Cataract surgury being preformed. The most common type of eye eurgery.
Ever been to the eye doctor and wondered what it must be like to work and specialize on such a delicate and intricate organ? Think it might be interesting to possibly pursue a career in? Or just want to be able to know a little something about the subject to impress the doctor the next time an eye appointment comes around? If so, then here’s some knowledge straight from the horse’s mouth itself: local ophthalmologist Mark Morin.
Morin is an ophthalmologist, or in other words, an eye doctor. In his line of work he treats patients with any and all conditions involving the eye. As he isn’t specialized in any one of the sub specialty areas in ophthalmology, he doesn’t just focus on any one type of eye surgery or procedure. Instead, he does every type of surgery and procedure out there, ranging from laser correction and cataract removal, to glaucoma surgery and everything in between besides retinal surgery.
Over his career, Morin has performed thousands upon thousands of surgical and medical procedures. When asked what he enjoys the most about his job as an ophthalmologist, he said, “The instant gratification of seeing my hard work pay off, knowing that right after a procedure there’s an immediate impact on my patient and seeing that firsthand. There’s nothing better than that.”
Ophthalmologist Cheryl Lee feels similarly. She said that she enjoys, “Getting to meet and care for my patients and family members. And I especially enjoy procedures that help to restore patients’ vision.”
There are many sub areas in ophthalmology that focus on just one area of the field. Some examples include cornea subspecialty, glaucoma subspeciality, cataract subspeciality and pediatric ophthalmology, to name a few. Each specializes in one area of eye medical and surgical procedures
Morin explained that ophthalmology wasn’t what he had planned when going into pre-med school. If people had told him years ago that this is the career he’d have, he would have called them crazy. He went on to say that he had gone into pre-med heading toward a career in research, thinking that’s what he wanted to do. But during his time in pre-med school, he discovered a passion for ophthalmology after some hands-on experience and never looked back.
Morin’s advice for people interested in the medical profession is first to have some experience before diving into it and then possibly finding out that there is a lack of interest after enrolling into a school’s pre-med program. People can do this by job shadowing a physician to get a hands-on feel for the job. Next is to be prepared for needing more than just academic success but to also be ready and able to put in the long hours, hard work and some self-sacrifice. Always take every chance that occurs to take part in medical research and clinical opportunities that pop up, as that’s what medical schools take into careful consideration when accepting pre-med students. Last, don’t be too set on one particular path when going into pre-med school, as people may find out that what they thought they enjoyed most isn’t actually what they truly do. It’s wise to keep an open mind in med school and not to blindly follow any one set path.
Ophthalmology is a vast medical field with many subspecialities people can enter into if they choose. The path to becoming an ophthalmologist is long and difficult, just as with anything else worth it in life. Its greatest satisfaction is in being able to directly improve the vision and lives of the patients being treated. If there are people interested by this prospect, then they should look into becoming an ophthalmologist and improving the lives of many, many people who could use their help.
