Recent content by The Doctor

Would strongly advise against non-mirrored rooms. As you know, optical infinity is 20 feet. If you start refracting at shorter distances, you will always have to fudge a quarter diopter here or there in your mind. It gets even more fun when some rooms are mirrored and some are not. You can...

An angled Sinskey hook does sound quite sharp to me to be using for a second instrument. I typically will only use the Sinskey hook for opening arcuate corneal incisions or reopening a paracentesis if I return to the OR. I use the Lester lens manipulator for rotating a toric IOL as it is safer...

Agree. It is possible to see 50-60 patients per day while maintaining good quality of care, but the staffing is critical. I am comprehensive ophtho and typically see 55-60 patients per day with 3-4 workup techs, 2 scribes changing over rooms, and a surgery scheduler doing pre-op scans and...

To the OP, I think the fact that you care enough to investigate your technique and to come asking for help means that you will grow into a very good surgeon. It takes time. My residency did not offer great surgical volume, and I was never allowed to break the bag during residency. My first...

It's good that you are thinking far ahead in advance. As hackneyed as it sounds, my advice would be to choose a field that you enjoy and that has a reasonable lifestyle compatible with your life goals. This way you will be happy with your choice no matter what happens with compensation in the...

I have strong feelings about the ophtho boards, but I am not yet settled in how I should or will feel long term. I passed the written exam on the first attempt, but I had to retake the oral exam once. I find one of the above postings troubling where they write that people should stop "whining"...

In reply to the poster above, generations of previous ophthalmologists did face and pass this exam. But they did it as a certification to distinguish themselves. Now, we face multiple exams with 70-80% pass rate in order to be able to practice and get hospital credentials and insurance...

Work in private practice as employed doctor but currently not receiving contracted salary, legally or not. Even employees getting hit hard during this time.

It's a common and important consult. As a resident, you're there to learn so I would accept all of these consults as opportunities to practice your skills. Same thing with fungal endophthalmitis rule-outs. I definitely wouldn't offer any pushback as a trainee but after you've finished...

Agree that this is not a happy situation. I did not pass my first attempt at orals last September, so next week was my second attempt. Now we are in limbo with regards to the rescheduled date. I have studied for months before the first attempt, now months before this attempt, and will have to...

I studied polyunsaturated fats for several years in a research lab. I do believe there is value to high dose omega-3 supplementation, primarily with regard to their downstream byproducts, resolvins and protectins, which aid in resolution of chronic inflammation but I think these benefits are...

I think you can match just fine. My Step 1 was in the 210's, and I matched at my first choice with research experience coming from a top school. I think your history of working with phaco, research, and long-term commitment will help a lot, so I would highlight this. The step 1 score may get...

You are tearing plenty, so punctal plugs could worsen the epiphora, not to mention they lead to nasty canaliculitis sometimes. I have fairly severely dry eyes, but I prefer wearing contacts on my OR days so that my glasses don't fog up. I personally carry Refresh Mega-3 (comes in a gold box...

Your thoughts sound similar to what my co-residents and I felt when we were first year residents in ophtho. I am hearing the same things echoed now by our first year residents. In the first several months, the learning curve is so high that you cannot possibly be an expert at everything, know...

That's a good point. I have used a 3-mirror lens before and like it, though I have a separate 6-mirror gonio that I use for viewing the angle. My thought about the PRP lens is that it gives a full view of the periphery without needing to rotate the mirror and would be more efficient. PS -...