First, a little bit about anatomy in optometry school

Your anatomy course in optometry school, whether it comes easy to you or not will undoubtedly be one of the most interesting courses you will take. If you have just started your anatomy course, be prepared to take an uncensored dive into the structures of the head, neck and upper body all the while analyzing the specific details of the body’s most fascinating organs. In your anatomy course you will learn all about the location and function the spinal cord and its associated nerves, the function and orientation of bones, muscles, cartilage and tissues of the neck, head and orbit.

This detailed journey will require not only copious amounts of memorization but also a true workout of your mechanical brain in order to understand orientation and how structure relates to function.

Mastering your anatomy course will make your life a whole lot easier when it comes to learning how the visual and visual motor system operates.It will also give you a fundamental knowledge base when it comes to diagnosing trauma to the orbit along with congenital and acquired ocular problems.

When learning anatomy it is really important to have a flawless visual representation of the structure of the orbit and ocular system.  One day you will have to diagnose a specific condition and will need to be able to recall what the inside of the head looks like, and how the nerves and muscles of the head are oriented. This is why I bought a Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy along with Netters Anatomy Flash Cards. I felt that Frank Netter’s illustrations where top quality and his drawings looked REAL not cartoon like. Check out these products by clicking above!

3 Tips To Doing Good In Your Anatomy Course

1. Get a great anatomy textbook (like Netters) and then cover up the labeled structures with post it notes – Then memorize each structure and check under the post it note to see if you were correct. It is important to study without having the answers right in front of you!
2. Simplify the material with your own drawings. – Take a clean white sheet of paper and create  “blueprint” of the structure you are trying to remember. If it’s the path of the trigeminal nerve, draw it out yourself but make it simple without any other nearby structures involved. This simplified breakdown is great for memorization.
3. Keep up with the material, anatomy is one of those courses that will be very easy if you study a little bit each day. Keep flashcards in your backpack at all times and review the material as often as possible, on your commute, before bed or whenever. This will save you time in the long run!

Here is how to win a FREE and complete deck

of Netters Anatomy Flash Cards!

1. Fill out the contact form below.
   
2. Write us a short, 3-5-sentence passage about where and how you envision yourself as an OD 5 years after optometry school. (Will you own your own practice? Work in a hospital? Travel the world seeing patients?)
   
3. Log on Friday evening to see the winner of the raffle!

Our team will be picking a winner based on the unique quality and creativity of the passage that you type up.

After the raffle ends we will be posting a new article announcing the winner, but the article will also include all of the submissions from the students so you will be able to see some of the awesome ideas that students are planning for their future.

We are really excited to see how this first raffle goes!

If we get lots of entry’s then you can GUARANTEE that we will do this type of thing more and more often in the future but we need to hear your voice!!!

The raffle ends on Friday, September 10^th 2010 so submit your passage ASAP.

Good luck!
-Matthew Geller

Fill out the form below to win!

First, let me tell you a little bit about myself.  After falling inlove with Boston on a brisk March day in 1976, the day of my interview at the New England College Of Optometry (at that time it was called NEWENCO), I knew that this was the place for me to spend my next four years.  NEWENCO offered the professional education, the ambiance of a Boston brownstone, overlooked the Charles River and was very convenient to all that Boston had to offer.

We started our clinical rotations in our second year at the school’s clinic then located in Kenmore Square.  Many of the yesterday’s preceptors are now today’s administrators at many schools of optometry.

Many of my classmates are not only clinicians but they are educators, writers, lecturers, heads of huge clinics, and well respected in the field.

As for me, I chose private practice after trying the various avenues that are available to graduating students.  I couldn’t stand corporate optometry controlling the way I practice or the chain store opticians having me see a patient every 10 minutes just to sell a pair of eyeglasses to them.  I needed to control my own destiny and practice the way I wanted to practice….professionally.

Starting cold in 1984 wasn’t easy.  It took a good two years before I started earning a living wage but the wait was well worth it.  Using all that I learned in professional school along with what I learned in my four years after graduating about the business side of optometry, patients actually started flocking through the door.  My appointment book started to fill up and I actually needed to hire more employees, some of whom are still with me today.

My favorite thing about being an optometrist is working with people.
The hardest thing about being an optometrist is working with people.

As an eyecare professional, you will not only examine eyes, but you will be your patient’s sounding board.  They will tell you all about their lives from their children to their parents, from their marriage to their divorce.  As a clinician you will be obliged and most times interested to listen intently while providing a comprehensive eye health examination and impeccably recording your findings in the electronic medical record in a timely manor so as not to get too backed up in your appointment schedule.

One of the things I would have done differently is to take more business courses.  They just don’t teach how to run a business in optometry school.  On the job training is how I learned but it would have been much easier had I had a little training.  The other is I should have bought my own space.  Currently I pay rent so I am beholding to a landlord who may or may not renew a lease.  What is a business worth with no lease?  My recommendation for those considering owning their own practice is to buy your space if possible.  It virtually guarantees your practice will thrive assuming you know how to run it.

My advice to students transitioning to practicing optometrists is to explore all your options. If you want to practice corporate, try it for a while so you can make an informed decision.  If you want a private practice, seek out an optometrist who is considering retirement or cutting back in the next 10 years and become an associate.  Put in your dues and your hard work will be worth it in the end.  For the women in optometry who might want to balance raising a family with owning a practice, consider partnership with others doing the same thing.

