CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR VISION EXPO EAST
FREE Exhibit Hall Registration ($75 value)
Free Continuing Education (unlimited)
Free Student Courses, sponsored by VSP
Free Student Lunch, sponsored by Alcon
Free Student Party, sponsored by Optometrystudents.com
As The International Vision Expo and Conference in New York approaches, I went on a mission to discover how this internationally-known pre-eminent fashion and medical eyewear event could benefit private practice optometrists, as well as students pursuing private practice optometry in the future.
New York City is known as one of the world’s most impressive metros in the realm of business opportunities, finance, and life in general. What better place to host an international vision expo and conference where optometrists and their staff, optometry students, vendors and suppliers, and many other attendees can network and gain valuable education relating to the optometric world? This three-day event can be planned to a tee using the “My Show Planner” tool with the Vision Expo East Mobile app provided by HOYA®, making it easier for busy private practice owners and tech savvy students to target what they think will benefit their careers and practices. This app gives us an easier way to enjoy the Vision Expo East experience.
Vision Expo East is a utopia for those interested in achieving a successful private practice. It’s packed with over 575 suppliers, as well as the largest continuing education program in the world, featuring clinical, medical, scientific, technical, and business focused courses.
As a student, Vision Expo East allows you to attend any of the continuing education courses as long as they are not sold out. This provides students a chance to sit amongst their future colleagues and get a glimpse of what it could be like to own your own practice. It also gives you the opportunity to learn things prior to graduation that could give you a head start once you enter the real world of private practice.
One of the best programs being offered to students this year is the Student Education Course sponsored by VSP Global™, led by Ryan Parker OD,
which gives a hands-on approach to learning. The course includes a presentation on product categories and vendor relations, and then gives students the chance to break into groups to implement a product into their “practice”. Students will compare products in the exhibit hall in order to decide which is best for their practice’s needs, and eventually present other groups why and how they chose the product purchased for their “practice”. This is a genius approach to give students the opportunity to see how Vision Expo East can be utilized to make proper business decisions quickly and efficiently in their private practice career post-graduation.
The International Vision Expo and Conference New York is an opportunity to excel within the field of optometry. No matter what your future plans are as an optometrist, this event will inspire you and guide you in the right direction. Continuing education courses led by some of the industry’s most successful players is invaluable to optometrists and students alike. Hundreds of vendors and suppliers, most of which offer discounts and rebates as well as free samples and gifts, all gather together to cater to current and future eye care professionals. Social gatherings and luncheons give students and ODs a chance to network and maybe even land a job offer or business opportunity that is hard to find anywhere else. The advantages of attending this conference are endless, and although I have touched only a few of the programs offered by Vision Expo East, it is enough to know that this will be an amazing and unforgettable experience that no student or eye care professional should pass up!
Jeannine Gutierrez, M.S.
Chief of Private Practice Optometry
Inter American University of Puerto Rico – School of Optometry c/o 2015
