Ophthalmology Profile
Updated December 2019
1 Table of Contents Slide . General Information 3-5 . Total number & number/100,000 population by province, 2019 6 . Number/100,000 population, 1995-2019 7 . Number by gender & year, 1995-2019 8 . Percentage by gender & age, 2019 9 . Number by gender & age, 2019 10 . Percentage by main work setting, 2019 11 . Percentage by practice organization, 2017 12 . Hours worked per week (excluding on-call), 2019 13 . On-call duty hours per month, 2019 14 . Percentage by remuneration method 15 . Professional & work-life balance satisfaction, 2019 16 . Number of retirees during the three year period of 2016-2018 17 . Employment situation, 2017 18 . Links to additional resources 19
2 General information
Ophthalmology deals with the screening, diagnosis and management of optical, medical and surgical disorders and diseases of the eye, associated orbital structures and neuro-visual pathways. The specialty relies on a combination of diagnostic, medical and surgical skills. Most surgical interventions are microsurgical requiring excellent fine-motor manual dexterity. Ophthalmologists operate within a fairly specific area of expertise but on a broad range of patients, from newborns to geriatric patients. A large portion of the care and treatment they provide is done in their private office. They are the leaders of the eye care team interacting with other physicians and health care professionals in the management of eye care, including orthoptists, ophthalmic technicians, nurses and optometrists.
Source: Pathway evaluation program 3 General information
There are a number of subspecialties within ophthalmology, including cornea and external disease, glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, ophthalmic pathology, ophthalmic plastic surgery, pediatric ophthalmology, retina, uveitis and low vision. Upon completion of medical school, to become certified in ophthalmology requires an additional 5 years of Royal College-approved residency training. This training includes: . 1 year of basic clinical training; . 4 years of Royal College-approved residency in ophthalmology, including sufficient experience to achieve competency in performing procedures such as: topical & regional anesthesia (of the eye and periocular structures); laser therapy; surgery (for cataract, enucleation, eyelids, glaucoma etc); surgical management of trauma to the eye, ocular adnexa and orbit; ultrasound examination of the eye, and interpretation of diagnostic imaging of the eye and visual system.
Source: Pathway evaluation program 4 General information
Residents must also have sufficient experience to achieve competency in collecting and interpreting data, carrying out diagnostic procedures, making appropriate clinical decisions including recommending appropriate therapeutic procedures in specific domains such as cornea/external disease, glaucoma, and trauma to the eye, ocular adnexa and orbit. For further details on training requirements please go to: Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Canadian Ophthalmological Society
Source: Pathway evaluation program 5 Total number & number/100,000 population by province, 2019
Province/Territory Physicians Phys/100k pop'n
Newfoundland/Labrador 15 2.9 Prince Edward Island 53.2 Nova Scotia 41 4.2 New Brunswick 25 3.2 Quebec 377 4.5 Ontario 427 3.0 Manitoba 30 2.2 Saskatchewan 22 1.9 Alberta 111 2.6 British Columbia 192 3.8 Territories 10.8 CANADA 1246 3.3
Source: 2019 CMA Masterfile 6 Number/100,000 population, 1995 to 2019
3.8
3.7
3.6
3.5
3.4
3.3
3.2
3.1 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019
Source: 1995-2019 CMA Masterfiles 7 Number by gender & year, 1995 to 2019
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019 Total Males Females
Source: 1995-2019 CMA Masterfiles 8 Percentage by gender & age, 2019
Gender Age Group 6% 22% 28% 22%
72% 27% 23%
Male Female 65+ 55 - 64 45 - 54 35 - 44 < 35
Excludes those where gender or age is unknown.
Source: 2019 CMA Masterfile 9 Number by gender & age, 2019
65+ 37 222
55-64 82 248
45-54 78 197
35-44 100 162
<35 37 41
Female Male
Excludes those where gender or age is unknown.
Source: 2019 CMA Masterfile 10 Percentage by main work setting, 2019
Private Office/Clinic 72%
Academic Health Sciences Centre 20%
Non-AHSC Teaching Hospital 3%
Community Hospital 3%
Other 3%
Source: 2019 CMA Physician Workforce Survey. Canadian Medical Association 11 Percentage by practice organization, 2017*
1% 14%
6% Solo Practice
47% Group Practice Interprofessional Practice
Hospital-based Practice
NR 32%
*Most recent available data for this specialty
Source: 2017 CMA Workforce Survey. Canadian Medical Association 12 Hours worked per week (excluding on-call), 2019
Activity Hours worked per week Direct patient care without teaching component 29.5 Direct patient care with teaching component 5.9 Teaching without patient care 0.8 Indirect patient care 5.1 Health facility committees 0.6 Administration 1.2 Research 1.1 Managing practice 1.9 Continued professional development 2.3 Other 0.0 TOTAL HOURS PER WEEK 48.4
Source: 2019 CMA Physician Workforce Survey. Canadian Medical Association 13 On-call duty hours per month, 2019
. 73% provide on-call services
. On-call hours = 124 hours/month
. On-call hours spent in direct patient care = 26 hours/month
Source: 2019 CMA Physician Workforce Survey. Canadian Medical Association 14 OPHTHALMOLOGY
Percentage by remuneration method
Primary payment method1 in 2017
7% 1%
Average gross payment per physician for Ophthalmology in 2017/18 (those earning at least $60,000) = $809,5572
Average percent overhead reported by Ophthalmologists in 2017 = 40%3
92% 90% + fee-for-service 90% + salary *Other includes capitation, sessional, contract and other methods 1 90% + other* Blended 2017 CMA Workforce Survey. Canadian Medical Association 2 National Physician Database, 2017/18, CIHI NR 3 2017 CMA Workforce Survey. Canadian Medical Association
15 OPHTHALMOLOGY
Professional & work-life balance satisfaction, 2019
Balance of personal & professional 19% 13% 68% commitments
Current professional 6% 6% 87% life
NR Dissatisfied or very dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied or very satisfied
Source: 2019 CMA Physician Workforce Survey. Canadian Medical Association 16 Number of retirees during the three year period of 2016-2018
Male Female 47 42
6 5 4 2
34 and Under 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 and over Total Age Group
Source: CMA Masterfile – year over year comparisons Note: “Retired” is based on giving up licence and therefore excludes those who have retired from clinical practice but are still licensed; those younger than 45 may include physicians who have temporarily given up their licence but return to practice at a later date. 17 Employment situation, 2017
7% 7%
Overworked in my discipline
45% Employed in my discipline to my satisfaction
Underemployed in my discipline
Not employed in my discipline
No response
48%
Source: 2017 CMA Workforce Survey. Canadian Medical Association 18 Links to additional resources
. Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada
. Canadian Institute for Health Information
. Canadian Medical Association’s Physician Data Centre
. Canadian Post-MD Education Registry (CAPER)
. College of Family Physicians of Canada
. National Physician Survey (2004-2014)
. Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
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