here, I'd end up with a 3.2-3.3.

So I'm wondering how it would work if I were to go to optometry school right out of undergrad and THEN apply to med school (sort of like using optometry school as post-bacc). Would my optometry coursework transfer to med school? I'd like not to have to do two years in optometry school and then relearn things and still have to do the full four years for med school.

Any advice/constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.

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[JESSFALLING]

I'm a junior and I want to become some type of doctor. I've limited my choices to a few things that I find really interesting. To be specific, I find the study of optics and eyes interesting, but I also find the study of how people think and our subconscious very interesting. Because of this, I've thought of going into either optometry, ophthalmology, or psychiatry.

While ideally I'd like to go to med school and go into ophthalmology, it seems like a stab in the dark considering I had a rocky start to undergrad (really low freshman/sophomore year GPA). Since psychiatrists also need to go to med school, I'm faced with the same dilemma. I've began bringing up my GPA but I have some tough courses on the horizon (organic chem at my university is well known to be the toughest course we have available). Also, even if I were to get a 3.8 for the remainder of my semesters here, I'd end up with a 3.2-3.3.

So I'm wondering how it would work if I were to go to optometry school right out of undergrad and THEN apply to med school (sort of like using optometry school as post-bacc). Would my optometry coursework transfer to med school? I'd like not to have to do two years in optometry school and then relearn things and still have to do the full four years for med school.

Any advice/constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.

You have an interesting mix of interests. First, the bad news is the optometry course work won't transfer......so don't go to optometry school if you would rather become a medical doctor. Have you shadowed both types of doctors (O.Ds and M.Ds/D.O.s)? Deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life should be a top priority and shadowing will help you figure this out. Do you want to deal primarily with optics, or do you prefer to primarily handle patient's medical or surgical needs?

Ophthalmology is one of the more competitive medical specialties, so having another interest (e.g. Psych) is an asset if you go into medicine.

If you decide to become a medical doctor, you should plan to complete an extra year or two of school before applying to improve your gpa. You could apply D.O., but you'll have a better shot of matching into an ophthal residency if you complete a M.D. program. (D.O. would be fine for Psych., though.)

Graduate school won't help you fix your undergraduate gpa, so be sure to read up on what your options for gpa repair are. I think a post-bacc program might be your best bet, but I'm not the person to ask about these. You might also just choose to double-major in something and extend your time in undergrad. A science/humanities combination might look really good. A high mcat will also help, so study really hard if you decide to take it!

Personally, I would consider becoming an O.D. if I wasn't worried that I might get stuck working for Walmart or Costco. I want to have my own practice someday and I frankly don't know if that will be possible in the future with Optometry.

 

[mishaS]

I can't imagine that optometry credits would transfer over because the schools are accredited by different bodies. I also imagine that optometry school will be a lot harder than your average post bac program, so it'd be a bad idea in that regard as well. I'd say go DO, but if you want to do ophthalmology, going to a DO school will make it much harder to get a residency. Best thing you can do if you want to become an ophthalmologist is to do well on every class from now on, do well on the MCAT, write a very solid personal statement, do research (clinical preferably so you can get published), do leadership things for clubs, etc. A lower GPA won't kill you but you will have to make up for it. Worst case, do some post bac work, maybe getting a masters, and do really well in those classes.

 

[vashp2029]

I actually decided on optometry in high school because I liked physics but I wanted to be a doctor and that seemed to be the only type of doctor that used any type of physics. I've stuck with it since and I still like the idea of it. So I've been keeping up with what I should be doing to apply/get into optometry school but I haven't been paying attention to any pre-med stuff. I haven't been part of a any pre-med societies on campus and I haven't really met with an adviser about it. I'm hoping preparation for MCAT and applying to med school isn't worlds apart from preparation for the OAT and applying to optometry school.

I'd like to do anything I can to avoid having to do post-bac schooling. I don't think going further into debt then absolutely necessarily is a good idea at this point. As far as clinical research, I've heard good things about people who do it but I've never looked into it. Any specific tips?

 

[curveball617]

I'm not sure if optometry really is a LOT of physics... I'm sure in school you'll be taught about the physics behind seeing, but clinical optometry is more about eye health and refractions. I'm pretty sure that during refractions, optometrists aren't remembering the lensmaker's equation trying to determine what refractive error a patient has.

BUT, optometry is a good field if you really like eyes. Pay is pretty good, there will always be a demand for them, no on call, patients are generally happy, etc. There's a lot of things to like about optometry, but only if you're really interested in it.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

If you're so into physics you should really consider Rad Onc instead of Optometry lol...

But yes, OP if you want to prescribe glasses and treating glaucoma, then become on OD. If you want something more specialized potentially, then consider medical school. You'll get more a integrative training as well as be able to subspecialize in a particular field. Or.. go into a completely different one...