Can I get in to optometry school???? OAT exam in 5 weeks

[optstu]

Hello everyone,
I have been struggling with my optometry application process for the past year. And it has made me doubt that I can even get into optometry school. I have 4 years of work experience ( I am an optician, tester, and vision therapist at my clinic) I am very confident in my work experience and academic. I have a 3.5 acc. GPA with a BS in Biology and was a part of honors societies and clubs and organizations. The only thing that I feel has been dreadful would be my OAT exam I took it 2x and both were a year apart. One in oct of '15 and the second was oct in '16. Honestly I did not put my all both times and received a 250 on the 1st and 270 on the 2nd AA. My goal is to get 300+. Based on what I have told you what are some tactics to help me get this material into my brain. I started to lose hope and not have confidence in myself bc I am starting to get scared. I am also thinking of applying to majority of the opt schools, do you think thats a good idea or no?! and do i even have a chance??

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[WhyNeedAName]

Don't lose hope. You got a very nice GPA and a lot of optometry experiences. I would say apply for Optometry schools who look more wholistic (I probably spelled that wrong... whoops) compared to schools who care greatly more about OAT scores. You got this!

 

[20DOC20]

You really, really need to read through this site and research the negatives of Optometry because the profession is in serious trouble. DON'T BECOME AN OPTOMETRIST. I've been an optometrist for 20 years and I predict that I'll be FORCED to find another profession, and SOON. You need to research whether technology will replace optometrists and I say yes. There's a lawsuit right now between the American Optometric Association and Opternative. Opternative has an online refraction and they market it as "eye exam" to the public. If that's allowed, we're done. The profession has maybe 20 years left and for the amount of money and time you'll need to invest to become an OD and the return on that investment will be slim. My advice: Become a Physician's Assistant. You'll have a high salary and you'll have a better lifestyle had you become an MD. Dentistry is good right now, too. I'd stay away from Audiology and Podiatry. Nursing is always in demand but you'll have to wipe behinds. There are good jobs in Cardiac Sonography and in Nuclear Medical Imaging and those are usually 5 yr bacchelor degrees. I've heard pharmacy is bad --- from pharmacists, though on paper it looks good.

 

[20DOC20]

My goodness, you have a 3.5 GPA. You can do better than Optometry. Please be willing to do the research into the dark side of this profession and just peruse some of my posts. Some OD's have had an even more horrible career than myself. One colleague of mine would sit outside during her lunch hour and cry (according to her mom) and various optometry jobs stressed her out so much she died of cancer before the age of 40. She and I were the same age and she died about 5 years ago. I think about her all the time and I believe Optometry killed her. She was a sweet, kind person in a cutthroat profession. I talked to her mother on Facebook and her mother told me how miserable optometry made her daughter and that I should "take care of myself." Her mother was worried about me of all things! Anyway, you really need to step outside your current work environment, as it looks like you've worked for a successful VT practice, and take a look at the profession as a whole.

 

[WhyNeedAName]

Wow, your hatred for optometry sounds very personal. (s)he was a technician for over 4 years, don't you think they'll know enough of the game? I've been a technician myself for 4 years and have 100+hrs of shadowing, don't you think I would know the game?
Now, before you even bother to waste more of your dusty life to respond again, did (s)he even bother to ask if the field is a good field to get into? No. They asked if their stats was good enough for optometry school.

 

[20DOC20]

Wow, your hatred for optometry sounds very personal. (s)he was a technician for over 4 years, don't you think they'll know enough of the game? I've been a technician myself for 4 years and have 100+hrs of shadowing, don't you think I would know the game?
Now, before you even bother to waste more of your dusty life to respond again, did (s)he even bother to ask if the field is a good field to get into? No. They asked if their stats was good enough for optometry school.

Actually, sometimes experience can play against you in one particular situation. If you happen to work in a successful private practice that's actually making money and thriving. She's working in an office that does vision therapy and that tells me she's working for a sub-specialist who is likely FCOVD. Vision therapy offices tend to do well because they're specialized optometrists. Maybe 1% of optometrists are FCOVD or VT specialists. Those offices are probably the most successful optometry specialty.

