Ophthalmology Match 2021

Today is the ophthalmology match. 👁 This is the day that medical students across the US find out at which program they will spend their 3 year ophthalmology residency.

What is the match process like?

Back in July, ophthalmology-hopeful 4th year medical students submitted their applications online - including their grades/scores, CVs, personal statements, and letters of recommendation. Programs and hospitals then offered and conducted interviews between October and January (this year they were mainly virtual, but I remember flying all across the country for mine - all the while trying to complete my hospital rotations).

This past January 25th, medical students and programs submitted their rank lists - number 1 being the program or candidate they each most desired and on down. I remember scouring over mine - checking and double checking to make sure mine was correct. Because once these lists get submitted and put into the computer system, the results are binding. 😳

The matching algorithm then goes through a whole mathematical process to match candidates to programs - optimizing rank list preferences but giving the medical students' choices priority.

Today, medical students and program directors find out how it all shook out. Some students matched, some didn't. Some got their first choices, some did not. All in all, today is a huge milestone in the medical journey, and something to be celebrated and acknowledged. 👏🏼

Congrats to everyone who matched! Welcome to the ophthalmology family!!!

My Favorite part about Ophthalmology

I often get asked: What is my favorite part about ophthalmology? 👁

It's easy: I love the variety.

I spend most of my time helping patients in clinic - counseling them and giving them tips to improve their vision and eye health. I do eye examinations and interpret testing and images. And I prescribe drops and medications for eye diseases.

If warranted, I can also do lasers and procedures, and when necessary perform surgery to improve or save someone's vision. I love being able to “do it all” for most of my patients.

Because every day and patient can be different, and I rarely feel bored. It’s what drew me to the specialty as a student and it keeps me sharp to this day. I couldn't SEE myself doing anything else.

Path to Becoming an Ophthalomologist

How long does it take to become an ophthalmologist?

Here in the US, all doctors must complete undergraduate college (typically 4 years) and 4 years of medical school. Ophthalmology training consists of 1 year of internship (which can be done in medicine, surgery, or a transitional combination), followed by 3 years of ophthalmology residency.

Many ophthalmologists go on to do an optional 1 to 2 years of a subspecialty fellowship. This can be in oculoplastics, cornea, uveitis, cataract/refractive, retina, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, or pediatrics/strabismus. I personally did 1 year of glaucoma fellowship.

I cannot tell you how many times people have scoffed, "You wasted your 20s!" or exclaimed, "It's not worth it!" True, I didn't finish my training until I was 30.

But I was going to be 30 regardless, might as well have the MD I wanted to show for it. 🩺

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyways." - Earl Nightingale

#memeMonday

Funny (not so funny) story. This video kinda blew up on Instagram. Super fun, but I actually had no clue, because someone had taken it without my permission, cropped out my info, and published it as their own... (Good thing you can’t crop out my face )

While there is no official reposting etiquette and sharing is definitely caring when it comes to social media, here are a few of my tips to stay out of trouble (and not upset any creators):

1. Repost from the creator’s original post - This is the most ideal way to share content. This not only gives proper credit, but drives traffic to the original post.

2. Tag the creator - If you are not able to share directly, tagging the creator directs viewers to their page to learn more about them and view more of their content.

3. Do not edit the content - This includes but not limited to cropping out the creator’s information, logo, or name.

Do you have any other tips? Has this every happened to you?

#liveVICTORIOUS #doctorlife #doctormemes #medicalmemes #doctormom #doctors

The difference between M.D. and D.O.

What is the difference between a medical doctor (MD) and doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO)?

Spoiler alert: There isn't much of one.

The main difference is our philosophy and approach to patient care. MDs focus more on allopathic medicine, which include research-based medical and surgical treatments. While DOs have more of an osteopathic approach that focuses on whole body and preventative care.

In terms of education and training, here in the US both types of doctors must complete 4 years of undergraduate education, 4 years at an accredited medical or osteopathic medical school, and 3-7 years of hands on residency training. In 2020, a fully combined MD-DO residency match occurred, making these 2 paths to medical care even more standardized.

As a medical professional, to me, MD and DO licenses are often interchangeable and alone do not suggest a difference in medical care. What I would focus on instead is the doctor him/herself: their capability to address your issues and concerns, whether their specialty and approach align with what you are looking for, their willingness to answer your questions clearly and honestly, and their ability to provide you calm and confidence in their care.

Hopefully this helps clear up some of the “confusion” I’ve been seeing online. (And yes I put confusion in quotations, because in this day and age of readily available information and google, it’s really just a little bit of laziness to blast out this type of misinformation. )

#liveVICTORIOUS #doctormom

If Medical specialties were “sorted”

Happy #funFriday!

Anyone else a Harry Potter fan? ⚡️ I may be dating myself, but I eagerly awaited each book release (and even refused to watch the movies when they came out lest I be disappointed).

So when a paper in the Journal of Surgical Education came out “sorting” medical subspecialties into Hogwarts Houses, you know I had to do my own Tiktok version.

#liveVICTORIOUS✌🏼 #ravenclawpride 🦅

(when I posted this, I quickly got requests/demands for other subspecialties - so I created part 2 and part 3. Click to check them out via TikTok)