What is The Difference Between Ophthalmologists and Optometrists?


You need to take good care of your eye health because they are responsible for your precious sense of sight. For that, you need an expert eye specialist, who can help in maintaining good vision for a lifetime. The first thing that you need to know is the difference between two eye care professionals- ophthalmologists andoptometrists. When there is some problem in the eyes and you need a specialist, you should know how these two differ fundamentally? In what condition do you need an optometrist Canberra and in what case you should refer an ophthalmologist?

This blog highlights their key differences.

Ophthalmologist

An Ophthalmologist is a medical doctor who is specialized in eye and vision care. His level of training is high. He can diagnose and treat a large number of ailments associated with the eyes. He is a trained medical doctor who completes degree courses in medical institutions and spend at least eight years in medical training.

He is licensed for practicing medicine and surgery.

A proficient and learned ophthalmologist can:

  • Diagnose and treat all eye diseases
  • Perform eye surgeries
  • Prescribe and fit eyeglasses and contact lenses for correcting visual errors
  • Involve in in-depth medical research and innovation
  • Find out cures for vision disorders 

All Ophthalmologists are trained in resolving eye problems and conditions, some specialize in particular areas of surgical eye care and medicines. 

They spend further few years in additional, highly specialized training. It is called fellowship.

The training may have specialty areas such as Retinopathy, Glaucoma, Neurology, pediatric ophthalmology, plastic surgery, and so on.

With this intense training, they can handle specific eye conditions and more complex conditions.

Patients with special needs get benefited from these supe- specialists.

Optometrist

Optometrists are healthcare professionals, who provide very fundamental vision care. When you feel that there is a slight problem in the visual clarity and you need some correction, you search for the best Optometrist Canberra Near Meon the Internet. Optometrists are trained for performing sight testing and correction. They can check, diagnose, and treat the vision change. He is certainly not a medical doctor by education. However, he has to complete a degree in optometry from a recognized institute.