More Yahoo Answers

Apparently I have posted a few things there about optometry and ophthalmology that have ruffled some feathers on the internet. Actually, I'm positive I have, most of it many years ago when I was more "gung ho". I've blogged about it here before as well.

Well one of my answers on Yahoo Answers is "making the rounds" and apparently being copied & forwarded to many MD's as an example of how us OD's think we're "real doctors". Consequently 2-3 MD's per month feel the need email me from my Yahoo Answers profile to "put me in my place". They're interesting emails to say the least. Some of them are quite offensive, and some of them are extremely poorly composed. I've come to the conclusion that people can be weird. I tried to find the ACTUAL post I made thats so offensive & is making the rounds, but I have been unsuccessful so far. I probably have 5000 or so total answers on there over 6 years, so who knows where it is? It isn't going to be that easy to find w/o a direct link.

Here's what I would like to say about this on April 24, 2011:

I am not an MD. I have never claimed to be one. I did not attend medical school, I attended optometry school at State University of New York. I am, however, a "doctor". Optometry is a doctorate degree. I am not a tech or ophthalmologist's "assistant" or any of those things. I am as knowledgeable about eyes as anyone, thanks to the excellent education & training I received from State University of New York. I am not a surgeon, I have never claimed to be & I don't want to be. I have also mellowed out a bit over the years and I am becoming less vitriolic towards ophthalmology than I have been in the past. I need ophthalmologists...I refer to them every single day, b/c people need eye surgeries. I would argue that ophthalmology needs optometrists as well.

It may sound like I am boning up for an argument here, but I am not. However, I am also not intimidated by any email from any MD or anyone else.

I work at a practice in Texas that is moderately heavy eye disease & surgical comanagement. Over half of what I do is Rx medications. I am not "bragging" about this, I'm just informing the reader that I do not "just" Rx glasses & contacts.

I do frequently defend optometry on Yahoo Answers, mostly when some ophthalmologist's tech gets on there & answers a bunch of questions incorrectly, adding in that optometrists are pretty much worthless & in order to have anything done besides glasses an ophthalmologist visit is required, which is absolutely not true. That's offensive & I stick up for my degree.

Maybe I'll start posting the "put you in your place" emails I receive. That could be quite humorous, I think.

For now I'd like to say to all the MD's out there: thank you for what you do. I could not work in an ER or do thoracic surgery because I am not trained for that. I am, however, the guy to go to when a person has an eye problem.