What is ophthalmology residency lifestyle like?

[Student189045]

I'm a rising M2 who's trying to decide on a specialty ASAP (had a 0 production M1 so I need to get research now) and something I take pretty seriously is a manageable work life balance during residency. I understand that it is surgical and thus am not expecting something super chill like psych, but I cannot do something on the order of neurosurgery, ortho, CT surg, or general surgery based on the residents I have talked to in those fields. Uro and ENT residency also sounds pretty brutal. I understand programs will have their differences, but I am wondering if anyone here can comment on the hours per week I can generally expect to work each year during ophthalmology residency, and what the call schedule is typically like. I am also wondering what retina fellowship is like (I assume pretty intense).

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TexasEye19]

pretty chill compared to other surgical subspecialties. obviously depends on the program, but it is not uncommon to have a majority of 8a-5p days. Call is usually home call, the intensity of call will vary quite a bit between programs. My "longer" days are in the OR, usually starting at a back-breaking 7am and finishing around 3pm-6pm depending on turnover, # of cases, etc. Ophtho is amazing because it is extremely rare you will be primary on an inpatient so there are no rounds. Consults are taken care of usually entirely by the residents with little to no attending oversight - so it can be very fast once you know how to fly through the nauseating ED/floor consults.

At the end of the day... its ophtho - we arent doing 3am blepharoplasties or rounding at 5am so we have time to spend 12 hours taking out someones kidney and bladder. we dont do depression-inducing 24hr. shifts followed by as ass raping roast from attending. we quickly see patients in clinic, and take care of stuff under the eyebrows and above the cheek... yet do some pretty intense surgeries that have an enourmous learning curve that rivals (probably) any other procedure-based specialty.

 

[Student189045]

pretty chill compared to other surgical subspecialties. obviously depends on the program, but it is not uncommon to have a majority of 8a-5p days. Call is usually home call, the intensity of call will vary quite a bit between programs. My "longer" days are in the OR, usually starting at a back-breaking 7am and finishing around 3pm-6pm depending on turnover, # of cases, etc. Ophtho is amazing because it is extremely rare you will be primary on an inpatient so there are no rounds. Consults are taken care of usually entirely by the residents with little to no attending oversight - so it can be very fast once you know how to fly through the nauseating ED/floor consults.

At the end of the day... its ophtho - we arent doing 3am blepharoplasties or rounding at 5am so we have time to spend 12 hours taking out someones kidney and bladder. we dont do depression-inducing 24hr. shifts followed by as ass raping roast from attending. we quickly see patients in clinic, and take care of stuff under the eyebrows and above the cheek... yet do some pretty intense surgeries that have an enourmous learning curve that rivals (probably) any other procedure-based specialty.

Thank you so much for this answer. Definitely sounds like a lifestyle I could be happy with.

 

[Brathmore]

Typically first year ophtho residents take the most call, and it CAN be very tough. I wasn't at a program considered really tough, but we'd still get plenty of calls in the middle of the night from the ER (e.g., for orbital fractures or periorbital trauma) that we had to go see. "Home call" is worse than hospital call, IMO, because you don't get any time off the next day. Weekend call can be killer if the program has you cover from Friday to Monday...it's very possible to have a few bad days in a row, after which you're a zombie and suffering. Not every night or weekend is going to be tough necessarily, but some will be. Some programs will have worse call than others, so that's a good thing to try to find out about.

The difference between ophtho residency and the others is that most of the pain of ophtho is confined to the first year. But it can be real pain. Once you're out of the residency, the lifestyle is really good

 

[MstaKing10]

First year was brutal, I would say hours wise just as bad as those you mentioned. Second year eased up a lot but still rough. Third year was better, only taking backup call and going in the middle of the night for globes or staff lid lacerations and that kind of thing. Attending life is great. Worth all the work.

Be weary of programs that offer great "lifestyle" during residency. May not lead to the best training. You need to see and do a lot during residency. Only way to cram in all the knowledge and experience in a 3 year residency is to work hard.

 

[Dusn]

I don't know if the definition of "home call" has changed but in my residency it was pretty rough. "Home call" meant you are seeing consults or in the OR repairing a ruptured globe all night and then don't get a post-call day off the next day. At one point I had been working for 40 hour straight because of multiple nights with back-to-back ruptured globes.

 

[idkididk]

Can confirm that "home call" just means you don't get a post-call day off. Whether you sleep all night or work all night. The latter is more common

 

[Trefoil]

Residency is tough. It’s nothing like general surgery though. I’d say first year, I would work about 12 hour days with lots of reading. After that, 10 hour days was more typical. That being said, I could go hang out in a coffee shop on Saturday to study most of the time, which was great. It’s definitely not a walk in the park. I remember many days of working after being in the hospital all night, so that’s not a super rare thing, but the good news is that it’s not a residency that destroys your soul.

