Hello:
Im not a student at UHCO but I can tell you what I did the summer after 1st year.
I spent the summer working at the eye clinic at school. I have another job on campus during the school year that I was keeping through the summer so I thought to find another part-time job since I would have to pay for a parking pass anyway. I really enjoyed working in the eye clinic because it allowed me the chance to see how the clinic runs and prepared me for being a clinician down there. In addition, I learned about some different vision insurance/discount plans. Since Ive been seeing patients as a clinician, my experience from working in the clinic has helped so much. Our clinic runs a bit weird (separate place to make follow-up appointments, cashier is in a different place, and a whole different protocol to check someone in to the eyewear department), so I actually knew all those procedures since I saw what clinicians were messing up with during the summer. It made me more confident when I started seeing patients. I sometimes have to direct my classmates who are unaware how things work where to go (which doesnt look too well if they look lost in front of a patient). Also knowing the different insurance/discount plans allowed me to tell patients what they were covered for while they were in the exam chair rather than being surprised when I walked them over to the cashier. Almost everyone that works at the clinic is really nice and I got along with my manager so that helps me now also (like I can probably cut in line, well not really, but they do help me out hehe). I also got to know the opticians and got the chance to talk to the 3rd year clinicians when they were first starting out and were really nervous and then I saw them at the end of the summer just flowing and being a lot more comfortable with their patients. If you do plan to work in the summer, I would try to see if the school has any openings to work in the clinic (most schools, it seems, like to hire their own opto students) since it can help you out later.
My school doesnt have electives that we can take, but I probably would have taken some if they were offered since 2nd year at optometry school is stressful.
Some of my classmates were actually thinking about studying for boards (reading Schwartz), but no one really did. 🙂
I would say the majority of my class just spent the summer relaxing and traveling which is perfectly fine. Some of them even went on trips together oversees and had a great time.
There may be volunteer opportunities available (such as VOSH), so that is also something you can plan or be a part of (plane tickets and accommodations may be more expensive during the summer).
Best wishes,
Rosanna
