Opthalmologist
An opthalmologist is an eye care professional that diagnoses and treats people with eye diseases and sight problems requiring specialized treatment. It is extremely frightening to have unhealthy eyes and concern about the ability to see, and an opthalmologist is the professional to talk with as they specialize in prevention and surgical treatment of eye diseases. Often referred to as eye surgeons, their specialized training allows them able to diagnose and provide total eye care such as eye examinations, surgical and medical eye care, diagnosing eye diseases and prevention. They often perform surgery to prevent or improve vision related conditions.
The difference between an opthalmologist, an optometrist and optician is that opthalmologists are surgical doctors who operate on patients eyes, while the other two do not. Some of the services they perform are routine eye exams, eyeglass prescriptions, diagnosis eye diseases and eye disorders, provide the necessary treatment, surgery, and supply preventative medical information.
If an opthalmologist decides to practice in a subspecialty area such as glaucoma, external and cornea disease, or ophthalmic plastic surgery, they may require additional education and training. They treat some eye diseases, such as the early stages of glaucoma with eye drops, medication or pills. If the patient has cataracts, they often require laser surgery, which is a very safe, effective, common surgical procedure to remove the cataracts. Although there is no cure for some eye conditions, opthalmologists offer support, advice and the necessary counseling while supervising their patient's condition. Their main goals are preventing eye conditions through early diagnostic procedures and treating eye disease.
Common work activities include:
- Consulting with clients, completing eye examinations and ordering the necessary additional tests.
- Reviewing test results, meeting with clients and discussing options for treatment of the various conditions of the eye.
- Explaining medical terms, outlining reasonable expectations for treatment and making recommendations to clients.
- Meeting and consulting with other medical staff involved in the patient's treatment if appropriate.
- Hiring and training support staff including nurses, assistants and technicians if appropriate.
- Maintaining all required patient records and files.
- Attending trainings to stay current with various methods of treating eye diseases and conditions of the eye.
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