Education question for the optometrists and ophthalmologists?

I've been working with my ophthalmologists for several years now...LOVE my job...but it's not hands on with the patients....I'm in the background and starting to toy with the idea of becoming an optometrist or ophthalmologist.

To become an optometrist, what major helps to prepare you for postgraduate studies, what colleges in the midwest/upper southeast have top notch optometry programs?

Ophthalmology schools...what best prepares you for medical school and further focus in either retina or neuro-ophthalmology (my personal favorites)?

Just starting to toy with the idea to better my knowledge and educational base. Any direction is greatly appreciated.

Great answers and a lot to chew on. I just have to figure out my timing issues...gonna be at least another 2-3 years before I can really go back to school...have AA...just need the BS...looked around my area and didn't find an optometry school...pre-optometry classes...and unfortunately, not at a point I can relocate unless it's back home...where I know there is a wonderful med school and Opthalmology program...think I'll just start with the BS degree and go from there...at least I'll be a bit smarter no matter what I do :) Thanks for the ideas and direction, gentleman. I really appreciate it.

You really have to decide what you want to do. Optometry, though is seems the same as ophthalmology, isn't. It's emphasis is on the correction of refractive errors. Opto=eye, metry=measure.

But when school is out, like chiropractors, as they know a fair amount of stuff, they can't treat other than certain basic issues.

There are optometry schools. To get into one, you go to college, major in whatever, because it doesn't matter as long as you get a little math and science behind you. You go to optometry school, study optics, physiological optics, lenses, and some ocular pathology.

Ophthalmology? Go to college. Major in something interesting to YOU, do the prerequesits for medical school, take the MCAT and do well, then apply. After you've applied to all those places, you MIGHT get accepted. If you don't...decision time: try next year? go out of the country? If you try next year option: same

If you try and go out of the country: There's Granada, Mexico, Panama, Europe, Canada.

So you really have to WANT medicine.

Ok, now you've gone to med school and you have your MD. And you had to do it in Spanish (I did), or French, or Italian, or German (Hamberg has a good Med school). You are now 4-5 years older, and that's AFTER MED SCHOOL. You get ready for your internship, go do that and while doing that apply for an Ophthalmology residency. That's another imposibility unless you've done research with one of the med schools that has an ophthalmology program, but people do get accepted. Almost all are AOA meaning straight A's in med school.

OK now you are in. You do your three year residencey. And towards the end of the third year, you decide to specialize. So now you get to choose. Neruoophthalmology, Pediatric Ophthalmolgoy, Orbital, Glaucoma, Retina, Plastics, Uveitis. and not that far away...MEDICAL RETINA, SURGICAL RETINA (These are my specialities) You apply and get into a fellowship. 2 years later...go.Be free. Fly.
YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN.

So you find where you want to LIVE. I'll say that again. So WHERE DO YOU WANT TO LIVE? The reason is that no matter where you go, if you are gentle, kind, knowlegable, have a soft hand, don't hurt people, take the time to teach, be available by phone any time, support the emergency room docs (and you will have been there during some of your training so you'll know about this...), and do a little charity stuff on the side....you'll be so busy within 5 years, you'll be LOOKING for vacation time and someone to cover you.

Then when you finish your fellowship, you might get asked to stay at the University and help Teach. And by then, you'll be ready to teach. And after a few years of teaching you might decide to move to Oregon. It's a whole new life.

I wish you well. If you need to talk with me more on this, my normal email is lawpaws@sbcglobal.net.

As an optometrist, I can tell you that (when I applied --about 20 years ago). that only one optometry school required a BS in order to gain admission. If you take all the prerequisites, then you do not need a BS degree!! I was a psychology major at U.S.C. I went to optometry school with a woman who was a music major and another who was a rabbi (no joke!!)

What I would do is first determine what optometry schoosl you might want to attend, and then gear your studies toward those schools. This is not difficult since there are only 16 or 17 in the country. Contact that school and get their catalog. It will state what the prerequisites are in order to get into that school. You should also be able to do this online.

You also did not mention what state you are from. Most states do NOT have an optometry school within their borders, so they give grants to some optometry schools that are geographically around them in order to get optometry students from their states to practice in their home state. Check this out too-- you can save tens of thousands of dollars.

IMO it doesnt matter much. as long as you take all the requirements/prereq's. there is no major that "prepares" you better or doesnt prepare you as well. you could be a military history major or a poly sci major or an ART major. doesnt matter much.

optometry school can be heavy in physics (b/c its optics), but physics is one of the requirements. i dont think you have to MAJOR in physics. most of my buddies were biology/biomedical science/chemistry/etc majors (as was I)