http://www.odwire.org/forum/forums/69-Pre-Optometry

I highly suggest other pre-opts frequent this forum in addition to SDN. For all of you that think some of the ODs on here are paranoid/lazy/ridiculous/etc you especially need to utilize this forum.

I have tried several times to register but never get an email. Can you post some of the discussions?

I have tried several times to register but never get an email. Can you post some of the discussions?

Sure, here is a response from the moderator to a question I asked about where the doctors see optometry in 10 years, 20, 30, etc etc. Others have posted various opinions and varying situations:

"I was hoping that one of our membersmany of whom are loaded with opinions would have tackled this risky prognostication issue. So far no takers so I guess it's up to me.

The further into the future the greaterrisk of error. With that said...

I will make this discussion from the vantage points of pre-optometry students who must decide whether optometry should be their career choice.

The short term future

Beginning in 2013 there will be an excess of optometric graduates due to three new optometry colleges opening theirdoors in 2009. This optometric oversupply will extend into the foreseeable future.

An additional two new optometry colleges are planned to open by 2013. This will add to the excess ODsin 2017.

The good news for optometry applicants is that there will slots available for most who apply,even with marginal GPA and poor OCAT scores. The question each applicant must ask themselves, will the six figure debt incurred be a good return on investment?

The glut of graduates will mean starting salaries of ODs will be reduced. Fewer opportunities for employment by private practice ODs in favor of commercial locations such as WalMart,Costco and Target. The pros and cons of private versus commercial practice, can be discussed on another topic. Ask the question and ODs will leap into that conversation.

There will be opportunities in the short term future working for ophthalmologists, military, government employment for the Indian Health Service, Veteran's Administration and HMOs. Advantages and disadvantages of these career choices are a separate topic.

What are the unknowns for this short term prognostication? How will optometry be treated when the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) also known by its critics as ObamaCare goes into effect in 2014. Will it even happen? That is the question.

If PPACA goes into effect, it may have a profound effect on optometric managed care and the every expanding influence of commercial optometry. Will it be a positive or negative for optometry is still being debated.

Another variable is how the objections of rank and file ODs will effect the glut of graduates. Will there be restrictive National Board testing to weed out unqualified graduates? Will State boards make licensing more difficult to keep out new ODs from their state. Can these initiatves be considered anti-trust. These issues are being debated privately and could have an effect on optometric careers.

The mid term future

Going more than ten years out becomes problematic. Here is my guess...

The United States will finally be the last nation to adopt a national health insurance plan. Eye care will be included. Basic eye wear will be part of the program.

Some ODs will decide remain in a commercial environment where eyewear is sold. They will take on a supervisory role allowing refracting opticians to perform the eyeglass exam. ODs will perform the eye health exam and supervise the ophthalmic dispensing area.

These refraction centers will be extremely busy because all will be covered for periodic eye exams. ODs can expect lower reimbursements that will be made up by high volume.

Other ODs will elect to be in secondary centers working with Ophthalmologistss who will be performing surgery while ODs treat the pathology found and referred from the commercial refracting centers. There will be fee for services but at a much lower reimbursement rate than at present.

Far into the future...

Optometric education will be absorbed into medical education paid for by the government. Opticians will be trained in present optometry colleges with government paying for education as well

Eye Care will be divide up into Dispensing Optician, Refracting Optician, Optometric Physician and Surgical Ophthalmic Physician. All will be housed in a central location. All will be salaried. Salaries dependent on level ofeducation and training.

With all of these prognostications there will be the upper 10% of the population who will elect to be private pay over and above their basic medical benefits. Concierge health care will remain alive and well into the 22ndcentury, if the world survives.

Those are my predicitions. Let others with a different visions speak up.

More important pre-optometry students keep asking qustions. It's your future. "

In case you couldn’t tell, most (perhaps all) of the ODs hanging around here recently already come from that site. That’s why you get the point of view that you’re getting. Your best bet is to use your own common sense and keep abreast of the latest political news yourself. I wouldn’t solely rely on someone to feed this kind of information to you from their own perspective.

You may also want to actually talk to some local ODs or vary your sources a bit. Nothing wrong with the internet, but obviously if someone is motivated enough to go out of their way to complain heavily about a subject on an internet forum then you can’t really expect to get anything but a certain view point from that person when you then ask them about that same subject. That doesn’t mean that what is being said doesn’t have some truth to it, but it needs to be vetted and balanced IMO using your own personal criteria and knowledge. (Just fyi, someone will probably be along shortly to tell you that all of your local ODs are complete liars and can’t be trusted.:))

In regards to the future, it is not possible for anyone to know what the future holds especially since so many things to do with these professions is tied to politics. If you choose to believe the worst then that’s your right. If you choose to believe the best then that’s about equally as likely to be what happens as well. Usually though the truth falls somewhere in the middle.

