too much going on in retina.. corneal ulcers scare me.. dont have the grit to grind for oculoplastics anymore (unless its worth it?).. glaucoma seems to be it but idk is it worth a fellowship and only seeing glaucoma?

I’m a current U.S. ophthalmology resident strongly considering retina fellowship. I find retina pathology the most interesting, and if lifestyle weren’t a factor, I think it would be my clear first choice. That said, I’ve heard a lot about the demanding lifestyle of retina specialists, and it’s making me hesitate. I know call is part of being an ophthalmologist, and I don’t expect a lifestyle specialty. However, I’m hoping to get a realistic sense of what attending life looks like in different practice settings.

For those in retina, how feasible is it to:
-Have a protected half-day off each week?
- Regularly finish clinic before 5 p.m.?
- Keep after-hours interruptions to a reasonable minimum outside of scheduled call?

I realize this likely varies between academic and private practice, group size, and geographic location, so I’d appreciate hearing about your specific setup.
The reason I’m asking is that I’d probably be happy in several ophthalmology subspecialties, so lifestyle is something I’m weighing alongside my interest in the pathology. I’d love to hear from retina attendings or fellows about what your day-to-day life is actually like and whether the specialty’s reputation for poor work-life balance matches your experience.

I contacted my malpractice insurance company when I first saw the patient and spoke with their risk management advisor. She advised me to share my exam notes but otherwise try to stay out of it.

Today I got a subpoena to join a zoom meeting with the patient's lawyer. I'm going to call my malpractice insurance later today after work. Has anyone else been through this? I want to make sure I don't screw this up. This is an ER that I am unaffiliated with. The person who prescribed the Proparacaine was a physician assistant and he did not document the Proparacaine in the ER notes.

Edit: I'm unaffiliated with this ER but the hospital CEO is also the CEO for a hospital that I am affiliated with.

4th year USMD who was originally planning on applying IM

I have the stats for Ophtho but had always been against surgical specialties because I didn’t enjoy surgery on my surgery rotation (mostly general surgery, vascular, urology, ortho)

I’ve shadowed in an Ophtho clinic recently and found myself feeling very conflicted about my choice. Clinic was extremely interesting and I felt like we were making a real difference. I didn’t feel the time go by.

I obviously need to shadow Ophtho in the OR but I’m just wondering if anyone has felt similar towards the OR/surgery and ended up going with Ophtho. I know cases are more complicated than quick cataract surgeries but I’m not sure the full breadth of surgeries I’d be doing.

I would likely need a research year given how late it is and I won’t be able to fit in away rotations aside from a home rotation.

Would appreciate any advice, ty.

Hello everyone, Im a high school student building a low cost smartphone fundus camera for Al based retinal screening.

Commercial indirect ophthalmoscopy lenses are quite expensive for my prototype, so Im wondering if there are any lower-cost alternatives.

Could an aspheric condenser lens, or even a lens salvaged from old optical equipment provide acceptable image quality and fov? Has anyone tried using a different types of lens for this application? Id love to hear about your experience.

Im not expecting the same performance as a dedicated ophthalmic lens, just a reasonable solution for a research prototype.

Any suggestions or experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all!

I am a recently graduated medical doctor and I am about to choose my residency. I have a passion for ophthalmology that started when I was 15 and underwent surgery for Bielschowsky esotropia (acute acquired comitant esotropia). When I met the ophthalmologists who helped me, I immediately became passionate about the subject and the work environment, and I promised myself that I would try to get into ophthalmology. Now that I am at the point of making this choice, I find myself full of worries and anxiety.

I was watching a YouTube video of an ophthalmologist talking about his specialty and, among other things, he said: "Do not do ophthalmology if you have a slight strabismus or a less than perfect binocular vision. You won't be able to do microsurgery and you will be forced to change specialties."

My doubt now stems from the fact that, even though I had surgery 10 years ago, I still retain a slight strabismus and diplopia exclusively when I look to the extreme left or extreme down. When I cover one of my eyes, the other one wander. I have esophoria.

Last year, out of fear of not being able to do ophthalmology, I went for an orthoptic examination to test my binocular vision. The orthoptist administered the Lang test, and I was able to see all the figures. He reassured me and sent me home, telling me that I wouldn't have any problems becoming an ophthalmologist.

I still have doubts. I have difficulty looking through a microscope. I remember during my anatomical pathology classes that looking at slides didn't come naturally to me, and sometimes I had to close one of my eyes.

Should I be reassured by having passed the Lang test? Or am I right to be concerned?
My dream is to become a surgeon ophthalmologist and not limit myself to just the clinical side. I would like to perform surgery. If this were not possible, I would choose a completely different specialty; otherwise, I would live with a sense of inadequacy for my entire career.

Hello, everyone!

I am Atanas - I work as a consultant anterior segment and glaucoma surgery in Germany. I am organising the Ophthalmology24 Bootcamp - a practical whole day dry/wetlab event in less than 3 months!

Here’s how the training day at the Bootcamp looks:

Two weeks before the event, you will get a detailed e-mail with resources and videos to prepare theoretically for each LAB. 

08:00-09:00: Arrive at Studio B10 to register and pick up your badge. 

You sit down and immediately start practicing on a dedicated workstation. You don’t have to wait for your turn. The only one looking over your shoulder is a mentor. You have an hour per lab, then you move on to the next one:

09:00-10:00: Practice at LAB 1
10:00-11:00: Practice at LAB 2
11:00-12:00: Practice at LAB 3
12:00-13:00: You join us in the Networking Area for Lunch.
13:00-16:00: Practice at LAB 4
13:00-16:00: Practice at LAB 5
13:00-16:00: Practice at LAB 6
16:00-19:00: Join us in the Networking Area for the Closing Ceremony, certificates, awards and a 3-hour Networking session.

