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SPECIALTIES
Ophthalmology
Training in ophthalmology in the UK — the seven-year programme and the FRCOphth.
Ophthalmology in the UK is a seven-year run-through specialty training programme following the Foundation Programme. Trainees enter at ST1 and progress through the curriculum to gain a CCT in ophthalmology, awarded by the General Medical Council. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists is the specialty body responsible for the curriculum and exams.
The Fellowship of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (FRCOphth) is taken in two parts. Part 1 is a written paper covering basic sciences and clinical knowledge taken early in training. The Refraction Certificate is a clinical exam in the practical skill of refracting patients. Part 2 is the more substantive clinical examination, typically taken in the later years of training, combining written and clinical components.
Ophthalmology has historically been a strongly competitive entry specialty with high standards expected of applicants at ST1 entry — including evidence of commitment to the specialty through electives, taster weeks and research output.
Current authoritative resources
About this page
This page is one of a set of medical school and medical careers resources on chrispaton.org, replacing the category landings of New Media Medicine (newmediamedicine.com), an early digital health blog and UK medical school applications community I ran between 2004 and 2014. The original New Media Medicine forum threads — user-generated content from that community — are not republished here; this is original framing written to help current applicants find authoritative information. Always confirm details with the official sources linked above before acting on them.