Ophthalmologist vs Optometrist

I've gone to eye doctors most of my life not realizing the different types. I had one to remove my cataracts, one examine my eyes after surgery, one examine eyes yearly, one for my retina, and one for my cornea. Needless to say I just can't drop into a Lenscrafters to have my eyes examined. Below is an explanation of how they are different.

Ophthalmologist vs Optometrist

One of the most common mistakes many patients make is to consider an optometrist and ophthalmologist as the same position, however there is a huge difference between the two. Optometrists are usually the primary health provider for normal vision problems and yearly checkups. The position requires a Doctor of Optometry degree and a license, and allows the diagnosing for common vision acuity problems like farsightednesster and nearsightedness, prescribing corrective eyeglasses, contact lenses, dispensing and prescription of certain medication, plus testintases and conditions. Optometrists can handle all this, usually in their own office or for a firm.

Ophthalmologists can perform the same functions as optometrists, but are considered a higher position as they actually are medical doctors with Doctors of Medicine or Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine degrees who specialize in the eyes and vision care. This means an ophthalmologist can diagnose and treat highly complicated eyes issues, can perform surgeries like Lasik and repair retinal damage, and can handle more area specific cases in vision care. The main difference between the two eye-related careers is that an ophthalmologist can handle surgeries and other issues that require more training on the medical side.