In the past few years I have become a mentor to a few students.  It was new to me and I’ve come to enjoy it very much.  It started with Matthew Geller, now a student at SUNY College of Optometry.  Matt is starting his second year and actually applied to optometry school after speaking with me and working in my office.  Another is an extremely intelligent student Teresa Concha who is starting SUNY as a freshman.  My last intern, an interesting girl who will be a senior at the University of Waterloo, will be applying to optometry school this year. In my practice, the students are exposed to clinical care in our virtually paperless office and to the business side of optometry.  From various front desk duties to observing and often assisting in patient pre-testing, shadowing in the exam room and following the patient to the dispensary, assisting patients in choosing eyewear and lending a hand in the lab, calling patients to notify that the eyewear is completed and observe the dispensing.  They observe me or my staff in the business office, while we notify or discuss issues with patients, delegate responsibilities to other valuable employees, ordering contact lenses, interpreting visual fields, GDX or Retinal Photos, and get a sense of what it really takes to run a successful optometric practice.

Students will leave with a good sense of the details that go into running a successful business.  Did I say business?  Yes, optometry is also a business. I love to help people and yes I like to make money….   You will too.

For those students that may have an interest in interning with me, please go to my website for our telephone number and give me a call.  I look forward to it.

Joel Kestenbaum, OD
www.optixeyecare.com

examination.   For the best interest of the patient and you as the doctor, we need to be meeting the needs of the patients which will be for that patient to see as best as possible.

Think of our profession as a strong building standing alone on the horizon.  Our foundation is and will continue to be our refraction ability. Built upon our foundation we have the first floor which is our diagnostic abilities, upon that, we have our second floor which therapeutic abilities and upon that we have our third floor which is (in some states) our surgical abilities. However, if we ignore our foundation, the building that we know and love will tumble down.

The majority of patients come to us because we can make them see better with a pair of glasses or contacts, if we lose that art, we are on a dangerous road.

It is of great importance for us to know that we are embarking on a new and exciting scope of medical optometry that is uncharted for our profession.  But once again, I must caution us in becoming too focused on our medical frontier and less focused in what has made our profession strong, our firm bases in refraction.

Why is this such a big deal? The danger lies in that if we lose our focus on our foundation, another profession will find it in their best interest to fill that niche.   We need to continue to educate the public that we are the primary eye care profession focused on their health which comes hand in hand in meeting the needs for glasses and contacts.

My advice to you is to start this habit early, understand that even though we have a number of great medical capabilities, we own the refraction circle in eye care.  Keep that near and dear to your hearts as you examine each patient you see.  Also, it is just as important to donate to the AOA-Pac in your career, starting now as a student.  Student rates are $20 a year.  Why is this important?  It is because of the hard work of our political action committee that continues to keep our legislative representatives at a national level aware of what our profession is.

I look forward to embarking on this journey with you all as we face new challenges and obstacles in optometry.  Please feel free to email me with any questions at info@drpaulheeg.com.  Also, don’t forget to sign up on AOA connect.  That is a great tool that we are able to stay in touch with each other.  May you all have a great rest of your summer!

Sincerely,
Dr. Paul Heeg

This is a continuation of Dr. Won’s FIRST article -Insights From Dr. Won

So what exactly do I do?  I’m an O.D. that works for another O.D. that leases her office within a large optical chain (Lenscrafters in our case).  It is a long-established office that has been at the location for 27 years.  Neither of us is employed by Lenscrafters any more than a tenant is employed by any other landlord.  Even as a tenant living within an apartment building, you are bound to certain regulations of the building and landlord.  In the case of our office, we are bound to use certain forms and systems (for instance, an online appointment book).  There are lots of “small” things that are out of our control, but looking at the bigger picture, there is an enormous amount to gain from such a relationship.  There are obvious benefits such as sharing clientele, which is good for both of our businesses.  The optical does gain the benefit of having doctors on staff 7 days a week.  As a part of our lease, we also benefit by being leased most of our equipment, such as phoropters, chairs, furniture, and machines (NCT, Autorefractor/AutoK, Retinal Camera, HVF, and in some instances, also a Zeiss FDT).  Maintenance of this equipment is also part of the lease, so we have a “repair guy” who periodically fixes anything that needs fixing.  This is quite a luxury you probably can’t appreciate at this stage in the game if you’re a student.  However, it can also prove to be an enormous pain, as getting a hold of your repair guy and having things actually GET fixed can be difficult, but I digress.

For the purposes of this article, my job would best be summarized as “Private Group Practitioner within an Optical Chain”.  Since I am employed by another optometrist and not the optical, my responsibilities are entirely practice oriented with little to no optical aspect of practicing Optometry involved.  For those of you who are just barely scraping by in your Dispensing courses in school this might be an ideal setup for you.  We do refractions, of course, but we also practice full scope Optometry with pretty much everything ranging from basic refractions to co-management of surgical patients and anything in between.  Because I have practically no optical responsibilities, I feel that I can really focus on medical patient treatment.  This is not to say that patient treatment stops once the patient walks over to the optical half of the store.  Of course, an optical provides treatment and care much as a pharmacy provides care for patients in a different way.  I do the occasional Rx check and fix certain optical problems, but my optical responsibilities pretty much end there.  Beyond a prescription and lens recommendations, I don’t have to fit or sell spectacles, there is separate staff from the optical that will do this for me.  I simply have to walk my patient over and introduce the patient to the optician in what we refer to as a “transition”.  Yes, that’s right:  I shirk all optical responsibility so that I can just concentrate on examinations.  Besides, I never liked dispensing spectacles anyway.