Unless he/she has been guaranteed or promised a position at that same office as an associate in the future, then he/she will come to a very stark, rude and frightening awakening when facing the job market comprising the rest of the profession (non-behavioral optometry, medical, general private practice and commercial). This person needs to step outside the bubble they live in and do some observation in other practice modalities.

To answer her question: Sure, she'll qualify for OD school. I'm too old to be familiar with what is or is not a good OAT score, so I cannot answer that question. My advice would be to also take the GRE. There are LOTS of Master's degree programs in the medical field and you need to take the GRE for a MS or PhD program. Never place a limitation on yourself. No other graduate program recognizes the OAT other than optometry.

For Masters, you can do PA, Nutrition, Bioinformatics, Health Management and much more.

Now, I don't hate Optometry. I've become very disappointed in it after practicing in it for 20 years. Optometry piqued in the 1970-1980's and it's been a slow, downhill slide ever since. There are too many of us. Engineers are working on technology to replace us. The MD's want to end our profession and ODs want to end each other (The lack of respect towards older OD's in this Forum - in addition to myself - trying to give advice is a prime example. Were this a viable profession, you'd be begging us for advice and picking our brains. Instead, you declare us demented and make yourselves the authority). The profession is slowly dying. That's the truth.

One of our optometry professors ended his practice management course with this quote, "Wise men learn from their own mistakes, but smart men learn from the mistakes of others."

Eat some humility pie and make certain you know the ENTIRE profession, not just the sub-specialty, because you will have to live with this decision and the debt you incur for most of your remaining adult life.

 

[optstu]

Actually, sometimes experience can play against you in one particular situation. If you happen to work in a successful private practice that's actually making money and thriving. She's working in an office that does vision therapy and that tells me she's working for a sub-specialist who is likely FCOVD. Vision therapy offices tend to do well because they're specialized optometrists. Maybe 1% of optometrists are FCOVD or VT specialists. Those offices are probably the most successful optometry specialty.

Unless he/she has been guaranteed or promised a position at that same office as an associate in the future, then he/she will come to a very stark, rude and frightening awakening when facing the job market comprising the rest of the profession (non-behavioral optometry, medical, general private practice and commercial). This person needs to step outside the bubble they live in and do some observation in other practice modalities.

To answer her question: Sure, she'll qualify for OD school. I'm too old to be familiar with what is or is not a good OAT score, so I cannot answer that question. My advice would be to also take the GRE. There are LOTS of Master's degree programs in the medical field and you need to take the GRE for a MS or PhD program. Never place a limitation on yourself. No other graduate program recognizes the OAT other than optometry.

For Masters, you can do PA, Nutrition, Bioinformatics, Health Management and much more.

Now, I don't hate Optometry. I've become very disappointed in it after practicing in it for 20 years. Optometry piqued in the 1970-1980's and it's been a slow, downhill slide ever since. There are too many of us. Engineers are working on technology to replace us. The MD's want to end our profession and ODs want to end each other (The lack of respect towards older OD's in this Forum - in addition to myself - trying to give advice is a prime example. Were this a viable profession, you'd be begging us for advice and picking our brains. Instead, you declare us demented and make yourselves the authority). The profession is slowly dying. That's the truth.

One of our optometry professors ended his practice management course with this quote, "Wise men learn from their own mistakes, but smart men learn from the mistakes of others."

Eat some humility pie and make certain you know the ENTIRE profession, not just the sub-specialty, because you will have to live with this decision and the debt you incur for most of your remaining adult life.

This has completely flew over my had and honestly i have never thought about it and something in me is not 100% about optometry though I love my job and love the profession. I am just lost. I graduated early from college age 20 and was pushed into this not knowing exactly what I want. I know the exam isnt my biggest issues its my commitment to the field and if I really want to spend the next 4 years and the rest of my life doing this. Optometry is the only thing I have ever been exposed to and I am scared to just drop it and do something else. I have been researching other options but I am not sure yet where my path is going. I appreciate your time to reply and give me an insight you're not the first doctor to tell me not to go into this field.

 

[optstu]

Don't lose hope. You got a very nice GPA and a lot of optometry experiences. I would say apply for Optometry schools who look more wholistic (I probably spelled that wrong... whoops) compared to schools who care greatly more about OAT scores. You got this!

Thank you for your response, do you have any in mind?

