Time to declare ophthalmology an independent discipline by initiating Bachelor of Ophthalmic Surgery programme

Medical education, associated with lengthy, exhaustive pathways requisite of time, energy and efforts, restrain an individual from pursuing a career in medicine. Most students enrol in medical colleges under the influence of their family members, and only some strive to seek medicine as their own ambition. Medical students confront a number of problems in memorising huge amount of data and the various strategies are integrated in MBBS curriculum from time to time. After MBBS programme, most graduates tend to abandon studies, some migrate abroad, a few continue as general physicians and even fewer strive to get registered for postgraduate specialisation. This results in suboptimal supply of medical workforce. Inconsideration of the current ophthalmologist work ratio and growing demand for eye care services, an initiative is put forward to introduce Bachelors of Ophthalmic Surgery programme similar to Bachelor of Dental Surgery. Such initiative may facilitate effective learning, enable command in a particular area and encourage more individuals to pursue a career in ophthalmology. Using a questionnaire to undergraduate medical students, medical professors and ophthalmologists were surveyed to evaluate the efficacy of the proposed initiative. The results threw a mixed response.