So where does this leave the business in terms of income?  We operate and earn our profit on examinations and contact lens sales alone.  With the only real overhead being office supplies, rent, and staff, it has turned out to be quite lucrative.  We do, of course, sacrifice the potential optical profits, but this is the professional lifestyle we’ve chosen for ourselves, and for me, it works.  Obviously, this has been a fantastic relationship between the practice and the optical chain for 27 years.  We are also one of the highest grossing offices in the New York area with one of the highest volume of patients and optical clientele.  Perhaps it’s arrogance, but I would attribute much of it to the successful relationship between office and optical since most of the other locations in the area have employed O.D.’s and not lease holders.  With each side working both independently and together toward a common goal of patient retention, I believe the results speak for themselves.

I’d like to take a sharp turn here now and discuss another extremely important aspect of my job, which is actually my life outside of my job. This does require that I explain how our office is run, which is clearly an important matter to discuss anyway.  There are three doctors who are on our staff here, as well as an intern from SUNY who is working as a tech/intern who we have the privilege of joining us 1 day per week this summer.  We are a variation on a group practice so we each split up the days.  Based on the way that we have scheduled ourselves, two of us work for 4 days per week of 10 hours each day to make up a full-time 40 hours per week.  Our boss (we’ll call her “Dr. Jones” for lack of a better name) works only half-days about 4 days per week as well, though this is only her patient schedule.  What this means for me is that I have three days per week off, I still get the benefits of working full time, and I have plenty of time to spend with my family.  For me this was an extremely important draw to the job.  Now, this is not true of all practices in this modality, but may be true of other modalities as well.  I do think that the nature of our practice does make this kind of lifestyle very possible though, as with any other type of group practice.  This is certainly something additional to keep in mind as you’re choosing a “way to work”.  As a younger member of a group practice, there is also the potential for future ownership as well that is promising.  This, however, is an entirely different matter all together.

I hope that this has been informative to the readership here at OptometryStudents.com and I hope that it will lead some of you to a job that is professionally fulfilling.  Please keep in mind that each physicians’ experiences are unique and not all practices function the way that ours does.  The basic bare-bones of the operations, however are usually quite similar.  Please contact me or start a discussion on this page if there are any questions.  Remember:  Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal.  My experiences may not necessarily become yours.  I wish you all good luck and hope to see you at some actual CE one day!

Sincerely,
Dr. Won

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Feel free to ask Dr. Won questions here!

Image Credit: left-hand

What will it be like when you transition from Optometry school to becoming an OD and what can you expect? In today’s article, Dr. Frank Won gives us an in depth look at his transition from Optometry School to a practicing OD.  -Dr. Won incorporates tips that helped him get his foot in the door of a practice along with some of the feelings he had during his graduation day. This article is a 2 part series so be sure to read the full story. Be sure to leave comments for Dr. Won below!

Let me first start by qualifying myself to write such an article. My name is Frank Won, an Optometrist graduate of the State University of New York College of Optometry (we just call it SUNY). After finishing up 4 of the best and most difficult years of my life in 2006, I had to figure out a way to start whittling away at the formidable educational debt I had incurred between undergrad and graduate school. I looked into several different practice modalities and ways to work, eventually stumbling upon the job I have been holding for the last 4 years. Here, I will discuss my experiences entering the working world of Optometry, my practice modality, the benefits and drawbacks to such a modality, and how it affects my lifestyle.

The first thought that ran through my mind after 4 straight years of high school followed by 4 straight years of undergrad, then followed by another 4 straight years of graduate school at SUNY was: “I need a friggin’ vacation.” My second thought was, “I’m friggin’ poor.” So I did what any determined/desperate post-grad student would do: forced myself to take a vacation. Believe me, this was time well spent, and the only reason I could afford to do so was because of my loving and supportive wife-to-be (who had a job). During this time, I recuperated from the ordeal that was my education and near the end, I began to test the waters of the job market. Here are a few realizations I made:

1) Getting your foot in the door is incredibly valuable because it creates opportunities.
2) Getting your foot in the door is a whole lot easier than you’d think.
3) There are a great number of ways to work as a doctor.
4) There are a great number of ways I didn’t want to work as a doctor.

Networking with existing O.D.’s while in school has great merit for opening doors for you after graduation. During my 4 year tenure at SUNY, I was the state student optometric society president/representative. I had a chance to meet with doctors from all over the state and even had the opportunity to visit different practices as a result. In a peculiar turn of events, I ended up meeting the optometrist (we’ll refer to him as “Dr. B”) who I had been seeing through high school (as a patient). It wasn’t long before I started working in his office as a technician. Yes, I was working during my first, second, AND third years. I sacrificed most of my summers to work in this office learning its operation and even keeping some of my skills sharp. I also worked most Saturdays during the school year, but had to quit by the end of my third year as it just became too difficult. It was’t easy, but this relationship ended up becoming a powerful aid later in my job hunt. After graduation, I naturally asked this doctor if he had any positions or hours I could fill in to start working. After a disappointing “no”, I was forced to keep looking. I responded to a part-time job posting I heard about through some classmates and went in for an interview. It was a private O.D.’s office within a Costco. The idea didn’t thrill me, but I went anyway to see what the experience was like. After 3 months working there, I had enough. There was a complete lack of staffing, protocol, and even medical equipment. We didn’t even have a Visual Field analyzer! The longer I worked there, the less of a physician I felt like. I had to refer out for any suspicion of glaucoma I encountered, and while working where I was, this was every few patients. Furthermore, many of the patients didn’t take their medical diagnoses seriously because all they seemed to want was their glasses. I realized quickly that this was neither the patient population nor the office type that I would want to work in. This may have been true only of that Costco location, I’m really not sure exactly how the rest function. This particular location, however, was not a good match for me and there’s only so much Costco pizza you can eat for lunch before your heart turns into a lump of butter.

