Ophthalmologists are Healthy, Wealthy and Wise
Medscape assessed the lifestyles of physicians; of the twenty-six specialties covered, ophthalmologists have the most to boast about.
Medscape’s recently-published annual Physician Lifestyle Report comprises twenty-two slides that detail US physicians’ health, social life, financial situation, religious beliefs and political views. Five intra-specialty charts reported on the body mass indices, length of vacation, feelings of happiness at home and at work, self-ratings of health, and savings among twenty-six medical specialties.
Ophthalmologists came out of the survey rather well, being:
- The second least likely to be overweight
- Second most likely to rate their health as Good or Excellent (only dermatologists were thinner or considered themselves healthier)
- In the top quarter of those most likely to take over four weeks of vacation, coming in seventh
- The second highest amount of savings across all specialties (only orthopods saved more)
More than 60 percent of ophthalmologists eat out at least once a week, half take vitamin supplements and over a quarter use complementary or alternative therapies.
Almost eight out of ten ophthalmologists surveyed claim to drink no alcohol or consume less than one alcoholic drink a week, and three quarters said they “were religious and/ or spiritual.”
- Medscape Ophthalmologist Lifestyle Report 2014, www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/lifestyle/2014/ophthalmology, accessed February 3rd, 2014.
I spent seven years as a medical writer, writing primary and review manuscripts, congress presentations and marketing materials for numerous – and mostly German – pharmaceutical companies. Prior to my adventures in medical communications, I was a Wellcome Trust PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.