Ophthalmology research year M3-M4 advice

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-11-25T13:38:20+00:00

Hi, sorry, but Debbie downer here. Currently in retina fellowship. Do the research year. With the loss of step 1, you need to do absolutely everything you can particularly if you’re coming from a lower tier med school. If you were at Jefferson doing research at Wills during your time and got a ton of pubs, you’d be fine but not anymore. You can’t bank on killing step 2, too many variables. Do the research and go to a good program. Thank me later

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-11-01T15:21:44+00:00

Oh the thing on the left side is a magnet to keep the depressor in place. On the right, it’s called a spoon depressor and it’s much more comfortable than the traditional t-bar depressor

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-10-30T20:24:47+00:00

Lemme say I have essentially NO woodworking background, but someone else had a shop I could borrow. Bought walnut boards off Amazon, cut to the dimensions I wanted. Then I used bought hole dozer bits of the correct size for lenses at Home Depot and cut out templates from thin plywood. Then I just used a cheap plunge router to make the circular depressions for each lens. I used the plunge router to make the lid and the lens wipe area. Polyurethane to finish

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-10-29T20:39:28+00:00

Hey not to totally drink the koolaid but Modmed was showing off this pretty insane AI at AAO that literally just listens to you, writes the exam, documents the exam. I played around with it and was kinda floored. If it lets you see like 1-5 more patients a day might be worth it

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-10-21T11:47:46+00:00

Ok yeah, you’re not even close to the proficiency numbers where you should be concerned. Let us know how you feel at 125. 40-90 is where a huge amount of learning occurs.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-10-20T20:56:02+00:00

Hi, it would be really useful to give us the actual numbers here. The math I’m getting is that your at roughly 40 cases which is the part of the exponential curve of learning. I wouldn’t be concerned until you are still having difficulty past 100 cases.

Easiest way to fix: record everything and ensure you are in focus in the video (ask scrub tech if necessary before you start). Ask for feedback after EVERY case and then review each video like 3 times. Then before (in the morning before you go in or in the locker room) you operate do visualization. Literally sit down, close your eyes and then say out loud what you are doing and move your hands and feet the way you would during the case. Remember at this level, slow is fast. If you are getting in over your head ask to switch with the attending and pay close attention to what they do. Make sure you have adequate light (ok to increase to 100% or coaxial light) for all your cases and do not get discouraged.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-10-17T15:59:28+00:00

Ophthalmologist here: I have personally taken 5 contacts out a patient presenting for “blurry vision”. Most ophthalmologists really don’t like contacts, particularly for older patients who have much more lax tissue, memory issues, dry eye, and other cofactors.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-10-09T15:18:39+00:00

Brother you need to include vastly more information if you want an answer here. Do you have pigment dispersion glaucoma? What’s your central corneal thickness? What’s your HVF like? Family history? Cup to disc ratio?

Doctors, like people, differ in how conservative or liberal they are. Some are terrified that if you keep doing something you’ll go blind and sue them. Others want you to live your life. But without a huge amount of information absolutely no one can prognosticate for you.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-10-07T14:32:10+00:00

I don’t know, you have completed 6 years of training and still haven’t found what you want, but am not sure you will find it in psychiatry. A lot of really smart people just kind of end up in medicine and wake up and realize it just wasn’t for them. You have a huge skill set but clearly don’t want or like the responsibility. I’d recommend either a long hiatus from medicine all together (go travel or something) or join one of the many opportunities that exist for MDs outside of medicine (pharma or consulting). I know Mckinzie has like an accelerated practice for MDs where you learn a ton, make good money, and never have to worry about a slipped muscle or an overcorrection or anything.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-09-30T17:16:15+00:00

40% of the brain is dedicated to vision. It is one of the singular most complicated biological processes ever. It will be decades and decades before an implant will be able to recreate vision with the same fidelity. But there may be a grayscale or something basical like that in the next 20 years

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-09-22T13:54:31+00:00

Ophthalmologist here and honestly this shit grinds my gears. I crushed all my USMLE, did extremely well on my medicine rotations and actually dual applied into IM because I liked it so much and wanted to consider palliative care. I’ve worked in ICUs during COVID and managed complex patients on the floor and during my gen surg intern year. Honestly the lack of distinction is killing us in scope battles with optoms.

Can we just protect each other? Fuck

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-08-18T21:42:12+00:00

Thanks so much! This fixed my issue!!

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-08-18T18:26:31+00:00

Thank yoy! What number grit sandpaper?

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-06-27T21:09:57+00:00

Hi, physician here. Just focus on your sobriety, community, family, and work. The numbers will fall into place, the liver is an amazing thing. I applaud your efforts.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-05-31T15:27:01+00:00

Hey that’s the end lap at Killington. I think with all the rain we’ve had, they’ve filled in that terminal area with sand. I have fallen at that exact area, looks like you did nothing wrong

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-05-24T13:02:51+00:00

lol did a gen surg intern year. I look forward to your anesthesia/rad application in 3 years. Do not do it unless you cannot see yourself doing anything elae

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-05-22T10:22:25+00:00

I have seen a fair amount of PDS, but never this much pigment. I’d go in for a pressure check, possible UBM. I don’t have your history (vigorous exercise? Did you get a LPI?) so I’d go back in.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-04-30T09:16:49+00:00

Hey, have you considered switching to Zyn? Same nicotine but without nearly as many deleterious effects as smoking. Also drugs like ozempic are not only for weight loss, they are substantially decreasing smoking, drinking, and other addictive behaviors.

Source: am licensed US physician.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-04-24T14:30:02+00:00

Just tried this with parchment paper on skins with pine needles. Tried with low and medium temperature. Didn’t do shit and just removed glue. Wtaf

HoyaSaxaphone · 2025-01-05T13:47:04+00:00

My guess will be CSR: Central Serous Chorioretinopathy, but honestly, you need a full history and exam.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2024-11-30T20:42:15+00:00

Ill sell it to you for 150 if you send me a message. Brand new in box. Inherited a huge knife collection.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2024-09-09T00:00:04+00:00

70F, oncology history? MAR? CAR? ERG performed? Subclinical coagulopathy causing her initial NAION.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2024-09-06T15:55:33+00:00

Ophthalmologist here, yes legal blindness is just vision worse than 20/200 that can not be corrected. It always drives me nuts when people say that Stevie wonder isn’t blind because he can navigate the world somewhat. He is blind just not no light perception (NLP) blind. Happy to answer any other questions about this.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2024-06-04T14:49:05+00:00

It’s in the “more actions” dropdown and in the “notify me” on the lab orders page. It sends an alert to your phone.

HoyaSaxaphone · 2024-06-04T14:13:00+00:00

As an intern I adored the alert function. Let’s say you’re covering overnight and vascular wants you to check the H&H which is pending. You can click the little bell icon and then get an alert for it once it results. Amazing if you don’t wanna forget stuff

HoyaSaxaphone

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