Career in ophthalmology

[siolait@hotmail.com]

Hi I'm a 4th year at Leeds and I'm interested in career in ophthalmology. Can anyone tell me how I can make my CV look good for applications for ophthalmology jobs, how MMC has affected the training, what opportunities for research there are available, what the competition for posts is like etc? I'm taking Duke Elder Exam this year, my elective is in an ophthalmology department and I've self designed an SSC on strabismus.

Many thanks,

Jon

[karnesh]

Well, if you're doing the Duke Elder that's a good start. I can't talk about research as i've yet to reach that level, but I can tell you that competition for places even at F2 level is fierce (not too many places in UK offer F2 with ophthalmology). With MMC about to hit, everything is up in the air. Those who are F2 or have less than 1 years experience at the SHO level can apply for the 1st year of run through training (OST1). Those who have more experience (ie: SHO year 2 and above) will have to compete for entry into OST2 and OST3, depending on their experience and the exams they've passed.

We still don't know how many OST1 places there are going to be for the first applicants in Dec 06/Jan 07, but it is estimated that for the London Deanery area (which includes Kent, Surrey, Sussex deanery areas), there will be between 10-15 OST1 places. No numbers have yet been forthcoming about the rest of the country. In terms of application, it seems that people will only be able to make 2 ST applications, regardless of speciality and region (eg: ophth in london, with surgery in south-west). This should hopefully help remove those people who apply for jobs for the sake of it, as hopefully they'll go for the specialities where they'll stand a better chance of shortlisting (eg: medicine and surgery). However, it seems that the application forms don't give much credit (if any) for audits, exams...etc..., so it's going to be a case of if you can tick the appropriate boxes on the forms, then you stand as good a chance of being shortlisted as anyone else, regardless of other qualifications/experience. I don't think that shortlisting will be done by consultants either, and with the experience supposedly being made anonymous, people are currently afraid as to how shortlisting will be done if the forms select so shallowly through the tick boxes. For example (as a few of my colleagues see things), if there are 2000 applicants for OST1, and 500 make full marks on the application form (thus 1500 removed already), how will they select who gets shortlisted if they only want to interview 100 people? Will there then be some further scrutiny of qualifications (supposedly not going to happen), or will it be a case of "pick up the firt 50 forms that come to hand and we have our interviewees"?

Bottom line, it's going to be very messy this year, and possibly next year. By the time you reach the stage where you're thinking about OST1 applications, hopefully there'll be a lot more info around. All i'll say is that if you're certain you want to do ophth don't be discouraged by people who say it's hard to do and very competitive. Nowadays nothing is easy, and you have to work for what you want.

Good luck.

[karnesh]

Add on:

They're talking about removing the need for people to do research for the sake of it, and have it only for those who want to do it, but it's still early days to tell what's going to happen. Just keep your ear to the ground.

[karnesh]

Been a good few months now since I posted here last, so for anyone who hasn't been keeping track of relevent news (where have you been?!), here's a little update....

55 OST 1 posts across the UK, you can see the breakdown figures on the MMC website, along with interview schedules for all specialities in all deaneries.

Most people have only been shortlisted for 1-2 places, though a few have managed to get shortlisted for all 4! (though considering the major problems that have happened in this 1st round, it's not necessarily an indication of an applicants' ability, or even lack of - lots of great people didn't get shortlisted).

As for interviews, they've been pretty hardcore. Not surprising as they have to be a minimum of 30 mins. They've covered portfolios (see RCOphth website for info on how to organise your portfolio for the interviews), standard fodder (ie: Clinical Governance, Audit, Critical Appraisal....etc....), hand-eye co-ordination with suturing, practical skills with direct ophthalmoscope usage assessment (ie: can you use it proper MRCP stylie and actually see?), and they've actually had people look at random papers for 15 mins and appraise them then get grilled on them. Oh, and the standard grilling too...

The other speciality interviews aren't too much different from what i've heard, though there are some disturbing rumours of some strange methods (ie: making origami paper cranes by following verbal instructions)....

Bottom line - don't underestimate these interviews and think they'll be walkovers. Especially those of you who are F1's or obtaining an F1 only right now. You guys have probably never had a real serious interview like you used to get for the old school PRHO and SHO jobs (and I speak from experience because I have, so I can compare). The closest thing you can compare this to is your med school interview, and as an analogy, that's like someone who's just finished primary school now attempting their GCSE's, or possibly A-levels. Without prep you're going to get squashed. Make sure you speak to your seniors (F2's, SHO's (while they still exist), and even Reg's), because they can be a great source of info in terms of what they look for, and what topics are likely to be brought up. It's no longer about abortion and euthanasia, but about clinical governance, evidence based medicine, patient safety...etc... And there's no point just knowing definitions anymore. You need to understand what these things mean and be able to discuss it in your own words...

[doctorluv]

would it be advisible to sit the mrc ophth before completing F2?

[karnesh]

Having applied to Ophth for 2 years running now, I can honestly say that anything you have on your application that gives you an edge is a bonus. If you can get your FRCOphth Part 1 as an F2, it will look nice on your application. If not, you could always get a MRCP or MRCS Part1 at least.

Interestingly, it seems that whatever you use to tick the boxes with may not have to be Ophth specific. I have heard multiple reports of people applying (eg: surgical reg's...etc...) who have no ophth experience / shown no ophth interest before, and who have been shortlisted for places like London for ST1. They do have research, publications, audits...etc...so it may be that just having these things is enough to be shortlisted, rather than being geared towards the speciality in particular.

Of course, it's not as if they make much effort to look at your portfolio at interview, or even give you a chance to sell yourself with the "structured" format.

[blackeyez09]

Hi does anyone have any updates on a career in ophthalmology. I am currently F1 but have no F2 post in ophthalmology due to choosing the specialty after applying to foundation programme in final year of med school.... I intend to spend a year doing an MSc in Ophthalmology or biology of vision at UCL but wondered if his could increase my chances of getting a training post.

best wishes linda

[Jaywalker]

We have now published a book entitled "How to Get that Training Post in Ophthalmology", which may be helpful for those wishing to take up ophthalmology as a career, particularly those based in the UK.

For more details, please visit:
How to Get that Training Post in Ophthalmology

Good luck!