If you can finish medical school, could you go into psychiatry? Surely it'd be less visual than many other areas of medicine, and it wouldn't make your years of hard work worthless.

Apart from that, I suggest talking to your professors about what areas you could transition into. Blindness doesn't necessarily mean the end of a career as a health practitioner.

You could definitely do psychiatry (there is a blind psychiatrist at University of WI who is blind named Tim Cordes), maybe some other fields within medicine or peds if you can employ someone to help with the visual part of the physical exam. A cerebral specialty like infectious diseases, nephrology, or endo could be good.

The real task now will be learning how to be an auditory learner going forward. Since you are more than halfway through, I assume you've taken Step 1? This is good because it's such a huge test (have they made it pass/fail yet?), and it demonstrates what your capacity is.

Might be a good idea to take some time off and learn how to do life with your new and worsening vision, if you can. Then, you'll re-learn how to do school, and medicine. This won't be easy, but I bet you can do it.

Source: resident with (stable) visual impairment. Not at all the same thing as you are going through, but I do have some experience with extra physical challenges.

There are plenty of other medical specialties you can do with low vision! Working in office with supportive nursing staff is totally doable, or physical rehab and therapies

What I hear is that you are grieving many things right now and it’s important to take some time and honor yourself and your emotions. It is hard to think with clarity, especially regarding a future path, when you’re grieving. You are intelligent and sound determined to adapt. These are going to help you, but please allow time to grieve. My husband became legally blind and his story matches yours. He made accommodations and had people read to him, sit with him in class and took tests separately to allow for more time. He had the migraine headaches from strain and his vision loss progressed from eye strain. He has a high myopia and it progressed to only seeing 2% from his left eye. His right eye allows light in but nothing more. His path changed, too. Even so, he graduated with a PhD in psychology and went on to enjoy working with disadvantaged youth. He made a difference in many lives and helped improve the future of those children. He learned Braille, the cane and had a guide dog in college. He became depressed, too. More importantly, he was determined to keep going. He got angry, yet stayed determined. Then, he found his peace. I share that story with you to encourage you. We all have dreams and yours is a worthy one. Why is being a surgeon so important? Break it down to the reason that it is important and find another way to express it. Maybe it is that you like the idea of healing, especially healing someone quickly. How else can you do that? Learn about food as medicine and heal them for their entire life. Others have mentioned healing with the mind. I’m a ICU burn/trauma nurse who suffered a back injury and became unable to work at the bedside. I understand the focus on health and helping others. There are many ways for you to help others. We change course when needed and maybe, just maybe it’s for our best. Something big is in store for you and your future as well. I can feel it.

I feel your pain.
I didn't face a medical degree, though I had other plans and the strain of too much reading during the degree worsened my vision.


Don't feel alone, there are many, many others in your situation and there is ALWAYS another path, even if it's not clear at the moment.
Stay strong, you've worked so hard until now - shift focus and continue onwards.


<3

I think with perseverance anything is possible and fighting the system is important. Trying to keep at it.

I'm sorry you are dealing with this. If you aren't speaking to someone about this please do so. I want to encourage you to think of other possibilities. Do you have access to any vocational or social services? I was born with Glaucoma so my vision has always been limited. I was able to finish school, get a Master's degree and find work that is rewarding. Give yourself some space and time to process. Good luck.

Switch to psychiatry. That's a easy decision.
I'm legally blind here in the U S. I'm applying for clinical psychology PhD programs right now.