What is the purpose of an ophthalmologist completing an additional one to two years in a fellowship after residency?
Super-specialization in a specific area like retina or pediatric ophthalmology
While residency training provides broad expertise across the spectrum of eye diseases and surgical management, many ophthalmologists pursue further, highly focused training through a fellowship. A fellowship represents a period of super-specialization, typically lasting one to two additional years beyond the standard residency. This advanced step allows the ophthalmologist to concentrate their expertise on a particularly complex or narrow domain within ophthalmology. Examples of these highly specialized areas include focusing on retina disorders, pediatric ophthalmology (dealing with the unique needs of children's vision), or plastic and reconstructive surgery related to the eye structures.
