As a practicing optometrist, perhaps I could shed some light on this debate...
Let me say first that slave4MD probably didn't mean anything nasty by the "real" comment. We optometrists tend to assume that these comments are overtly malignant toward the profession; however, most people don't mean anything nasty. You can scream at slave4MD until you are blue in the face, and if you make him see optometrists as doctors and colleagues of physicians, great. But slave4MD is not the root of the problem.
Let me address the chain optical topic. I once thought like rpames, and said that I would never work in a chain. Well, you don't need to work in a chain to have the reputation that most optometrist don't want to have. The profession tends to be judged by the lowest common denominator--the chains. Sure, you can say "it's not where you practice, but how you practice." But if you think that an optometrist that practices between a LensCrafters and an Eddie Bauer gets the same respect as a LASIK surgeon, a cardiologist, or a pediatrician, you are mistaken. Sadly, when the public thinks of optometry, they usually have images of the optical chain at Wal-Mart or the mall. This is not universal, but it is rampant among the public at large. I have moonlighted in chains, and I can assure you that most people go there for one or reason: glasses or contact lens prescriptions. I have had diabetics absolutely refuse to be dilated no matter how much I pleaded with them. Furthermore, I have seen many patients there who get their "medical eye care" from an ophthalmologist for glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, etc. but then come to the optometrist at the mall for the glasses. After all, who is better at refraction than an optometrist? Nobody!
Rpames, yes, you will be licensed and credentialed to diagnose and treat all of those conditions you mentioned. If you think that your typical day is going to be mostly eye disease with a few refractions here and there and a few contact lens fits, then you are in for a shock. Most people that come to see the optometrist are NORMAL! They simply need their Rx updated and an ocular health check, and most of the time there is nothing wrong with them. And when something does go wrong (red eye, flashes, floaters, eye pain) most patients flip open the yellow pages and find an ophthalmologist or they go to their primary care/family practice physician who will either treat the condition or refer to their favorite ophthalmologist. I am not saying that you will never treat these conditions. You will have ample opportunity to flex your muscles in this aspect of eye care. But it will not be the majority of what you do. Your days will be filled with helping people, but it may not always be the type of help you want to provide. And yes, some ophthalmologists are going to be smug toward you. You may win a few over, but each time you meet a new one they may assume you know nothing about eye care. Some training programs for ophthalmologists breed this mentality and there is nothing we can do about this fact. The younger breed of ophthalmologists are more accepting of a cooperative OD-MD relationship, but you can't count on the anti-OD mentality disappearing overnight.
Optometry is a good profession, but you have to be willing to accept the realities of it. If you tell people that you are an optometrist, they won't think to address you as "Dr." In fact, I have been to countless weddings with allopathic residents, physicians, and even PharmD's whose name cards addressed them as "Dr" whereas my name card said "Mr. and Mrs." In my house, we decide how nice the wedding gift is going to be based upon how I am addressed on the invitation! My own grandmother still addresses mail to me as "Mr." If you tell people you are an "eye doctor" they will assume you are an ophthalmologist. It's the identity crisis that we are all forced to deal with. And it is going to be around for awhile. Just keep on smiling and doing your best.
Originally posted by rpames
I don't know if I can talk for the rest of the people here, but I will leave the MEDICAL field before I work at chain store. For the majority of ODs out there, this is the feeling.
I will be the doctor who diagnosis AMD, retinal and vitral detachments, removes forien bodies, treats glacoma and tons of other ocular aliments. The list of what an OD does and can do is growing. As you said yourself, OD go to school for 4 years after undergrad. There is NO way you can ever convince me that they/we are not fully qaulified to do we do. Once you enter the real world you realize that OMDs need ODs and ODs need OMDs. That is how it works and will continue to work.
Have you ever actually looked at what OD students take to become ODs. If you look, you will notice that many of the courses are identical to medical classes.
ODs are fully qualified medical professionals and you will have to learn to work with them. Get over yourself and accept all doctors.
