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Applying for ophthalmology ST1 in 2026: What’s new?

Competition for ophthalmology ST1 has intensified steadily over recent cycles, rising from ~9:1 (2022) to ~10:1 (2023), ~14:1 (2024) and ~22:1 (2025) [1]. Against this background, applicants benefit from a structured approach: mapping achievements to portfolio domains early, identifying gaps...

An elective in the land down under

My clinical elective was spent at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (RVEEH) in Melbourne. As Australia’s only specialist tertiary hospital dedicated entirely to eye disease, RVEEH gave me significant exposure to, and enhanced my clinical understanding of, ophthalmology....

Cavernous sinus syndrome

Anatomically the cavernous sinus is a plexus of multiple veins that are connected and within this plexus there are several important vascular and neurological structures. These include cranial nerves III, IV, V1 (and sometimes V2), VI as well as the...

Chemical injury

You are the on-call ophthalmologist. You receive a call from A&E regarding a 45-year-old man who sustained a chemical injury. He was mixing some cement, when a small amount entered his left eye. He was not wearing any protective goggles....

Traumatic optic neuropathy

In neuro-ophthalmology we get asked a lot about management of patients who suffered significant trauma and presented with loss of vision secondary to presumed traumatic optic neuropathy (TON). TON happens usually in the context of significant craniofacial trauma. The incidence...

How to nearly (but not quite) get into ST1 ophthalmology training – some reflections

Ophthalmology is often considered to be an elite, highly competitive specialty, with little room for failure. Candidates and trainees tend to cultivate a certain urbane and confident style, and the bottleneck at ST1 can feel rather intense. The majority of...

Supranuclear ocular motility disorders

Figure 1: Bilateral INO Introduction Complex ocular motility disorders are a diagnostic challenge. These patients come with very complex ocular motility presentations and require a careful and detailed assessment in order to find the correct diagnosis and arrange appropriate investigations....

Myopia-related strabismus – heavy eye syndrome

Introduction Myopia can be associated with any type of strabismus, but high myopia has increased frequency of esotropia and vertical heterotropia. The incidence and severity of the strabismus increases with the degree of myopia and age of the patient. Classification...

Demyelinating optic neuropathy

Introduction Optic neuritis (ON) is an inflammatory process affecting the optic nerve. After glaucoma, it is the most common optic neuropathy affecting patients under the age of 50. The usual presentation of typical ON is unilateral subacute loss of vision...