As fate would have it, Dr. B would give my information to a colleague of his, working in southern Westchester at a chance meeting they had. She told him that one of her docs was going on maternity leave and that she would need someone to cover. She called me, I interviewed, and the following month, I quit working at Costco and I started at 4 days a week in her office. I understood that this was only a temporary position, as the doctor I was “filling in” for would eventually return. As fate would have it again, the doctor would end up having premature twins and decide that she would need to quit her position entirely and fill her maternal destiny. I was granted her full-time associates position and I’ve been working there ever since.

To be continued – Click Here To Read Part 2!

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If you want to ask Dr. Won a question, click here!

Image Credit: Hamed Saber

By placing one phone call you can make a huge difference for Glaucoma patients in Massachusetts and for the well being of Optometry.

This will not only help out Massachusetts optometry but the profession as a whole.

I placed the phone call, it took about 10 seconds…. Will you make the call?

Here is a message from Jeff Cohn of the New England College of Optometry.

This is the last week that Speaker Deleo can release the Glaucoma Bill to the senate for a vote. If he does so, it is almost guaranteed that the senate will pass the bill. It will then make its way to Govener Deval Patricks desk for him to sign into law.

That being said, these next 3 days are so critical for us to continue making phone calls. It takes roughly 17 seconds to do. Here is the catch. We want you to call the Speakers office every day for the next 3 days. Call on MONDAY AND TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY.

Speaker DeLeo has hinted that he wants to be finished with this bill. We need to call every day with the same message. You will speak to either a recorder or the Speaker’s secretary (she is fully aware of what is going on and is very nice and she will inform the speaker of the number of calls even if they are from the same person).

The NUMBER TO CALL is (617-722-2500)

SIMPLY STATE THAT YOU ARE AN OPTOMETRY STUDENT AND THAT YOU SUPPORT THE SENATE BILL 1756 AND IT IS MOST IMPORTANT THAT THE SPEAKER RELEASE THE BILL AS IS for a vote. Thank you guys for putting up with these emails and phone calls.

We truly are making a difference for our profession and our future. If this bill passes we can all celebrate together! Charge!

-Jeff Cohn

I thought that I knew what optometry was like when I finished my first year of school just a little over a month ago, but I had no idea!  Prior to the end of the school year, I was fortunate enough to be elected as a trustee-elect for the American Optometric Students Association (AOSA), the student equivalent of the American Optometric Association (AOA).  The opportunity allowed me to be more involved at Optometry’s Meeting this year in Orlando and I am so grateful for it all!  For those of you who are pre-optometry students, or are currently optometry students who haven’t been to a meeting, I am writing this for you!

Optometry’s Meeting is the premier event for optometry.  It’s an event where thousands of ophthalmic professionals gather to network, share information, learn about new products, and have fun!  This event takes place every summer, usually in a large, accessible city.  This year, it was at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando.

Not too long ago, the AOA and AOSA had their meetings separately and it was not until recently that the two decided to put together one big meeting.  I’m not sure how that worked then, but having just been to my very first meeting, I thought it was very successful.  Not to mention so many ophthalmic professionals, there were close to a thousand optometry students across the nation!  It was an ideal venue for professionals to share information and for students to learn and be pro-active with their profession.

Most students arrived on the first day just in time for the welcome reception that night.  We all stayed around for some food, drinks, and went off to do whatever we wanted for the rest of the night.  Throughout the week, there are many events happening at the same time.  One could attend a class to learn about ways to deal with student debt, how to obtain a job upon graduation, or listen to something unique like practice management.  Students also took breaks to swim at the pools, meet new colleagues and have a few drinks at the bar, or wander around the huge exhibit halls.  Many ophthalmic companies were there to educate and show off their new products as well as sell them for an incredibly cheap price!  Many of the students told me they were pretty much on vacation—they were there to meet other students, learn more about optometry, and have a good time!

Aside from the formal and educational aspects of the meeting, there was so much entertainment as well!  At the AOA General Session, everyone got to hear Frank Abagnale (the character Leonardo di Caprio played in Catch Me If You Can) give an inspiring lecture.  During the day, students that attended the AOSA General Session got to see some of their friends get hypnotized by Ricky Kalmon.  And that night, there was the Optometry Student Bowl (hosted by Essilor).  It is an exciting optometry quiz game that featured one contestant from each of the optometry schools and they all compete to get to the next round.   It is pretty much like any big football game, but with optometry students cheering for their respective schools.  This, you’ve got to definitely experience at least once in your optometry life time.  Then there was also a night club event reserved for optometry students that were tons of fun.  The meeting capped off with comedians Frank Caliendo and John Pinette and a laser show.

Being a part of AOSA, I had to wake up very early most mornings for meetings (as early as 6:30am).  That was tough considering the late night social events, but it was overall very educational and it got me very excited for our profession.  Optometry’s Meeting was no doubt a lot of fun.  But what I gained most from this meeting is how fortunate I am to be a part of optometry.  It’s not unusual for many optometry students to discuss and compare our salaries with other health practitioners or talk about how saturated optometry can be.  But after attending meetings and talking to current doctors, I can say that I am very happy with the profession that I have chosen for myself.   It is hard to find another career that gives us such versatility to do what we want, affords us the ability to give and improve people’s most precious sense, all the while allowing us to have a balance in our personal lives.  I met so many people that I am happy to be calling colleagues in a few years—they are some of the most caring and happy people I know.  All in all, I encourage everyone to attend these meetings to learn, to be pro-active, and to be empowered.  It is this sort of atmosphere and collaboration that produces the kind of success we all hope to have one day for not only ourselves, but for our profession.

