There’s a wide variety of career opportunities in healthcare that encompass a number of different roles and skill levels, including medical assistants, nurses, and doctors. While all of these healthcare jobs are extremely important, doctors have a particularly essential role to play. Doctors can specialize in fields of study that focus on specific organ groups, like cardiologists for the heart, neurologists for the brain, and ophthalmologists for the eyes. Their specialized knowledge allows them to treat specific illnesses with a level of expertise that can be difficult to find in other careers.
This expertise means that specialists can be in high demand. According to eye surgeon Daniel Terveen, the field of ophthalmology, in particular, holds some exciting career opportunities. In fact, studies show that the demand for ophthalmologists will increase by 24 percent from 2020 to 2035. But what do ophthalmologists do, anyway, and why should you consider ophthalmology as a career? Here’s what you need to know:
The Growing Demand for Ophthalmologists
A recent report in the journal Ophthalmology highlights a declining ophthalmology workforce, with workforce inadequacy potentially climbing as high as 36 percent relative to the growing demand for eye care services in the coming years. The same report anticipates a 12 percent decline in full-time equivalent ophthalmologists by 2035, while demand is expected to grow by 24 percent, making it the second-worst rate of workforce inadequacy among surgical specialties. This indicates that ophthalmologists are needed now more than ever, especially with reports saying that the current ophthalmology workforce cannot keep up with the increasing demand for eye care.
Globally, 1.1 billion people are living with sight loss, and this figure is projected to rise to 1.8 billion by 2050. Eye experts suggest that additional ophthalmologists are necessary to address the spike in demand for age-related vision care. This is where the prestige of ophthalmology as a profession comes into play. According to ophthalmologist Rishikesh Gandhewar, the ability to restore vision is a “gratifying privilege,” especially with recent studies showing that 88 percent of people consider sight to be the most valuable sense. Living with visual impairment can reduce life quality. Ophthalmologists, therefore, have a duty to restore or preserve their patients’ eye health to help them avoid the consequences of vision loss.
What tasks do ophthalmologists perform? Here’s what you should know:
Addressing Ocular Concerns
Ophthalmologists are eye care specialists with relevant training and experience in diagnosing and treating ocular problems and delivering total eye care.
For instance, ophthalmologists are qualified to conduct comprehensive eye exams, where they assess a patient’s overall vision health, detect early possible symptoms of an ocular condition, and prescribe treatments to help address eye issues. Eye tests are now more accessible than ever for patients, who simply have to search “eye exam near me” online for the nearest service in their area and book an appointment. Target Optical is among the retailers making eye exams more accessible, with over 500 stores across the US and dedicated self-employed eye experts at each location. Generally, eye experts recommend a yearly comprehensive eye exam to ensure healthy vision. Through eye tests, ophthalmologists can provide early treatment to prevent vision loss.
Aside from eye exams, ophthalmologists prescribe vision correction tools like glasses or contact lenses, depending on patient needs. These tools help correct refractive errors by bending light rays and focusing them correctly on the retina for clearer eyesight. By prescribing the right tools, ophthalmologists help patients address ocular issues like astigmatism, nearsightedness, and farsightedness and prevent them from worsening.
Ophthalmologists can also perform eye surgeries for more severe eye problems, such as cataracts, retinal detachment, and glaucoma, which can help improve or restore vision. Today, ophthalmologists can leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to boost surgery outcomes. For instance, by using AI in cataract surgery, like the ALLY Adaptive Cataract Treatment System, ophthalmologists can enjoy higher precision in calculating the ideal intraocular lens power that should be implanted in a patient’s eye for better vision outcomes.
Ophthalmology is a good choice if you’re looking to follow a career path in healthcare. Aside from being an in-demand profession, ophthalmologists also carry with them the gratifying opportunity to improve a patient’s quality of life by restoring and caring for their vision.
References
Anton, N., et al. 2023. Comprehensive review on the use of Artificial Intelligence in ophthalmology and future research directions. Diagnostics 13(1):100. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9818832/
Berkowitz, S.T., et al. 2024. Ophthalmology workforce projections in the United States, 2020 to 2035. Ophthalmology 131(2):133-39. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0161642023006772
Gandhewar, R. 2023. Why is ophthalmology so brilliant? Eye 37:3528-29. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41433-023-02560-6
Target Optical. n.d. “Schedule an Eye Exam for You and Your Family—Find Your Nearest Target Optical.” Accessed February 7, 2025. https://www.targetoptical.com/to-us/eye-exams