Bear in mind you will have to do an internship in either medicine, surgery, or a transitional year. I would also count the learning curve as being a stress factor…ophthalmology residency is shoving everything that optometrists learn in 4 years into a single year on top of medical and surgical management. It’s a ton of information. Home call can be stressful especially initially because you don’t know what is and is not an emergency. Really, true emergencies in ophthalmology are the exception. Most conditions are urgent, but not emergent, learning the difference allows you to see some patients in the morning instead of the middle of the night, so once you are over that hump, life improves substantially. Anyway, I wouldn’t let the residency lifestyle deter you. Ophthalmology is the best specialty hands down. Patients tend to be really happy and appreciative, which makes work fun.

 

[LightBox]

You are probably in your mid-twenties. You can survive a few years of "hard" training and be none the worse. Don't go to a snowflake training program. You need to be busy so that you are confident and competent coming out. As an attending >10 years out, I still work pretty darn hard. But it's not doing dumb scut or other low-yield activities. I like working hard but there is great satisfaction in what we do. Also obviously, you get compensated more the busier you are.

 

[Student189045]

You are probably in your mid-twenties. You can survive a few years of "hard" training and be none the worse. Don't go to a snowflake training program. You need to be busy so that you are confident and competent coming out. As an attending >10 years out, I still work pretty darn hard. But it's not doing dumb scut or other low-yield activities. I like working hard but there is great satisfaction in what we do. Also obviously, you get compensated more the busier you are.

That's fair. How many hours per week would you say you work and what type of ophthalmologist are you if you don't mind me asking?

 

[LightBox]

That's fair. How many hours per week would you say you work and what type of ophthalmologist are you if you don't mind me asking?

Anterior segment (cataracts, glaucoma, cornea, LASIK). I work from 8 am to 4 pm on Monday, Wed, and Thurs... 8 am to 12:30 pm on Fridays. My OR day is Tuesday (usually 7 am to 4 pm or so). Relative to non-Ophthalmologist MDs, this is pretty good!

 

[Student189045]

Anterior segment (cataracts, glaucoma, cornea, LASIK). I work from 8 am to 4 pm on Monday, Wed, and Thurs... 8 am to 12:30 pm on Fridays. My OR day is Tuesday (usually 7 am to 4 pm or so). Relative to non-Ophthalmologist MDs, this is pretty good!

Sounds very nice thank you for sharing. Do you need a fellowship to partake in the procedures you perform or is that all covered in general ophthalmology?

 

[LightBox]

Sounds very nice thank you for sharing. Do you need a fellowship to partake in the procedures you perform or is that all covered in general ophthalmology?

Most people do fellowships to feel comfortable in doing/offering corneal transplants and more invasive glaucoma surgeries. I would highly recommend fellowship training. It helps distinguish you in a community.

 

[Poonknight]

Anterior segment (cataracts, glaucoma, cornea, LASIK). I work from 8 am to 4 pm on Monday, Wed, and Thurs... 8 am to 12:30 pm on Fridays. My OR day is Tuesday (usually 7 am to 4 pm or so). Relative to non-Ophthalmologist MDs, this is pretty good!

“Don't go to a snowflake training program... As an attending >10 years out, I still work pretty darn hard”….works less than 40 hrs/week…working hard is extremely subjective lol. Saying you STILL work pretty darn hard makes me question how tough your residency program was or if it was, in fact, a “snowflake training program” that you’re warning against

 

[dantt]

“Don't go to a snowflake training program... As an attending >10 years out, I still work pretty darn hard”….works less than 40 hrs/week…working hard is extremely subjective lol. Saying you STILL work pretty darn hard makes me question how tough your residency program was or if it was, in fact, a “snowflake training program” that you’re warning against

What do you mean?

 

[TheLesPaul]

“Don't go to a snowflake training program... As an attending >10 years out, I still work pretty darn hard”….works less than 40 hrs/week…working hard is extremely subjective lol. Saying you STILL work pretty darn hard makes me question how tough your residency program was or if it was, in fact, a “snowflake training program” that you’re warning against

hours worked != working hard. inpatient medicine has hours and hours of wasted time sitting around for OR turnover and other bs. it is a lot harder to see 50+ patients a day like these retina guys are doing, give every patient the mental energy they deserve, and be totally responsible for their outcomes. and in private practice the office hours have a corresponding amount of backend to manage the practice, manage HR, etc.

 

[LightBox]

Did this guy really resurrects a thread from >2 years ago? Strange.