There is a high variability in the duration of ophthalmology placements across the UK. If we assume a day provides seven hours of ophthalmology teaching, then most students are receiving approximately 49 hours of ophthalmology teaching exposure. This is not dissimilar to the recommended duration of 40-60 hours (5-8 days) by the ICO.15 Previous studies report similar average durations of 7,31 7.6,28 8,29 and 8.9 days.27 The widespread provision of student-selected components may enable enthusiastic students to pursue their interest in ophthalmology and gain further experience and time in the specialty. However, these attachments are only available to a select number of students, and their uptake will greatly depend upon the quality of their initial ophthalmology attachment. This is a view shared by other authors.4,10,38