So what are you waiting for?  Next year’s Optometry’s Meeting is in Salt Lake City from June 15-19. Pencil that into your calendars now!

Sincerely,
Quy Nguyen
SUNY Optometry C/O 2013
AOSA Trustee Elect

by: Dale Paynter

Hey everyone, today I will be giving an overview of the Physics section for the OAT.  This will be the first article in a multi-part series covering Physics.  At the end of this article, we have free, exclusive optometrystudents.com practice problems!

The Physics section covers material from both semesters of general physics, so ideally you will have completed these courses before you take your OAT.

Here is a list of most of the common topics covered in the Physics section:

1. Mass and weight (not the same thing!)
2. Kinematics (motion, velocity, acceleration, know how to work with vectors)
3. Force
4. Gravity (gravity is a type of force)
5. Energy (potential energy and kinetic energy)
6. Friction
7. Momentum (including angular momentum)
8. Work
9. Power
10. Springs (period, angular frequency)
11. Density
12. Pressure (remember that pressure acts across an area)
13. Gas law (PV=nRT)  This really belongs in the General Chemistry section, not Physics but I list it here anyway because it is useful for understanding pressure
14. Electromagnetism:  Electrical Force, Electrical Potential, , Magnetism and its relationship to electric fields (and vice versa)
15. Circuits (DC circuits only!): voltage, current, resistance, capacitors, transformers
16. Wave Properties (mainly interference patterns)
17. Optics (lenses and mirrors)
18. Nuclear Physics (You only need to know the very basics of this, i.e. no real knowledge of quantum mechanics is necessary)

You also need to fully grasp the metric system! For example, you must know how to interconvert between grams and kilograms, centimeters and meters, joules and kilojoules, etc.  You also should know the units for many of the concepts listed above; for example, force is in newtons (one newton is equal to one kilogram meter per second squared).

I’m sure you realize by now that there is much to know for the Physics section of the OAT, so let’s get straight to the practice problems!  Many of the actual OAT Physics problems will be slightly easier than these, so as long as you can finish these at a reasonable pace, then you are probably in good shape.

Problem 1:

A baseball player hits a baseball a certain distance.  If, immediately after being struck, the ball was traveling at a velocity of 40 m/s at an angle of 30 degrees to the horizontal, then how far from the player does the ball land?  Assume that it lands at the same height at which it was hit, and ignore air resistance.  Use -10 meters per second squared for gravitational acceleration.

This is a classic projectile motion problem, and although it is more common to be asked about a cannonball, the same physics will apply to any airborne objects.  The way that I’d solve this problem is by first breaking up the ball’s velocity into its horizontal and vertical components.  To do this, I see that the total velocity (you can think of this as the sum of the horizontal and vertical components) is equal to 40 m/s as given in the problem.  The angle to the horizontal is 30 degrees, so I now have enough information to draw my right triangle.  I’ll first draw a horizontal line to represent the horizontal component of the velocity, then I’ll draw a second line forming a 30 degree angle with the horizontal line to represent the total velocity of 40 m/s, and I’ll connect the other ends of these two lines with a third, vertical line, representing the vertical component of the velocity (the intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines should obviously be at a right angle).  Now, using basic trigonometry, I see that the sine of 30 degrees (which is 0.5) is equal to the vertical component of the velocity divided by the total velocity (40 m/s) and this will give me a vertical velocity component of 20 m/s.  As soon as I know the vertical velocity component, I can immediately find the time it takes the object to travel, because the problem states that the ball lands at the same height at which it was hit.  Each second the ball is in the air, gravity reduces the vertical (and only the vertical) component of the velocity by 10 m/s, so I can see that it will take 2 seconds for the ball to reach its apex (highest point) and, due to the symmetry of this function, it will take exactly 2 more seconds (or 4 seconds total) for the ball to return to the original height (i.e. it will take a total of 4 seconds for the ball to land).  So I know the travel time is 4 seconds, so all I need now is to find the horizontal component of the velocity and multiply this by the time (4 seconds) to find the horizontal distance traveled.  To find the horizontal component of the velocity, I will take the cosine of 30 degrees (sq. root of 3 over 2) and set this equal to the horizontal velocity component divided by 40 m/s.  So 20 times the sq. root of 3 m/s is the horizontal velocity component, and I simply multiply this by the time of 4 seconds to give me a total distance of 80 sq. root of 3 meters.

Problem 2:

An 18 V battery is attached to a circuit containing a 2 ohm and a 4 ohm resistor applied in series, and a 3 ohm resistor applied in parallel to the first two resistors.  What is the total current of the circuit, and what is the current across the 2 ohm resistor?

