Is there any optimism left in the field of optometry?

[ODstudent9]

I am asking because I will be starting optometry school in the fall. From what I have read, it seems to be all doom and gloom. Lots of loans, few jobs, and working very hard in optometry school to learn lots of useless information (although I'm sure it can't be as useless as the Chemistry degree I just earned), etc. I have spent a lot of time working at an optometrist's office starting before high school, and I would like to think that I am fairly well informed about the field. However, I think that there is a definite possibility that I have had the wool pulled over my eyes a little bit because I spent my time at a very successful private practice that was an extern site for an optometry school. Somebody help me out! Any words of encouragement? Is there anybody out there who still thinks optometry is a good idea?!

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[EyeCaptain]

SDN is not a good cross section of the field of Optometry. The issues discussed here are real, but that doesn't mean you still can't be successful. You have to be smart when choosing a practice location, minimize school debt, and learn as much as you can about what's happening in the field. Most people here will say it's not a viable profession anymore. If you are leaving school with 250,000 in debt, then I agree. If you can find a way to graduate with minimal debt, and you're not set on practicing in the most saturated areas, then I believe it can still be done. This will probably be the most positive post you will see on this thread. Just remember our opinions are worth what you paid for them.

 

[optoapp2012]

I agree with EyeCaptain. I just had lunch with a professor the other day who graduated from optometry school in the early 70s. He said people were making the same claims back then - private practice was dying. But that didn't happen. It has changed a lot since then - you couldn't even dilate patients back then (at least in California). But people are afraid of change and say that spells the end of things. He told this one story about Kaiser (an HMO)...I think it might have just been relating to one Kaiser hospital that was doing a renovation or for some reason wasn't doing eye exams for a couple years. Anyway, they allowed the patients to go anywhere and submit the claim to insurance. Once Kaiser was willing to take them back, only 1/4 of those people went back to Kaiser. The other 3/4 found that they preferred private practice doctors who took more time for exams. There will always be people for every mode of practice - some people prefer the quick and efficient exam at Kaiser. Some ODs want to practice in that model. Some people will prefer the private practice, and some OD's will want to practice in that model. Private practice will ALWAYS have a place. Just because the field is changing does not mean it's going downhill. That same doom and gloom story has been around for a LONG time.

That said, student debt levels are sky rocketing and THAT is a problem. Be frugal. Figure out how to minimize what you take out so that you aren't paying it off until retirement. Be open to living in smaller communities. You will have a much larger patient base, a much more loyal patient base, a higher chance of practicing in a wider scope (especially if you are the one and only eye expert in town), etc. It doesn't mean you have to go rural right out of school, but if you want to be able to open up a private practice and have a pretty good shot at success down the road, then you probably have to be open to smaller towns.

Study hard so that you leave knowing more than the minimum expected of you. Take every chance to get good experience - work part-time in an office, go to conferences, take on leadership positions, etc. All of those things will help you build a network and give you so much more knowledge about the field and what's going on in it so that you can be really successful.

 

[Salmon]

This forum seems to be one of the most cynical places on the web for optometry. I was reading similar questions on /r/optometry on reddit and the optometrists there are a lot more optimistic.

I'm curious about what you guys think of this: I'm aware that student loan debt is rising at a rate faster than inflation, but I'm wondering what the real damage will be to take home pay after inflation and increasing wages is accounted for. I know it's pretty bad still, but maybe not quite as bad if those are taken into consideration. Also, I'm aware that the actual cost of a loan is in the interest accrued...

 

[KHE]

I think that in optometry you always be able to find a job but the number of "good" jobs are rapidly dwindling. The recently published workforce study showing an oversupply of ODs will only exacerbate that and the sunk costs of the degree are rising far greater than the starting salaries. In fact, most starting salaries continue to hover around the same amount as when I graduated in 2000. The cost of the degree has skyrocketed since then.

If I were starting out today, I would not pursue optometry if my total debt load at graduation was more than twice my starting salary which would be around $180,000. If you anticipate being in more debt than that, I would say you need to proceed with extreme caution and a very detailed plan.

 

[blackhole2]

I think that in optometry you always be able to find a job but the number of "good" jobs are rapidly dwindling. The recently published workforce study showing an oversupply of ODs will only exacerbate that and the sunk costs of the degree are rising far greater than the starting salaries. In fact, most starting salaries continue to hover around the same amount as when I graduated in 2000. The cost of the degree has skyrocketed since then.

If I were starting out today, I would not pursue optometry if my total debt load at graduation was more than twice my starting salary which would be around $180,000. If you anticipate being in more debt than that, I would say you need to proceed with extreme caution and a very detailed plan.

Are these workforce studies publicly available or just on places like ODWire?

Edit: Concerning the cost of the degree, I would just like to comment to say back in 2005, the school I am interested in (public) had a tuition of around ~13,000/yr. It is now 25,000/year. That's almost 10 years ago but still that's a huge increase.

 

[KHE]

Are these workforce studies publicly available or just on places like ODWire?

Edit: Concerning the cost of the degree, I would just like to comment to say back in 2005, the school I am interested in (public) had a tuition of around ~13,000/yr. It is now 25,000/year. That's almost 10 years ago but still that's a huge increase.

http://www.healio.com/optometry/pra...ess-supply-of-eye-care-providers-through-2025

 

[opto2be]

http://www.healio.com/optometry/practice-management/news/online/{59d59bf7-e128-4a33-afec-3357d23e991e}/study-shows-possible-excess-supply-of-eye-care-providers-through-2025

This article spins it differently, saying there is an "adequate supply" rather than an oversupply. http://www.aoa.org/news/inside-opto...ce-is-adequate-to-meet-projected-demand?sso=y

Hasn't the AOA denied for many years that there was an oversupply? They actually felt there was an under-supply and used that as a basis to open more schools. They should admit that they were wrong.

 

[KHE]

This article spins it differently, saying there is an "adequate supply" rather than an oversupply. http://www.aoa.org/news/inside-opto...ce-is-adequate-to-meet-projected-demand?sso=y

Hasn't the AOA denied for many years that there was an oversupply? They actually felt there was an under-supply and used that as a basis to open more schools. They should admit that they were wrong.

In the minds of the AOA, if every citizen of the USA had their own personal optometrist, that would be an "adequate" supply and they would technically be correct.

If you dig into the article and the data, here is just one of the things you find:

"The data collected indicates that with increases in productivity, optometrists currently view themselves as able to accommodate much of the expected increase in demand. Responding optometrists reported that they could see an average of 19.8 additional patients per week if completely booked without adding hours to their practice schedule."

That statement basically means that optometrists are on average, UNDERBOOKED to the tune of about 20 patients per week. If the average optometrist sees 1.1 patients per hour (a statistic that is widespread and repeated) and works an average of 40 hours per week, that comes out to 44 patients per week. Being able to see an extra 20 patients per week means that the average optometrist is booked at at 68.8% capacity.

The first commenter on the bottom in the comments section of the article is quite a smart fellow. I agree with him strongly.

 

[EyeCaptain]

The first commenter on the bottom in the comments section of the article is quite a smart fellow. I agree with him strongly.

Almost as though you couldn't have said it better yourself?