Congratulations! You’ve landed an ophthalmology residency. Now it’s time to load up on ophthalmology smartphone apps. These free apps can help take you from “good” to “great” while seeing patients, performing consults and studying for the Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program (OKAP) exam.
OE Acronyms
Acronyms abound within the field of ophthalmology, making our notes harder to decipher than hieroglyphics. Getting a handle on these acronyms can be a nightmare for brand-new residents and experienced attendings alike. The free app OE Acronyms decodes confusing acronyms used within ophthalmology. Don’t see an acronym? Submit it and claim credit on your CV! This crowdsourced list of acronyms is also helpful for nonophthalmologists who read our clinical notes. So tell your emergency medicine and primary care friends about it as well.
Eye Handbook
Need to test a patient’s vision on the go while on consults, but forgot your near card? Perhaps you desperately need an Amsler grid, but you haven’t used graph paper since high school geometry class. No problem! Eye Handbook contains multiple useful ophthalmic tests, including visual acuity, Amsler, color vision, contrast sensitivity and an optokinetic drum. It also includes useful reference calculators, information on ophthalmic medications and an atlas of ophthalmic images. Although the app is free, it does include multiple popup advertisements.
AAO Ophthalmic Education
The Academy has created a mobile application specifically for practicing ophthalmologists and trainees. After logging in with your membership credentials, you can use the AAO Ophthalmic Education app to readily access EyeWiki® and the Wills Eye Manual, watch one-minute surgical videos, participate in weekly case challenges designed expressly for residents and stay up to date on the latest news and literature in our field. This app is truly a must have.
AAO eBooks
The Academy didn’t stop there! AAO eBooks is an app available for Apple and Android users, providing convenient access to essential Academy textbooks. Examples include the Basic and Clinical Science Course™ (BCSC®) and Focal Points publications on hot topics, both of which are written and reviewed by board-certified ophthalmologists. While the app is free, some of the content needs to be purchased from the Academy before it will be available to you on the app.
Doximity
The Doximity app is so much more than just a social media platform for physicians. Using the Doximity app, you can initiate calls to patients while hiding your own phone number and instead display the phone number of your hospital or clinic. You can also initiate video calls to patients by conveniently sending them a hyperlink to the video chat without requiring them to download any application. And of course, you can also use Doximity to connect with your medical school and residency classmates.
OphthoQ
When you gear up for your OKAP examination, don’t forget about the OphthoQuestions app, OphthoQ. This ophthalmology board review application has over 4,000 questions and is regularly updated. Some residency programs subscribe to this question bank on your behalf, making this app a must have. It puts the question bank right in your pocket!
Medical Surgical Acronyms
If you think it’s difficult to learn all the acronyms in our specialty, imagine the difficulty of deciphering acronyms from across the entirety of medicine. MS Acronyms puts a free dictionary of medical acronyms in your pocket. Don’t see an acronym? Submit it and get credit on your CV.
AAO Advocacy
With the Academy’s AAO Advocacy app, it’s easy and convenient to get involved in advocacy. Learn about pressing issues, send a letter to your legislators or donate to OPHTHPAC® or the Surgical Scope Fund. You’re one click away from Capitol Hill with this free app.
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Grayson W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, is a comprehensive ophthalmologist and director of ophthalmic emergency services at Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston. He joined the
YO Info editorial board in 2022.