I personally think that having a strong association on your side can help push things in the direction you want them to go. Some will say that it’s too late already or come up with excuses as to why it can’t be done, but that kind of talk just promotes inaction. If you don’t have the will to even attempt to change these organizations to do your bidding then you really have nothing to complain about. However, I understand that for some people it’s easier to just do nothing and blame pre-optoms or maybe the President or something for all of their personal woes.

In case you couldn’t tell, most (perhaps all) of the ODs hanging around here recently already come from that site. That’s why you get the point of view that you’re getting. Your best bet is to use your own common sense and keep abreast of the latest political news yourself. I wouldn’t solely rely on someone to feed this kind of information to you from their own perspective.

You may also want to actually talk to some local ODs or vary your sources a bit. Nothing wrong with the internet, but obviously if someone is motivated enough to go out of their way to complain heavily about a subject on an internet forum then you can’t really expect to get anything but a certain view point from that person when you then ask them about that same subject. That doesn’t mean that what is being said doesn’t have some truth to it, but it needs to be vetted and balanced IMO using your own personal criteria and knowledge. (Just fyi, someone will probably be along shortly to tell you that all of your local ODs are complete liars and can’t be trusted.:))

In regards to the future, it is not possible for anyone to know what the future holds especially since so many things to do with these professions is tied to politics. If you choose to believe the worst then that’s your right. If you choose to believe the best then that’s about equally as likely to be what happens as well. Usually though the truth falls somewhere in the middle.

I personally think that having a strong association on your side can help push things in the direction you want them to go. Some will say that it’s too late already or come up with excuses as to why it can’t be done, but that kind of talk just promotes inaction. If you don’t have the will to even attempt to change these organizations to do your bidding then you really have nothing to complain about. However, I understand that for some people it’s easier to just do nothing and blame pre-optoms or maybe the President or something for all of their personal woes.

Or you could just put your faith in a pharmacist who knows virtually nothing of optometry. No one is blaming pre-opts or the President or Oprah or anyone else, netmag. They're just pointing out the realities of the profession and problems that few preopts seem to be aware or accepting of. When I hear pre-ops say they want to pursue optometry because it offers "balance" in life with good pay, a solid future, and many career options, it makes my stomach turn. Then again, so do most of your posts so anyone has the right to believe what they want.

Or you could just put your faith in a pharmacist who knows virtually nothing of optometry. No one is blaming pre-opts or the President or Oprah or anyone else, netmag. They're just pointing out the realities of the profession and problems that few preopts seem to be aware or accepting of. When I hear pre-ops say they want to pursue optometry because it offers "balance" in life with good pay, a solid future, and many career options, it makes my stomach turn. Then again, so do most of your posts so anyone has the right to believe what they want.

:thumbup:

Or you could just put your faith in a pharmacist who knows virtually nothing of optometry. No one is blaming pre-opts or the President or Oprah or anyone else, netmag. They're just pointing out the realities of the profession and problems that few preopts seem to be aware or accepting of. When I hear pre-ops say they want to pursue optometry because it offers "balance" in life with good pay, a solid future, and many career options, it makes my stomach turn. Then again, so do most of your posts so anyone has the right to believe what they want.

You have to love their blind enthusiasm right? Blinded by their will to succeed in becoming an OD, they fail to even attempt to want to see the realities of things.

As Cadillac's model says: This is not your father's Caddi; "this is NOT your father's optometry!

I have tried several times to register but never get an email. Can you post some of the discussions?

Same here. I can login but can't access private forums. Anyone have any tips?

http://www.odwire.org/forum/forums/69-Pre-Optometry

I highly suggest other pre-opts frequent this forum in addition to SDN. For all of you that think some of the ODs on here are paranoid/lazy/ridiculous/etc you especially need to utilize this forum.

Don't believe us huh? I challenge you to go to your nearest Costco or Walmart or other commercial practice and shadow the doc for every Saturday for 1 month. Then come back and apologize to me and the other concerned ODs on this forum.:meanie:

Don't believe us huh? I challenge you to go to your nearest Costco or Walmart or other commercial practice and shadow the doc for every Saturday for 1 month. Then come back and apologize to me and the other concerned ODs on this forum.:meanie:

I actually shadowed a Costco OD for a few hours. He bought me a chicken bake for lunch...true story. :D