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Are you happy as an ophthalmologist?

I’ve seen doctors that warn others of their profession because they grow unhappy of it and it’s lifestyle. How do ophthalmologists feel about their job? #ophthalmology #medicine

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Jennifer’s Answer

I am not an Ophthalmologist, but I have worked in Optometry for over 20 years. As someone that has tried to get into the Ophthalmology field as a Ophthalmic Technician, I can offer perspective. I do know several people that have worked for various Ophthalmologists. It's true, I think Ophthalmologists burn out after about 7 years in the practice. I think it's partly due to a similar issue I am having as an Optician trying to break into medical assisting: the medical community does not regard the Ophthalmology or Optometry field with the same level of consideration as perhaps a cardiologist. Though Ophthalmologists have it easier. On the flipside, I think most Ophthalmologists and Optometrists were not thinking that their field was going to be so customer-service oriented. Any other doctor's office will have their medical assistants to serve as a thick buffer for how much the doctor has to work directly with the patient. I know this through my own medical issues that have taken me to different offices through the years. I also have seen this through my externships. It's a shame. What doctors need to understand before becoming any kind of doctor, is that the field is in customer service. If you do not want to work customer service, then do not become a doctor.
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Sien’s Answer

I am an ophthalmologist in the military. I think the intrinsic job satisfaction for ophthalmology is incredibly high. One of the best things about ophthalmology is the instant gratification: you can improve someone's vision with surgery. There's nothing more satisfying than a patient crying with joy the day after surgery because they can see better than they had been because you operated on their eye. That happens frequently, and that makes ophthalmologists happy.

There's myriad reasons why an ophthalmologist (or really any person doing any job) would not be happy, but in general, I would say the proportion of happy ophthalmologists to unhappy is higher than other medical subspecialties.
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Dan’s Answer

Before I continue, I'm not an ophthalmologist but I am a doctor and have a few friends in Optho. They all love it, good lifestyle, good pay -- it is one of the harder specialties to get into though, you'll be in competition with the best that medical school has to offer.
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