Ortho or Ophto?

[MarketDoc]

Hey guys.

I'm in med school, and have pretty much narrowed it down to two things. Optho, and ortho. I am a hands on person, and love watching ortho and optho surgery videos online, and such (Yes its nerdy).

As much as i think ill love surgery, i think ill like actually getting to know my patients, and doing some routine exams too. and thats why im leaning towards ophto. Seems like a great misk. But, i'm little disappointed about the lack of "Big" surgeries, such as repairing a torn ACL. I think I'll like Ophto, but was just curious , do the surgeries become routine?, or is there ever something that you're like "wow, ive never seen that before" about?

Thanks in advance!

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[Pinkertinkle]

Have you had a chance to see some orthopedics or ophthalmic procedures in person? That could help you decide.

 

[orbitsurgMD]

Hey guys.

I'm in med school, and have pretty much narrowed it down to two things. Optho, and ortho. I am a hands on person, and love watching ortho and optho surgery videos online, and such (Yes its nerdy).

As much as i think ill love surgery, i think ill like actually getting to know my patients, and doing some routine exams too. and thats why im leaning towards ophto. Seems like a great misk. But, i'm little disappointed about the lack of "Big" surgeries, such as repairing a torn ACL. I think I'll like Ophto, but was just curious , do the surgeries become routine?, or is there ever something that you're like "wow, ive never seen that before" about?

Thanks in advance!

Ortho docs seem to spend more time on the OR as a proportion of their work schedule than to ophthalmologists. An ophthalmologist in private practice might spend one or one and a half days in the OR and the rest in clinic whereas with ortho, the OR proportion is greater. That said, Ortho cases take longer per case, require more hospital work (as opposed to outpatient surgery center, where most ophtho surgery is done nowadays. Ortho surgeons do scopes on surgery center, but bigger cases seem to be done in hospital ORs.) Ortho attracts more trauma referral (unless you do only spine surgery) and so there are greater after-hours burdens, depending on the availability of specialists in the community.

 

[MarketDoc]

Honestly, i've never seen either in person. only via internet.

I like hands on stuff, and i was just thinking ortho would be for that, but i am a people person, and would like to get to know my patients. Also, i would like to have a great family life, be able to attend my kids games, maybe even coach some. I was just thinking that optho might be a better mix. Any thing else anyone wants to say is welcome :-D

 

[nyeyes]

some ophtho subspecialties have surgeies that run longer than the typical cataracts that a gen ophtho would do.. ex: retina, orbital / trauma / oncologic cases in plastics

 

[Toadkiller Dog]

To answer your questions specifically:

1. If all you do is cataract surgery (as most general ophthos do), then yes, it becomes routine, and IMO, boring. A fellowship in, say, retina or plastics will assure you a variety of both pathology and surgical cases.
2. Ortho has a somewhat worse lifestyle and (usually) a *much* worse residency. If you have kids now in med school, you should seriously reconsider with ortho.
3. Keep in mind the "big" vs "tiny" nature of the procedures. In ortho, you will be hefting things, yanking on body parts, and muscling things into position. In ophtho, movements of a fraction of a millimeter will determine outcomes (such as in the sutures I put in an 8-year old's corneal laceration this morning). There is a reason that jocks go into ortho and skinny nerdy white/asian guys go into ophtho.

I also considered ortho as a med student, but I a *very* glad I chose ophtho instead.

Hope that helps.

 

[DOCTORSAIB]

There is a reason that jocks go into ortho and skinny nerdy white/asian guys go into ophtho.

So true!

 

[Mirror Form]

There is a reason that jocks go into ortho and skinny nerdy white/asian guys go into ophtho.

That's the way ortho used to be. Unfortunately ever since it got super competitive the people are just nerdy as Ophtho, the only difference is that they're wannabe jocks and/or super-fans.