Ophthalmology is the Specialty of Medicine which deals with diseases, treatment and surgery of the eye (and lids, socket etc.) An Ophthalmologist is not an Optometrist who specialized, nor is an Ophthalmologist “just” a Surgeon. An Ophthalmologist, like any other Surgeon, or any Medical Specialist or any Family Doctor started his/her career with a degree in Medicine and a license to practice Medicine. On my biography page, you’ll see I’ve done a few other things, including Military service and Aviation Medicine (ye gads!). I also delivered 80+ babies in my early days of doctoring (with some help from the mothers!) and this is not unusual. All Ophthalmologists are fully trained Medical Practitioners with an MD long before they qualified as Eye Specialists.
Our training to become Specialists is also like other Medical Specialties. After receiving the MD, we study a further 4-6 years (sometimes more) to qualify and then we take examinations before the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (of Canada). If we pass we can call ourselves Eye Specialists, or Ophthalmologists and apply to our Provincial College for a licence to practice. We must remin in good standing with the Medical Council of Canada for our MDs, with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for our specialty fellowships, with the provincial College of Physicians and Surgeons for our licenses, and we must show proof that we retain every five years. Our hospital appointments are renewed yearly and are also subject to Peer Review. Ophthalmologists are the Specialists in eye surgery, in medical eye disease, retinal disease, hereditary, congenital, pediatric eye conditions, neurology of the eye, plastic surgery of the eye, low vision, vision rehabilitation and tumors of the eye. Some Ophthalmologists also sub specialize in “preferred areas”; some Ophthalmologists do “comprehensive” Ophthalmology with many different areas of interest.
The name of the discipline comes from an ancient Greek word, “ophthos”, meaning “eye”. The problem with this is that the Greek root has both a “PH” and a “TH”, a difficult combination for English speakers. It sounds like “RudoPH THe Red Nosed…” but English speakers find this difficult, tending to pronounce it like, “RudolP”. Because of the “P” sound in Optometry and in Optician many people, understandably, get it all mixed up. There is no “P” sound in Ophthalmology.
Sadly, the spelling of Ophthalmology is even harder for some. Within the Victoria Hospitals the spelling of Ophthalmology is about as poor as you’ll find anywhere, so I wrote this little poem a few years ago.
PLEASE DON”T SAY “PEE” IN OPHTHALMOLOGY
English writers all agree
On two “H”s in Ophthalmology.
There are two “L”s as well, you’ll see;
That’s in the root, four in Ophthalmologically.
The first “L” may be spoken quietly
As in calm or psalm or palmistry.
Count them if you are not clear.
Thirteen letters must appear
To make the noun, sixteen in all
For the modifier Ophthalmological
And then two more come naturally
For spelling Ophthalmologically.
The trick, the test, the special bit
Is the magic of pronouncing it.
The “P” is softened by the “H” to make the sound of “-ff”.
The next two letters are, of course, an ordinary “-th”.
Think “RudolPH THe red-…” and you’ll not be wrong.
The “PHTH” is a consonant diPHTHong.
Written by Bruce Lowden, 1993