The first thing I would do here is to draw a circuit diagram.  I have an 18 V battery, and I’ll draw two branches of the circuit.  On one branch I have a 2 ohm and 4 ohm resistor right next to one another (in series) and on the second branch I’ll draw a 3 ohm resistor.  Next, I need to figure out the net resistance of the entire circuit.  When I have resistors in series, they are simply added together to find net resistance, so a 2 ohm and a 4 ohm resistor in series is the same as a single 6 ohm resistor.  So we can now pretend that there is a 6 ohm resistor (in place of the 2 and 4 ohm resistors) in parallel to the 3 ohm resistor.  When figuring out net resistance of resistors in parallel, however, we use a specific equation:  The inverse of the total resistance is equal to the sum of the inverse resistance of each resistor.  What this means is that the inverse of the total resistance is equal to 1/6 plus 1/3 which means that the total resistance of the circuit will be 2 ohms (the inverse of 1/2).  Now I can use the simple equation V=IR in order to find the total current of the circuit.  The total current of the circuit will be 9 amps.  To find the total current across the 2 ohm resistor, I will look at that branch of the circuit.  The total voltage drop across that branch of the circuit must be 18 V (it’s easier to see if you draw it out) and the total resistance across that branch is 6 ohms (a 2 ohm and 4 ohm resistor in series act like a six ohm resistor) so I just use V=IR to come up with a current of 3 amps across that branch of the circuit.  The current must be the same at all points along a single branch of a circuit, so the current across the 2 ohm resistor is 3 amps.

***Before I continue with the remaining problems, I’d like to mention something.  Most problems on the Physics section can be solved by correctly applying the appropriate equation.  Besides simply memorizing loads of formulas, however, you will need to be able to master a special problem type found on the Physics section of the OAT:  I’ll refer to them as Conceptual problems.  A Conceptual problem describes in words (not equations), an event that is taking place, and then you will be asked to answer what physical principles apply.  The final two practice problems is are examples of this.

Problem 3:

There is a 9 N force being applied horizontally to the right to a 30 kg crate on a flat surface.  If the force of friction is equal to 9 N horizontal to the left, the gravitational and normal forces are of equal and opposite magnitude, and no additional forces are acting on the crate, then which of the following statements must be false?

A: The object is stationary.

B: The object has a non-zero acceleration.

C: The object is moving.

D: The potential energy of the object is not changing.

One way of solving must be false multiple choice problems is by eliminating every answer that can be true.  Can choice A be true?  Of course, the crate can simply be motionless in this problem, because no net force is acting on it (we know there is no net force because each force is exactly countered by an equal and opposite force).  And if the crate can just be sitting there, then the potential energy of it certainly doesn’t have to change, right?  So we can immediately eliminate answers A and D.  But what about C?  Can an object with no net force acting on it be moving?  Of course it can!  Remember, an object in motion remains in motion unless acted on by an outside force and since there is no net force, the crate could certainly be sliding at a constant velocity!  Since we have eliminated choices A, C, and D, we know that either I suck at writing OAT problems or the answer is B.  I certainly hope that I don’t suck at writing these articles, and yes choice B is the answer.  Since the object has no net force acting on it, it cannot be accelerating, because of the equation F=ma and F=0 and m=30 kg, therefore a must equal 0.

Problem 4:

For two satellites circularly orbiting the earth at the same distance from the planet, which of the following statements is true if no forces other than the earth’s gravitation act on the satellites?

A:  Both satellites must be the same mass.

B:  Both satellites must have the same orbital period.

C:  Both satellites must have the same potential energy.

D:  Both satellites must have identical velocities.

First, let’s think about satellites for a second.  What holds satellites in an orbit?  I’m sure you all know that gravitational acceleration is what causes and maintains orbits.  It turns out that there is an important point about gravity that allows us to immediately eliminate two answer choices.  Gravity has the same acceleration on an object regardless of the object’s mass.  I’m sure you all know that, ignoring air resistance, a feather would fall at the same velocity as a bowling ball, and although it might be slightly less intuitive, the orbital dynamics of a satellite really have nothing at all to do with the mass of the satellite, so choice A is clearly false.  And once we see that choice A is false, choice C must be false, since the equation for gravitational potential energy involves the mass of the object (and we know that the satellites don’t have to be the same mass).  So that leaves us with choices B and D.  This is a little difficult to explain, so please consult a physics book if necessary, but it works out that the period of any circularly orbiting satellite (the period is the time it takes to complete one orbit) is dependent upon just two things: the mass of the body being orbited (in this case the earth) and the distance at which the satellite is orbiting.  They are both circularly orbiting the earth, so they must both have the same orbital period because they are both orbiting at the same distance.  Choice B is, therefore, the answer.  They must also be orbiting at the same speed, because their orbital path length and period are both the same, so why isn’t choice D also an answer?  Well, because speed and velocity are not precisely the same thing.  Velocity always includes a directional component, and the satellites do not have to be orbiting the earth in the same ‘direction’ (i.e. one could be orbiting in an east-west direction, and the other could be orbiting in a west-east direction, or a north-south direction, or a northeast-southwest direction, etc.).

Sincerely,
Dale Paynter

That answer is actually quite complex. There are many opportunities available to Optometrists that extend far beyond what most students are familiar with which often includes private practice and retail settings. As the scope of Optometry continues to grow, so do the types of careers Optometrists can choose to follow. In this article, I will explore some of the vast settings Optometrists can choose to work in and what types of careers are available to Optometrists.

Solo Private Practice

Solo private practice consists of an Optometrist who wishes to begin his/her own practice and provides primary care to his/her patients. Private practice is not limited to primary care, and often times, private practices may specialize in certain areas. Some specialty private practices include but are not limited to: contact lens, low vision, geriatrics, pediatrics, vision therapy, binocular vision, sports vision, and ocular disease. Although a residency may help establish an Optometrist as a “specialist,” residencies are in fact not required to become a specialist in a particular aspect of Optometry. Optometrists become specialists in certain fields after they have had enough exposure in a particular subset of Optometry. This exposure can be acquired either by course work, continuing education, or simply ample experience to feel confident enough in their abilities to consider themselves specialists. (Picture thanks to Dr. Joel Kestenbaum)

Group Practice

Similar to private practice, group practice consists of several Optometrists working together in order to provide primary care or specialty care to a specific subset of the population.

