To my fellow optometric colleagues,
If you find yourself as I once did, in the midst of a large school with numerous ominous exams and assessments, many of you may wonder how you would ever be able to have time to become involved with student association groups. Well, believe me, it is much easier than it seems. By devoting your time into a student group, it will not only enrich your optometry career as a student, but you will meet doctors and students that you would not have associated yourself with normally. In addition to meeting all sorts of neat people, being plugged in will give you opportunities that are unattainable otherwise.
First, what type of student organizations are out there? Well, that varies from campus to campus. My recommendation would be to go to your optometry school’s website and see what they have listed available. At the State University of New York (SUNY), there are a number of groups that we can choose from. First, at every school, there is most likely an American Optometric Student Association (AOSA) group. This is a great group in that it is directly connected to the American Optometric Association (AOA). For those that do not know about the AOA, the AOA is a national optometric association standing up for the profession in a political way. Our profession would not be close to where it is today if it was not for the AOA. Activities vary from school to school. Mostly, the AOSA is responsible in getting the student body engaged in national issues like the recent issues such as the board certification process or government sponsored public options proposals. Visit the AOA website: www.aoa.org for more information.
On a similar note, if you attend a school in the United States, there will be state association groups that are actively involved with the student body. At SUNY optometry, the NYSOA or New York State Optometric Association has been paramount in addressing the importance of active involvement of students and ODs in the state legislature. Activities with the NYSOA at my school varied from lunch programs to state association run lobby days where we strive to obtain more privileges as ODs. One of the biggest challenges in keeping progress in our profession is keeping doctors actively involved in their state association. If we all start as students, the long term benefits are tremendous. To learn more about the NYSOA, please visit the website: www.NYSOA.org
Jumping out of a political realm, there are other groups on your optometry school’s campus like the Vision 2020, LIONS club or Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH) organizations. What are these groups all about? Well, they are non-for-profit organizations dedicated to helping the underprivileged sectors of the world. It is very important in my opinion to go at least on one mission trip while you are in optometry school. Why? Well, it gives you a sense of how fortunate we really are. It was actually a motivating observation for me when I went on a mission trip to see the amount of hardships many families have to persevere through in other areas of the world. Most people in the world do not have running water in their homes or proper plumbing in their communities. To look at our lives and compare it to a world of poverty is certainly an eye opener. You may obtain information about Vision 2020 at www.V2020.org , the VOSH group at www.VOSH.org , or the lions club at www.lions.org . The impact that you can make on another individual is priceless.
Another opportunity at my school was to be part of a faith based group. At my school, there is an organization called FCO (Fellowship of Christian Optometrists). What is great about FCO is that we really are a community devoted to up building of the campus for the betterment of everyone. FCO has many opportunity in missions too in that there is a monthly mission volunteer opportunity at a local homeless shelter and yearly mission trip options. Find out about your local FCO chapter at www.FCO.org. The students at my school that belonged to FCO truly became my brothers and sisters as we all strove to up build and support each other. Their presence at school has been extremely rewarding.
There are other professional groups like the American Academy of Optometry (AAO). The American Academy of Optometry is an academic group involved in the most current research in the ophthalmic profession. If you are completed a joint degree OD/MS, then the AAO is a must for you to join. The group has annual meetings and has a great support structure for young ODs to join and be part of. The nice thing about being part of the AAO is that you will be able to apply for a fellowship one day and be connected with some of the brightest minds in the profession. After you become a fellow, many professional doors will open to you from career opportunities to a wide variety of information. More information can be found at www.aaopt.org .
Another great group at campuses is the COVD group. COVD stands for the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. Behavioral vision doctors are in short supply and the need for them is greater than ever. If you have an interest in vision therapy and behavioral vision, I would definitely recommend being part of COVD. At our school, COVD meetings consist of guest lecturers coming in and talking about their office and how to be a successful behavioral optometrist. Most clubs on campus have a great community in that other students can share therapy ideas and network with other future behavioral specialists. The COVD website is www.COVD.org.
There are certainly a lot of clubs. Some of which, I may have not even mentioned. My suggestion to you would be to investigate the ones you want to get involved with and stay connected. After you are connected, make that club into the best club at your campus, get other students engaged and be prepared for a fantastic time. If anything, being part of clubs on campus motivates you as an optometry student to where you will eventually be. Again, you never know the doors that will be opened up to you by being involved. Many of which would not have been possible without your involvement. Feel free to contact you school’s student affairs office for more information about student organizations and how you might impact your student body.
All the best on your journey in becoming an optometrist,
Sincerely,
Paul Heeg
Class of 2010 at SUNY Optometry
Past President of the NYSOA Student Society 2008-2009
AOA-PAC SUNY Student Liaison 2009-2010
FCO Treasurer 2007-2009
LEO Club Treasurer 2008-2009
Paul, Just wanted to let you know that the Academy’s website is actually http://www.aaopt.org, not .com. We look forward to seeing you in San Francisco November 17-20, 2010, for Academy 2010 San Francisco!
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Thanks so much Helen! I made the changes.
Spread the word about the website and feel free to let us know what you would like to see on the site.
Matt
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Hi,
I just want to know that how is going to be written my recommendation letter by the doctor or center where I did my obeservation.Is there any special format.
