History A 48-year-old farmer with gradual worsening vision in her only eye was referred by her optician. She had recently moved to the UK and required an interpreter during consultation. She seemed to have had vision problems since childhood. Although...
Ophthalmologists see a large number of patients with headaches or facial pain in the ophthalmic outpatient clinics or in emergency clinics. Over two articles, I will discuss several causes of headaches, ocular manifestations and proposed management and referral options. It...
Let’s face it, patients with conjunctivitis don’t always produce the most stimulating consultations and most of the time we can manage them in auto-pilot. The prospect of delving into such a patient’s sexual history is not overly appealing, but this...
Ophthalmology is an extremely popular specialty, with the competition ratio at ST1 level entry being 10:1 in 2023 [1]. Consequently, applicants are required to achieve higher portfolio scores to remain competitive. For those considering a career in ophthalmology, two points...
Steve Schallhorn: Fighter Pilot. In the spring of 1987, I travelled to the cinema at Hendon Central in London with some school friends to watch the newly released movie The Witches of Eastwick starring Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer. Unfortunately...
It is always nice to get a thank you card, especially so when it comes from someone at the tail end of an overbooked clinic who had waited patiently well past their appointed slot. Such was the case when I...
A 48-year-old female has had multiple drug treatment for glaucoma and is still losing field of vision. How do you manage this over time? This patient is at high-risk for going blind and should be managed aggressively to protect remaining...
Simerdip Kaur takes a look at the latest ophthalmology-related news stories and asks which are based on facts and which are ‘fake news’. Headline: Patients blinded by stem cells! How safe are they really? Ever since the successful results following...
Supercomputer: “The answer to the great question of Life, the Universe and Everything is…”Programmer: “Yes…?”Supercomputer: “42. It was a tough assignment”.Programmer: “42? Is that all you have got to show for seven and a half million years work?” In this...
3 April 2026
| Aoife Shanahan, Archith Kamath
|
EYE - General
Getting into ophthalmology training has become increasingly competitive in recent years. In 2025, the competition ratio rose to over 21:1, compared to 3:1 in 2019 [1,2]. Similar trends are seen across other specialties, with over 30,000 doctors applying for just...