Retail Optometry

An increasing form of employment, many Optometrists now seek careers within retail centers such as Walmart, Costco, Pearle Vision, Davis Vision, America’s Best, etc. The terms of employment can become quite complex as the Optometrists may simply choose to rent space from the center, or become an employee of the retail center. Often times, this form of employment is sought because it frees Optometrists from the extensive costs to establish a private practice of their own.

Ophthalmological Settings

Similar to group practice, in this type of setting, the Optometrist works together with other Optometrists and Ophthalmologists in what is usually more of a medical setting. The Optometrist often performs pre and post surgical clinical care and administers other types of testing based on the patient and procedure.

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)

In this type of setting, the Optometrist, working with many other types of primary healthcare providers will provide care to members of the specific HMO and is free from any of the business aspects in providing care. The testing and procedures performed by the Optometrist are usually dictated by the HMO within this type of practice.

Veterans Administration (VA) and Military

Optometrists have the opportunity to join the military and become officers within the armed forces while working with other types of healthcare professionals in hospitals or clinical settings. It is important to note that the Optometrist does not need to join the military to work in VA hospitals although some do.

Research and Academics

Optometrists can seek careers in research and academics, which often requires additional advanced degrees such as M.S., Ph.D. and/or residencies. The Optometrist can choose to teach various subjects extending from ocular anatomy to clinical care.

This article merely scratches the surface of the types of practices, settings, and careers available to Optometrists. Optometrists are not limited to choosing only one path. Many Optometrists pursue multiple paths and integrate them. It all comes down to what the Optometrist prefers, and part of discovering what type of setting one desires involves experiencing all that Optometry has to offer.

Best Regards,
Antonio Chirumbolo

Do you have anything to add? Post it below in the comments and stay tuned for more articles!

My first year of optometry school was phenomenal and it really developed my dedication to the field of optometry. I always thought that I was really dedicated and committed to the field prior to entering opt school, but now that I have been exposed to a number of influences, my commitment has grown 100 fold. I have been exposed to some of the best optometry clinicians in the nation, great optometry organizations and clubs like the AOSA, learned how to conduct a primary eye care examination and I was fortunate enough to start my own project “OptometryStudents.com” which really exposed me to opportunities that most students do not get to experience so early in school.

School was a wild roller coaster; one-minute things are moving smoothly and the next minute it’s time to study for 6 midterms and a major final clinical assessment. There was no doubt about it, optometry school was extremely difficult for me, especially when I am the type of person who is all about having fun. Yet optometry school was fun basically every day that I walked into the building, it was only the month before midterms and a month before finals that things got extremely hectic. I look back on it now and laugh and smile thinking, “did I really just pull that off?” I learned such a plethora of valuable material not only about eyes but also about diagnosing and treating patients in general.

One big thing that stood out for me in optometry school was that I finally began to retain the material I was being taught. In undergrad I would learn everything in my bio & phys classes about various health conditions, but I would forget the specifics of the material after the class final. Optometry school changed all that… When you come to realize you are going to be a doctor with the capability to save lives and vision every single day you begin to have a new respect for yourself and your knowledge. Although 4 years seems like a lot you say to yourself “Oh crap! This is my last 4 years of school, my last chance! I better try to learn everything under the sun!!” Things you learn are no longer in one ear out the other, but instead the material sticks in your mind, ready to be utilized at any given moment. So for any student entering optometry school get ready for useful knowledge about the workings of the body and health conditions that you can share with your patients, family and friends. Many students e-mail me asking me if optometry school is hard and difficult and of course my answer is yes. Yet on the other hand, the difficultly is countered by your desire and motivation to learn and become a good doctor.

At SUNY we learned everything from nutrition and dieting to what to do if a patient collapses on the floor from a vasovagal reflex when the eye is touched; of course all the stuff about eyes we learned also, to a caliber that blew my socks off.

Favorite Things About Becoming an Optometrist

-You become extremely disciplined in controlling yourself and keeping composure. This is cultivated because school requires you to buckle down and do what you need to do to solidify yourself a successful future.

-You learn the secrets and workings behind the coolest part of the human body.

-You have the ability to pursue a million avenues that will all lead you to success, and I am not just talking about you’re the way you practice and the types of patients you will see.

-You build a family of people going through the same exact situation as you are and hence you build relationships that will last forever.

-You cultivate the ability to sacrifice short-term satisfaction for long-term riches. In my opinion it is this mentality that will lead your down a path of success.

Least Favorite Things About Becoming an Optometrist

-The cost of optometry school + living expenses can cost upwards to about $200,000 dollars in student loans after interest from many years of re-payment is taken into account. I personally take out about $41,000 / year.

-Having to put on hold your “normal life” during the months when midterms and finals take place.

-Sometimes I felt that I was being taught unnecessary material that would not help me clinically; this to me was frustrating. Although at this point I cannot fully say if the material is useful or not because I am not a clinician, so only time can reveal the truth on this one.

-The looming anxiety of knowing that the profession of optometry does face pressures from both federal and state governments, other medical professions and believe it or not, from optometrists themselves. This is one of the hardest things to cope with. Yet thankfully, I can sleep well at night because I know we have the AOA on our side, they are an angel in disguise and they will make sure optometry is safe and sound.