 

[GrannyOD]

I've been an optometrist for the past 15 years and here's what I can tell you.
The pay for optometrist (surprise) has increased by roughly 10,000 since one or two years ago. Check the United States Department of Labor statistics. I will say that the vast majority of optometrist, especially the ones that graduated back in the day, and myself included, focus more on fixing/correcting refractive errors. Optometrist now have a wider scope of practice than ever before, take advantage of that. If optometry wants to stay viable, they have to change with the times, a lot of experienced ODs do not. There's actually an optometrist in my area that only focuses on dry/red eyes. She doesn't even sell glasses and her practice is thriving. If you want to make it in this profession, you have to be willing to change as it changes. Do not be complacent or arrogant. I remembered when Lasik first came out, every optometrist was terrified that their job was doom... and surprisingly, Lasik actually helped optometrist. Also keep in mind that online refraction isn't accurate on children and the elderly. I know a lot of optometrists that do genuinely love their job. There are people who are unhappy in all professions. I make a great living by being an optometrist... and I can't seem to agree with 20DOC20 but everyone has different experiences.

In general, every medical-related professions has its ups and downs.
Dentistry is also very saturated. My sister is a dentist.. and yes, just like all medical professions, it is extremely saturated, especially general dentistry. Family doctors are scare that their jobs are going to be taken by physician assistant. If you go on the dental forum or the medical forum or any forums, there will always be people warning students not to enter into their profession. Do your research, and only go into a profession that you're 100% passionate about.

 

[20DOC20]

One other consideration in any professional field is this: Does this profession exist in other countries? Which countries? Is the certificate or degree recognizable or transferable to other countries? What about crossing state lines? Is your mobility as a professional in the US limited? Is there national certification for this profession, or is it state-by-state?

With regard to Optometry as we define it, the profession exists mainly in the US, Canada and Australia. That limits you to making a living in 3 countries. It's also strictly limited state-to-state and so usually a person will get licensed in up to 3 states upon graduation and you're limited to living in those states unless you want to re-certify.

With regard to Australia, Canada you need to pass their boards. I have not researched Canadian boards. The Australian boards consist of a series of about 3 tests, one of which is hand-written. It will cost you about 15K including travel expenses to take their exams and even if you pass, they do not guarantee a work VISA! I've seen some of the questions on the written exam and I'm not even sure an ophthalmology resident would pass them. Expect to diagnose and treat a zebra based upon the pattern one stripe!

I had researched working in Ireland and Optometry is Opticianry there. Their licensing is handled through the European Union and I had sent them multiple requests for information and they do not respond to email inquiries. I don't even know if they recognize the OD degree, which means it's possible you'll need to take their education program from scratch and I believe it's 3-4 years. If anyone knows the EU requirements, please comment.

Education in the USA is expensive and you need to make sure it's worth your time and money. To have a profession only exist in 3 countries is not really a good profession.

As far as equivalency in other countries, Optometry is lacking. For crying out loud, even foreign students who have had nursing education have a path to an RN equivalent in the US without doing somersaults, and it appears RNs educated in the US can work abroad.

Optometry is also one of those professions whose licensing does NOT cross state lines easily. Some states still have their own board exams. With regard to the 20th Century professional certification, Optometry is still in the stone age. Politics drive this. Simply put, a lot of OD's don't want newcomers in their state competing with them.

What gives with the archaic state-to-state licensing? We already have the NBEO set in-place to administer everything, and their exams suffice to meet the requirements for system of national licensure. That is, only the NBEO should be administering optometric testing and the licensing should be left to the state boards without additional testing! It's still a free-for-all.

There are states that still don't recognize reciprocity - and there's no justification for it. If I work in Texas as an OD and do "x and x" and if OD's in Oklahoma can legally do "x and x," then why should the Texas OD be required to re-certify in Oklahoma to perform "x and x?" Is Texas really that much of an "other country" to say that what you do in Texas is not the same in Oklahoma???

This profession is so full of red tape that it's strangled itself.

Just be aware of what you're getting into. You may do well. You may love it. But, I hate to see someone get 200K plus in debt with a maze of difficulty ahead of them. In other words, you need to be extremely passionate about optometry these days to succeed in it. Without the passion and drive, it will be a grueling life and professional career.