I don't expect that it will be easy to have success based solely off this...I know ODs hands in this are rare, but I don't see that as a downfall. To me this area is personally fufilling as I find those patients we see now for this type of rehab benefit...if nothing else they learn how to cope with their field loss better and use the vision they have. I would love to go into research mostly on this subject. Our office just signed on with NovaVision to be a treatment center (
www.novavision.com), which is showing success rate in 70+% of patients.
. As a person who had a traumatic brain injury I am very lucky not having residual effects like field loss or other physically disabling consequences. However I do find I can sympathize with patients and a lot of them appreciate my encouragements and overall caring for them...as it is very hard for someone to relate to the fact that you "are not going to be the same person you once were". Its hard for me to explain...but to me I have found this area to be the most rewarding.
We see a lot of therapy (low vision, visual perceptual, patching, and neuro) in our office in addition to the "routine" eye exams, so I know I can not make this my primary form of success...however some of these referrals end up becoming "routine" or bringing other patients in, in general because they know that anyone can recieve thorough care. Its kind of like being the "space filler" to offer these...in that opth. don't want to do therapy because they want to fix everything with surgery, other opt don't want to do this because they don't want to work with insurance or whatever the reason is. I think we get most OD referrals because the doctor just choses not to do a cycloplegic on a kid, or does not want to treat a medical case, ect. Opth. refer mostly low vision or contact lens patients.
So it can be done, but you have to be willing to put the time, money, work, stress ect. to do it, but to me,
I have a role model who has made me want to be the "space filler" between ODs and MDs too...whatever failures/successes you have in your life are a direct reflection on yourself and how hard you try to do what you can to get to what you want.