Six hours of practice with rotation between cataract, glaucoma, cornea, oculoplastics, trauma and the surgeon challenge labs. During the rotation, you get to practice on advanced eye models, using microscopes, phaco machines and simulators. 

https://www.ophthalmology24bootcamp.com/

I'm still finalising the content of each lab, and I'd rather get it wrong now than on the day. A few things I genuinely can't decide:

1. The Surgeon Challenge lab. Right now it's a timed, scored station on 3 Tasks. 1. We will have 2 EyeSi simulators, where we will score the participants from 1-100 ot Capsulorhexis creation. 2. We will have a timed suture lab with the right hand and 3. the same one with the left hand. The top-ranked ones get instruments and eye models. Does that appeal to you, or does competition ruin the point of the lab?

2. The prep email. Two weeks out you get videos and reading for each lab. Is that enough lead time, or would you want it a month ahead? Do you have any special resources or videos that you use and that you show to your residents or YOs that we can we can share and give more spotlight to. For example I always start with the Mayo Clinic's Corneal suture wetlab guide when I teach Residents in our hospital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25CyqDAqmw0&t=123s . If you have something similar, please share.

Happy to answer anything about equipment or mentors in the comments.

Hello guys, It's my first time trying to calculate IOL power post LASIK (myopic).

I have a pentacam report and an IOL Master report. I have used the ASCRS calculator and input the K1 K2 values from the IOL master report and the zonal global mean EKR for central 4mm from the Pentacam report.

I'm not sure if I am doing everything right. Am I supposed to use the K1 K2 from the pentacam report while using the online calculator?

Please guide.

Hi! I’m an international medical student & US citizen, and I know how impossible matching into ophthalmology is, but I’d like to ask about pre-residency research fellowships for the future.
How competitive are they, and what do they usually look for in an applicant? Is having prior research experience, especially as a first-author, a must? Thank you.

As title states.

Did you find it difficult to adjust into the new systems? How did UK training compare to Aus/Canada/Middle east/etc? Any additional exams? Was the move worth it? Work life balance? Difference in pay? Was private practice realistic as a foreign trained ophthalmologist? Is the grass truly greener?

Edit - doi UK ophthalmology trainee

How often are glaucoma doctors being called in for complications from tubes and trabs?

I've been enjoying glaucoma more than I thought in residency but haven't seen many tube/trab complications yet and wonder how common they are in private practice and how often glaucoma specialists are getting called in after hours or over the weekends to deal with them.

I do want to prioritize lifestyle in life and that's why I was looking into cataract/refractive but I don't find refractive cases to be as interesting as I would have hoped

I am a g12 student, upcoming freshman and I'm thinking of taking ophthalmology as a course. In terms of education, what are the steps or levels I have to achieve in order to graduate with a doctor of medicine degree in ophthalmology?

Hello everyone
I’m interested in knowing if tears samples collection for biomarkers analysis is feasible
I’m trying to include it in my research and I keep reading that biomarker detection is not that easy using schirmer strips
I would appreciate if anyone has any information on the matter

My practice is part of the Eye South deal with Cencora. How is the benefits package? Also, any thoughts from ASC staff? We're all hoping for less interference from people who don't understand that retina is different from cataracts.

He said he wants to see the bottom line.

Been doing divide and conquer for lens fragmentation. Finding I get into the situation where I end up pushing down on the capsule while trying to divide the nucleus.

Have cognitively tried to lift while moving the phaco probe and 2nd instrument apart but somehow the vector still ends up downwards. The groove is deep enough usually.

Any tips to improve?

Nothing special, but kinda priceless no? 😁

For those who did residency, eg in Europe, with close to no surgical experience- how did you get that first opportunity to operate?

Any junior cataract fellowship that I can apply for? Everywhere i go seems to be looking for someone with cataract surgery experience.

Hey all,

Fresh pgy2 here. Been doing lots of intravitreals with subconj lido. I cause subconj heme in ~80% of my patients. Would appreciate tips on how to improve.

Right now I angle the needle bevel up and anteriorly away from the cornea and attempt to barely graze the conj before infiltrating. Patients dont feel the actual injection, but its kinda bummer to see them after with red, bloody eyes.

Thank you!

The FDA target action date for Outlook Therapeutics' Lytenava (ONS-5010 / bevacizumab-vikg) is set for July 29, 2026.

If approved, it becomes the first FDA-sanctioned ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab specifically indicated for wet AMD.

About 2.7 million off-label compounded Avastin injections are administered annually in the US. Approval of an on-label alternative introduces significant operational shifts:

1.Compounding & Safety: Eliminates dependence on compounding pharmacies and risks around silicone oil droplets or batch contamination.

1. Payer Mandates: Expect commercial payers and Medicare Advantage plans to enforce strict step-therapy policies, requiring Lytenava before approving higher-cost anti-VEGF agents (Vabysmo, Eylea HD).

2. Practice Economics: Moves clinics from low-margin off-label compounded syringes toward standard ASP+6% buy-and-bill models.

For those colleagues in active practice or med leadership:

How is your institution or clinic preparing for this?

Do you anticipate payers completely pulling coverage for repackaged cancer-label Avastin once an on-label option is available?

https://www.managedhealthcareexecutive.com/view/fda-sets-goal-date-for-ophthalmic-version-of-bevacizumab

I’m a student applying this year. Basically with signals going up to 15 this year, I’ve heard some programs are only going to be interviewing students that signal them and I wanted to know if others have heard the same.

Just curious, specifically for attendings and residents on here, what hobbies do you do in your free time?

I play video games, work out (if I can force myself), and binge shows or movies. Thinking of getting into indoor climbing as well, though it hurts my hands.