Optometric physicians (optometrists) are REAL DOCTORS. They have been trained at optometry schools and receive a doctorate of optometry upon graduation. The degree is an OD. Ophthalmologists are REAL DOCTORS. They have been trained at a medical school, receive a doctorate in medicine, and upon graduation specialize in the field of opthalmologiy. The degree is an MD.

Some of your answerers have said that essentially the difference is that optometrists don’t do surgery and ophthalmologists do. Well that just isn’t so. I am an optometric physician (optometrist) and I REGULARLY perform surgical procedures in my office, am legally licensed by my state to do so, and am reimbursed for these surgical procedures by medical insurance companies including Medicare.

The reason there is so much confusion is that even though all optometric physicians are trained in optometry school to perform these surgical procedures, not every state recognizes their training and licenses them to perform these surgeries. Over the last several years, though, state after state has begun to realize how well trained optometrists are and are therefore passing legislation to allow optometrists to practice to the full extent of their training. Of course, there are several ocular surgical procedures for which I am not licensed because simply I am not educated nor qualified to perform these surgeries. And my state board will not allow me to perform these surgeries. But for many diseases of the eye, (in states that recognize optometric surgery) optometrist’s and ophthalmologist’s abilities overlap.

I regularly (and have been doing so for about 18 years) perform Yag laser capsulotomy (a surgical procedure), anterior foreign body removal (a surgical procedure), anterior corneal stromal puncture (a surgical procedure) to name a few. I also regularly diagnose and treat ocular diseases such as corneal ulcers, bacterial and viral infections, iritis, keratitis, and glaucoma, to name just a few.

Now there is a good chance that if an opthalmologist sees what I have written, you are going to see a pretty emotionally charged response to my position. There has been for several years a pretty heated battle going on between the two professions. Some (but thankfully not all) opthalmologists believe that unless a person is educated in a medical school they do not have the intelligence nor skills to diagnose and treat diseases of the eye and perform surgery. But when a non biased open minded group of men in state legislative bodies around our country are provided the FACTS about the education and capabiltity of optometric physicians they are increasingly and overwhelmingly granting optometric physicians the LEGAL RIGHT to do what we have been trained to do.

So no matter what you may have heard, optometrists are REAL doctors who treat REAL patients with REAL diseases with REAL surgical instruments. And by the way, we do a REAL GOOD JOB of it.

optometrist= a specialist licensed to practice optometry (not a doctor and most of the time person giving you your eye test)

So basically, the Ophthalmologist had more school and is an actual Doctor.

The Optometrists also treat many disorders of the eyes.

The Opthalmologists take a 15 week course on refractions, but the Optometrist had 4 years.

The Opthalmologists are the surgeons who do the operations , so they are more highly trained in that area, but not for visual examinations in most cases.