How Opt School Differs From Undergrad

Of course there are a MILLION ways in which opt school differs from undergrad like less partying ) but…

-You learn the eye in a way that is interesting and that makes you want to learn more.

-You are treated as a doctor and much more is expected of you. You are not just a name on a teachers Microsoft Excel grading sheet. You really begin to create a “doctor identity” for yourself from day one. Your name is basically your brand as a doctor so you better create a good name for yourself!

-In most cases opt school costs much more and hence more value is placed upon it.

-You definitely feel more mature and hold more of a responsibility. I personally toned down on the partying and watching T.V and instead used my free time to do more productive things relating to my profession. This is not to say undergrad was all fun and opt school is no fun at all. Myself and my friends did a ton of fun things every single weekend.

The Most Challenging Things About First Year

-The transition from undergrad to graduate school. My undergrad senior year was relaxed and I even took a vacation or two. Optometry school on the other hand required much more time, energy and brainpower than I initially expected. I had some sort of withdrawal from the relaxed summer life I was living and didn’t want to face the fact that it was time to start a new chapter in my life. This feeling passed after about 2 months of school and my mind state about the situation became much more positive.

The Most Valuable Things I Came Across During First Year

-The AOA is a fantastic organization that really supports optometry students and the profession of optometry. In my opinion without the AOA optometry would be not be in the best position right now.

-A properly done case history is perhaps the most valuable part of your exam, the patient is basically telling you the answer.

-Always observe your patient on the way from the waiting room to the exam room. The way they stand, walk, use their vision and other qualities of their physical composure can tell you valuable information about how to treat them.

-When diagnosing, always focus on “the company that it keeps.” (ex- does a red eye also come with headaches and fever? – what company does the ocular condition come with?)

-Don’t be so quick to disregard that your patient has a serious medical condition, saying instead that the problem is refractive in nature. It may take extra testing or even a referral to another doctor but you better be 100% sure that your patients ocular and systemic health is ok before you send them out of your exam room.

-Never diagnose amblyopia without having a cause for why the patient is amblyopic.

-Practice makes perfect. Spend time in the practice clinic until primary eyecare testing becomes second nature.

-It is equally as important to get involved in your profession via clubs, leadership positions and creative entrepreneurial ideas, as it is to get good marks in your classes. So it is a balancing act between networking/involvement and getting good grades but both are essential to being a successful optometrist. Keep in mind that not all of these opportunities will come from inside of school so make sure to explore local optometrists and conventions like Optometry’s Meeting and Vision Expo East and West.

Things To Pursue In Opt School

-If you have an idea that you think would benefit yourself and others then pursue it. Optometry has plenty of room for creative thinkers, so if you have an entrepreneurial idea then talk to the right people and see what you can make of it.

-Join clubs that you are passionate about when the year starts off. As the year rolls on you will see which clubs you like the most and from here you can run for a position within the club. I think that student involvement in the AOSA and other clubs is so critical to having a good time in optometry school and to ensuring yourself a successful future.

-Scholarships! Find out from your dean what scholarships you can take advantage of. Keep tuned to OptometryStudents.com because we will have some insight into scholarship opportunities!

-Keep track of your expenses. In the future as an OD you will be managing your money very closely so why not start now and learn a lesson or two? Don’t over spend and think that just because you took out $40,000 in loans you can use $5,000 of it on concerts, clothes shopping and going to the bar. Create a plan to use your money wisely. This is something I really enjoy and so I will be writing lots of articles on how to manage your funds and how to make your money work for you!

Things To Stay Away From in Optometry School

-People who hate on optometry and continually talk negative about it.

-Taking out more loan money then you need. Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans have a interest rate locked in at 6.8% while graduate plus loans have interest rates of usually 7.5% – 8.5%. Graduate Plus loans typically max out at about $2,500 and are used just to get that extra little bit of cash. But really it would be beneficial to get the $2,500 from a summer job instead of from a high interest loan.

-Negative influences in general. You will really need all the positivity and motivation you can get so surround yourself with people who uplift you and empower you!

Random Tips

-Keep a separate journal labeled “Clinical Gems” in your book bag. Whenever you come across a piece of wisdom jot it down in your journal. It will be fun to look back at your journal in 4 years to see random information that you could never find in any textbook. (Hey, maybe you can sell your clinical gems for a profit

-Go to your professors for help, seriously this will help you sooo much. Professors tend to teach differently when it is one on one, so don’t be scared just go to their office hours.

The Mentality To Have During First Year

-You are on the path to becoming a doctor; if it were easy everyone would do it. Stick to it!!

-Stay positive, stay focused and if you give it your 100% effort you will succeed.

-Your classmates are your teammates. Although the feeling of competition may arise, keep in mind that you are all in this together.

-Your success begins with one single positive thought. Make sure your thoughts are consistently positive and that they empower you along your journey. You would be surprised how far a positive thought can take you.

-You are a key player in benefitting the profession of optometry. You can make a difference in peoples vision and in making sure the profession of optometry grows stronger.

So now that you have read this entire article I have one question for you…..

When you start your first year of optometry school are you going to “take it as it comes”, “see how it goes”, “try to pass” and have a laid back attitude?

or

Will you put your heart and soul into it, and give it your 100% effort, dedication and creativity, and know FULLY beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are going to freakin’ OWN your classes and become an AMAZING Optometrist?

I chose the latter…

Best of luck in your first year,
Matt Geller