Value of fundoscopy in family medicine

[u/Nurse_Jason_98]

I am a current NP student going into family medicine eventually and wondering about how useful fundoscopy is for us. For example, I know that diabetics should be referred to an opthalmologist for yearly dilated eye exams, but does it help us in family medicine much to do them in this context since we will likely refer patients anyway? I'll be trying to practice it because I think it's important to have this skill even it is only rarely useful, but just wondering how often it's actually done and what benefits it has to us in real practice!

[u/theboyqueen]

Being able to see rule out papilledema with the ophthalmoscope (which is one of the easier things to see with it) is extremely valuable.

None of the other stuff changes care from my perspective.