Wow. Thanks for the balanced response, netmag. I see a lot of people ragging on the corporate/retail aspect of optometry. What I don't see a lot of are specifics as to why that area is so hated. I did see a post the other day that mentioned you are rushed with your patients (sometimes 8 in an hour) and they watch your lunch breaks like a hawk. To those with firsthand experience, is this true? 64 patients a day? Seems more than a bit exaggerated. But I'm also open to the fact that I have no idea what I'm talking about. Seems like there might be an hour or two once in a while where you see that many patients, but I have a hard time believing that's the norm.
Outside of those two items, it seems the overwhelming complaint about corporate optometry is the lack of prestige. If that assumption is correct, what kind of prestige were you expecting with optometry? If you're getting a fair wage that enables you to pay back your loans ($90k+ provides you that) and you're practicing your craft (even if it's almost always "which is better... 1 or 2), then you're actually pretty lucky.
Again, I'm just a pre-opt and I'm very open to all comments on this matter.
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