Could you explain what is optometry and ophthalmology? are they the same thing?

Not same: Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who graduated from medical school. They can perform surgery on eye. Optometrists are not medical doctors. They graduate from optometry school. They can not perform eye surgery.

Optometry: The main difference between an optometrist and an ophthalmologist is that an optometrist is not a physician while an ophthalmologist is a qualified medical physician dos or mds. Optometry is a healthcare profession that deals with the eyes and its related structures, vision, visual system, and vision information processing in humans.

Brief answer...: Ophthalmologists have gone to medical school and have a good basis in general medicine, anatomy and physiology. They then do residency where they learn how to diagnose and treat eye problems medically and surgically, all under supervision. Optometrists go to optometry school where they learn about the eyes and also delve into optics, refractions, contact lenses as well as some pathology.