Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

The need for ophthalmologists is greater than ever

Jeslin Kera
Education
July 26, 2021
Share
Tweet
Share

Increased prevalence of ophthalmic diseases due to continued population growth and aging requires an increase in the number of ophthalmologists nationwide. Multiple sources, including the National Eye Institute (NEI) and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), report that the number of people with the most common eye diseases will double between 2010 and 2050. This includes the elderly suffering from long-term eye diseases such as cataracts, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, dry eye disease, and glaucoma.

As per the 2010 statistics by the NEI, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is most common among older white Americans, affects more than 14 percent of white Americans of age > 80. Starting at age 40, the risk of cataracts increases with every decade of life, and by age 75, half of white Americans develop cataracts. 53 percent of blacks, 61 percent of Hispanic Americans, and 70 percent of whites have cataracts by age 80. Diabetic retinopathy is most common among Hispanic Americans by age > 50, and by age 75, 19 percent of Hispanic Americans have this disease. On the other hand, black Americans of age > 40 have the highest prevalence rate for glaucoma, and by age 80, 12 percent of blacks have glaucoma.

Thus, the estimated prediction of the total number of people with visual impairment is growing due to a rapidly growing elderly population. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), people over the age of 65 currently account for 34 percent of the demand for physicians, while they will account for 42 percent of the demand by the year 2034. 2.71 million people in the United States were diagnosed with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) in 2011, and it is estimated that 7.32 million people in the U.S. will develop POAG by the year 2050. The highest per capita POAG burden is estimated to double in Florida, Texas, and New Mexico in the next 40 years.

Consequently, there is an enormous need for ophthalmologists throughout the nation, and while this need is increasing, around a quarter of current ophthalmologists are reaching retirement age. Within the next decade, more than 2 out of every 5 current physicians will be of age 65 or older, according to the AAMC. Data shows physicians are already suffering high levels of burnout before the COVID-19 pandemic, and with this pandemic, the additional physician depression and burnout could convince physicians to expedite their retirement.

Data presented by the International Council of Ophthalmology shows that there were 18,805 total ophthalmologists in 2012 in the United States and 59 ophthalmologists per million population. In 2021, 498 medical students matched into ophthalmology. There has been an increase from 458 matches in 2012 to 498 in 2021. Although the need for ophthalmologists has continued to increase during this time, the training of future ophthalmologists has only increased by 40 in this timeframe.

Therefore, a current number of active ophthalmologists is insufficient to treat the growing elderly population and the increasing eye diseases in the nation. This challenge of not having enough ophthalmic workforce will become even more alarming in the future with the added stress from COVID-19. It is important to take the initiative now to encourage the growth of more training programs and increase exposure to the field in medical school to meet this growing need. The top three reasons why medical students did not choose a career in ophthalmology were insufficient interest, lack of exposure in the field, and the feeling by medical students that the field is too specialized. The same study also suggests that increased exposure to the field early in medical school could be an effective strategy to increase interest among students. Thus, more robust data is necessary to further evaluate our growing need for ophthalmologists in the U.S. and how to appropriately respond to this need.

Eyesight is a beautiful gift, and ophthalmologists as the protectors of this gift are needed now more than ever to preserve eyesight and treat eye conditions for as many people as possible.

Jeslin Kera is a medical student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Why doctors can’t rest [PODCAST]

July 25, 2021 Kevin 0
…
Next

A new vaccine emoji to get more COVID-19 shots into arms

July 26, 2021 Kevin 7
…

Tagged as: Ophthalmology

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Why doctors can’t rest [PODCAST]
Next Post >
A new vaccine emoji to get more COVID-19 shots into arms

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • Rethinking consent in the age of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica

    Peter F. Nichol, MD, PhD
  • Medical school in the age of Zoom

    Zachariah Tman
  • The medical education system hates families

    Anonymous
  • America’s inadequate LGBTQ medical education

    Haidn Foster
  • Why positive role models are essential in medical education

    Robert Centor, MD
  • How medical education fails minority students

    Shenyece Ferguson

More in Education

  • Why health care must adopt a harm reduction model

    Dylan Angle
  • Gen Z’s DIY approach to health care

    Amanda Heidemann, MD
  • What street medicine taught me about healing

    Alina Kang
  • How listening makes you a better doctor before your first prescription

    Kelly Dórea França
  • What it means to be a woman in medicine today

    Annie M. Trumbull
  • How Japan and the U.S. can collaborate for better health care

    Vikram Madireddy, MD, Masashi Hamada, MD, PhD, and Hibiki Yamazaki
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Love, birds, and fries: a story of innocence and connection

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

      Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • What street medicine taught me about healing

      Alina Kang | Education
    • The silent cost of choosing personalization over privacy in health care

      Dr. Giriraj Tosh Purohit | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Why heart and brain must work together for love

      Felicia Cummings, MD | Physician
    • Who are you outside of the white coat?

      Annia Raja, PhD | Conditions
    • How hospitals can prepare for CMS’s new patient safety rule

      Kim Adelman, PhD | Conditions
    • Physician practice ownership: risks, rewards, and reality

      Paul Morton, CFP | Finance
    • How peer support can save physician lives [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why AI in health care needs the same scrutiny as chemotherapy

      Rafael Rolon Rivera, MD | Tech

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 3 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Love, birds, and fries: a story of innocence and connection

      Dr. Damane Zehra | Physician
    • How a doctor defied a hurricane to save a life

      Dharam Persaud-Sharma, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Why physician strikes are a form of hospice

      Patrick Hudson, MD | Physician
    • What street medicine taught me about healing

      Alina Kang | Education
    • The silent cost of choosing personalization over privacy in health care

      Dr. Giriraj Tosh Purohit | Tech
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why transgender health care needs urgent reform and inclusive practices

      Angela Rodriguez, MD | Conditions
    • COVID-19 was real: a doctor’s frontline account

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Conditions
    • Why primary care doctors are drowning in debt despite saving lives

      John Wei, MD | Physician
    • Confessions of a lipidologist in recovery: the infection we’ve ignored for 40 years

      Larry Kaskel, MD | Conditions
    • Why taxing remittances harms families and global health care

      Dalia Saha, MD | Finance
    • mRNA post vaccination syndrome: Is it real?

      Harry Oken, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Why heart and brain must work together for love

      Felicia Cummings, MD | Physician
    • Who are you outside of the white coat?

      Annia Raja, PhD | Conditions
    • How hospitals can prepare for CMS’s new patient safety rule

      Kim Adelman, PhD | Conditions
    • Physician practice ownership: risks, rewards, and reality

      Paul Morton, CFP | Finance
    • How peer support can save physician lives [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why AI in health care needs the same scrutiny as chemotherapy

      Rafael Rolon Rivera, MD | Tech

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

The need for ophthalmologists is greater than ever
3 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...