Cornea vs comp - pgy4 looking for perspectives
New PGY4 with the decision of applying to cornea fellowship versus going into comp coming down to the wire. Anyone else made a similar decision between comp and cornea?
To this point in residency, I’ve found I really love cataract surgery and want that to be a centerpiece of my practice. I see myself going into private practice rather than academics. Cornea seems like a way to get a little more surgical variety on top of cataracts, with surgeries that also tend to have good outcomes (relative to something like glaucoma or retina) and would keep things a little more interesting. Cornea also seems like it would make me more competitive in certain job markets, but I’m not sure how much of that benefit cornea has vs. something like glaucoma that’s much more in demand.
In terms of downsides, I keep hearing how transplants are super low volume in private practice and a lot of cornea specialists end up functioning as comp out in the community. I’ve also heard that being cornea trained can make you a dumping ground for gnarly ulcers, frustrating dry eye patients, etc.
Any other considerations that people found helpful deciding between the two?