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Great post Paul! As a 1st yr optometry student at WesternU, I’m constantly bombarded with taking med school classes with the DO students to satisfy our basic science requirements. The time requirement for these classes is enormous to say the least. Because of this, sometimes, you can feel like you’ve lost your original goal of becoming an optometrist. That’s why it’s important for opt students to find time to participate in school clubs, volunteering in vision screenings, attend AAO or AOSA meetings or attend local optometric society meetings. By participating in such events, it will definitely prevent you from losing sight of your number one goal, which is to become an OD. Not only will participating in such endeavors make you a more well-rounded OD, it will make you a more knowledgeable one. I can remember as a pre-opt student, my friend and I, attended the AAO Meeting in 2008. It was a very interesting, educational, and exciting worthwhile experience for the both of us. The meeting allowed the pre-opt student to preview his/her future profession through learning different cutting edge techniques and treatment by the highly experienced and leading experts in the field of eye care. We were able to network with other optometry students, residents, current ODs, and faculty members of different optometry schools from around the world. It was a great learning experience to ask current students at the different optometry schools about their ACTUAL experiences with their respective schools to learn about both the positive and negative aspects of their optometry programs.
As an opt student now, I’ve been able to participate in several vision screenings with the local Lion’s Club in my area. Most people think that vision screening involves just taking visual acuities (VA), but in actuality that is only a myth because a true vision screening involves taking a good patient history, performing some entrance exams (VA, Cover test, Near Point of Convergence, Stereopsis testing, EOMs, Pupil Testing), retinoscopy with retinoscopy racks to determine a pt’s Rx, Direct ophthalmoscope to check the ocular health (optic nerve, macula, and blood vessels near optic nerve), hand-held tonometer to check for eye pressures (IOPs), and sometimes even a slit lamp is used to check mainly the anterior part (cornea, anterior chamber angle, iris, lens) of the eye structures. I’ve been fortunate to work with great ODs who allow me to do most of the testing, and then they check my work and we discuss the patient findings to see if they need a referral for additional primary care. Most opt students may find it surprising but you can actually learn a great deal of info just evaluating your pt’s VA findings and their age to determine if the patient has either a certain refractive error or a non-refractive error. You can actually sometimes predict a pt’s VA just by knowing their refractive error (myopes, hyperopes, astigmats). At vision screenings, you really learn how to analyze your exam findings and discuss possible treatment plans, which are crucial skills which you will need to master if you plan to become a competent doctor. Being able to attend vision screenings will not only improve your clinical skills, it will also allow you to network with Lion Club members who can definitely help you with the possibility of future patient referrals because they are a very large organization. It’s definitely a win-win situation! So what I’m trying to say is that although school should be your #1 priority, don’t forget why you entered the profession in the first place…to help other individuals improve their eye care.
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Thanks Thai for that well written reply. I would also recommend that you go to this year’s AOA meeting in Orlando Florida. There is only 1 day left to get the discounted rate of $50. Go to http://www.optometrysmeeting.org for more info. I will be there… if you are going, I look forward in seeing there as well! Have a good rest of your week!
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I just wanted to share some of my invigorating experiences from last month’s Remote Area Medical Volunteer Corps or also known as the 2010 RAM/LA event. To say that I learned a great deal from the experience would be a gross understatement. WOW!!! It was a very controlled chaotic experience from the moment I stepped inside the Los Angeles Sports Arena. There were hundreds of volunteers from different health professions (dental, medicine, acupuncture, optometry, ophthalmology, etc) assisting a very needy population of about 1200. Just imagine an ER episode…but this time not in a hospital, but instead a HUGE arena. I was able to utilize the clinical skills that I’ve been taught at WesternU to the fullest extent. During the 6 hours that I was there, I was able to work at the visual acuity (VA) station, autorefractor station, the lensometry station, and finally the subjective refraction station. Performing lensometry on a bifocal, I can remember my optics professor’s great advice on how to determine the add power. And yes, you heard right…the SUBJECTIVE monocular refraction station!!! Two other classmates and I were the ONLY 1st years among the other ODs and 2nd & 3rd year SCCO students who were refracting the patients. Believe it or not, but we were able to perform the subjective refraction and then prescribe our findings so that the patients could go to another station to get their new free glasses. We had a terrific staff OD from VOSH who checked off our findings. It was a great learning experience to be able to work collaboratively with other optometry students and practicing ODs. I was able to examine patients who were high astigmatic hyperopias (they had cylinders around -5.75 D in each eye), possible refractive amblyopes, anisometropes, unsuccessful cataract surgery patients, and patients who suffered from eye pathology such as diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and so on. It seemed to me like every patient had a significant amount of cylinder in their prescription, and desperately needed eyecare.
Yesterday was the first time that I truly felt like I was thinking like a REAL doctor. For instance, being able to critically think and analyze data is far different from just clicking/dialing in a patient’s autorefractor prescription. As I attempted to select a proper treatment plan for each patient, I recalled and utilized what I’ve learned from my classes, and the great advice and words of wisdom that my faculty members and clerkship preceptors taught me…always listen to your patient, trust your findings, and act confidently. One case in point was when I was refracting a patient who loved cylinder power, and I was able to quickly recognize that the patient data just did not make sense, so I didn’t give her the cylinder unless her VA’s improved. Most of the cases that I witnessed yesterday were NOT your typical textbook cases. It was really a humble learning experience. There were just too many people there who needed our help, and not enough volunteers…so much that they had to close the doors around 6 pm. Although understaffed, all the volunteers worked endlessly to accomplish one goal…to improve the health of each patient. I wish everyone could have had this wonderful experience. I wish you could witness all the hard work that all of the volunteers did that day. It’s like a dream, I still cannot believe that I am here… only a 1st yr student and being able to refract and prescribe next to more experienced future colleagues, and making a difference in people’s lives…it cannot get any better than this. I am truly INSPIRED!!! If you are a current optometry student and have yet to experience this event, then I would highly encourage you to do so…trust me, you won’t regret it.
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