Danger Danger Danger

[KHE]

I have received a few messages from prospective optometry students and now I see a thread posted in which a poster has made the claim that one of the reasons that they are considering optometry is that they don't want to go into medical school because they don't want to be in school for 8 years.

Unfortunately, that thread degenerated into a useless debate about whether medical school or optometry school is "more difficult" and that's all beside the point.

Let me state this as clearly as I possibly can:

DO NOT GO INTO OPTOMETRY SCHOOL BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BE A DOCTOR OF SOME KIND AND YOU DON'T REALLY WANT TO GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL SO BEING AN OPTOMETRIST IS "GOOD ENOUGH."

I can say with near certainty that that is going to be a recipe for personal and professional suicide!!!

If you pursue optometry, you must be certain that you are interested in optometry and you want to be an optometrist. Don't do it because it's "close enough" or "good enough." You will regret it. The people that I know who did this are almost universally miserable.

You must know and understand what you're getting into, and you must be comfortable and CONTENT with that notion. If you are doing optometry because you are "settling" you are going to be miserable.

BE CAREFUL!

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[seminolefish]

This is initially what I was going off of because I didn't want to do pharmacy. However, after shadowing and learning more about the field, I wanted to do it because I love talking to people and finding solutions to their, in this case, eye problems. Making someone happy in general is what I live for so this is not a stretch. I know the idea of doing eye exams all day can seem boring ONLY if there is no interaction between the doctor and the patient. Any job can seem crappy TO ME if you don't talk to anyone. Reasons why I don't want to go into research. If that interaction is present, life will be much better. Also, I really like new and innovative technology and optometry offers a lot of that. I'm going to the FOA convention down in Naples in two weeks or so and last year I went. I loved the tech setups around there. It was really cool to learn and to talk to the people who are knowledgeable. So basically, as a reply to KHE, if you can explain why and have good reasons for going into optometry and have thought about it for AWHILE, then by all means do it. I'm tired of people saying you're going to be miserable. It'll only be miserable if you want it to be.

 

[KHE]

I know the idea of doing eye exams all day can seem boring ONLY if there is no interaction between the doctor and the patient.

Doing eye exams all day long IS boring. My opinion is that you are going to need to find other challenges within optometry to satisfy your intellectual curiosity whether it's running a business, or conducting research, or serving on a committee of some kind or something like that.

So basically, as a reply to KHE, if you can explain why and have good reasons for going into optometry and have thought about it for AWHILE, then by all means do it. I'm tired of people saying you're going to be miserable. It'll only be miserable if you want it to be.

Everyone has their reasons for going into optometry but whatever those reasons are, the end result should be that you WANT to be an optometrist, not because it's "easier" than something else.

Also, I have no idea what you're last statement means. "It'll only be miserable if you want it to be."

That makes no sense to me. Who would ever want anything to be miserable?

 

[seminolefish]

The last statement is a reference to the attitude about the job. I'm not saying you WANT to be miserable but it's just the way you look at things is what I'm getting at. You could get depressed or you could remain happy depending on the way you look at things in the situation. It's kinda tough to explain. I'll try an example. Say you want to go to optometry school but they require organic chemistry and you hate chemistry. You COULD hate it and not try to like it and not do well or you could be like "hey this is a challenge and i want to do well despite the bad things". So basically it's your outlook on situations. Does that make any sense? It's gotten me through at times. Basically it's being optimistic despite the circumstances.

O and yes I plan to find other things in optometry to keep my interest such as research or going to impoverished areas to help people etc. THAT'S what makes it even more interesting to me. You have a choice of what you want to do other than just eye exams. But I was saying that you can make having to do eye exams less boring if you have great conversations with the patients. It's an idea and I'm sure it'll work. I want to base my practice on family health care and having relationships with people. I truly believe this will separate me from other optometrists if it is done right. This doesn't mean that I think doing eye exams all day is boring per say. It just makes the job even better.

 

[IcanSEEanOD]

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[sportsdude00]

Did anyone see the House episode where one of the doctors, I think Foreman, says some people are just miserable no matter what job they have. I think this is so true, at least with the people I know. So if people are unhappy being an Optometrist, they would probably be unhappy no matter what they were doing.

Interesting thought! I was thinking about that myself, and I think I'm that kind of person. I wouldn't exactly be miserable with every job, but I don't think there's one perfect job for me.

 

[FL Opt Girl]

Did anyone see the House episode where one of the doctors, I think Foreman, says some people are just miserable no matter what job they have. I think this is so true, at least with the people I know. So if people are unhappy being an Optometrist, they would probably be unhappy no matter what they were doing.

Yes! This is so true. House episodes always have some good insights.

 

[Magentta]

Why would going to optometry school bc you're not sure about med school be so bad?

I personally was initially pre-med, but I'm finding that I don't exactly have that passion for medicine. I thought i should do medicine bc i love the sciences and I love helping people, but when i volunteered at a hospital, i was sort of freaked at the prospect of these people's lives in my hands.

Also, I don't want my career to be my life, and i think that's difficult to prevent as a doctor. I want to be satisfied with my job, BUT have a life outside of it. I also want a family. My career will not be my life.

I don't think it's wise to enter medical school being hesitant as I am.

How do you know if you want to be an optometrist or not? I am seriously considering it. All I know is I love the sciences, I like talking to people, I want a stable 9 to 5 (give or take an hour) job, and I want a life outside of work.

 

[FL Opt Girl]

All I know is I love the sciences, I like talking to people, I want a stable 9 to 5 (give or take an hour) job, and I want a life outside of work.

These things describe me as well. They were the main reasons why I went into optometry. I too considered medical school beforehand, among many other careers. Shadowing at a lot of different optometric practices is what made the decision for me, because I was able to see that it allows you to have a life outside of work, while still being able to do the things I love like forming meaningful relationships with patients and constantly learning new technologies/techniques. I think optometry is definitely what you make of it. You could get bored doing the same general eye exam day in and day out, or you could really make the most of the profession and get involved with the ocular disease, business, and research aspects of it.
Anyways, good luck with your decision. Definitely do as much shadowing as you can.

 

[2BAnIDrNoMore]

That's all I wanted to say; KHE...preach on!