Do you have to shadow an optometrist to apply to optometry schools

[sj786]

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How do you find an optometrist?


Do you have to have a letter

 

[a1bui]

Some schools require a certain number of shadowing hours. Call each school you plan to apply to, or check their website to find out. I would strongly suggest shadowing anyway; it'll give you more information on the profession, and ultimately help you in both your personal statement, and your interview.

If you have a pre-optometry club at your school, ask around, and see who other members have shadowed, or are volunteering with. You can shadow your own optometrist, or simply look up local optometrists, and call them to see if they'll allow you to shadow.

Again, some schools require a letter from an optometrist, and some schools don't. So look up the information on this too.

 

[lesset01]

Shadowing is a great idea, but if you can, maybe you can work for one? I work as the head tech for 2 optometrists that graduated from my 1st choice school (ICO) one 25 yrs ago and one 6 yrs ago. I have learned an unbelievable amount of info and they pay really well. 😉 The docs let me scribe for them so now I know all the steps in a routine exam. I assist in different procedures and I take pics of different disease states. Its great experience...we had a guy shadow the docs a few weeks ago and he said that no doc he ever shadowed for showed him that much. So that might be a good idea for you too!

Good luck!