Do you move permanently?

[mupreopt]

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When I attend optometry school, I want to move there permanently. By this I mean, I want to get an apartment near the optometry school and live there 12 months a year until I graduate. Then once I graduate, I can find a job there or in another state. I don't want to live in my hometown for the rest of my life. I can use the extra months to study in a quieter place than my parents home. I may try to find someone to share the apartment so that I can split the cost of rent.

- Did any of you do this or did you only live there during the semester and came home for the holiday break?

Also, I know it depends on where I will be attending so rather than a specific cost, what is the price range that I can be expected to pay for an apartment per month? I just want something simple: a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living room, and possibly a washing machine. I am single.

 

[Spearmint1]

are you stupid? are you just dumb enough to ask for help in every aspect of your life?

 

[CarltonBanks]

are you stupid? are you just dumb enough to ask for help in every aspect of your life?

That's harsh bro.

 

[IndianaOD]

Buy a house if possible. The housing market can't get much worse and its a buyer's market.

At the end of 4 years I made a profit on my house.

 

[Carly Ess]

When I attend optometry school, I want to move there permanently. By this I mean, I want to get an apartment near the optometry school and live there 12 months a year until I graduate. Then once I graduate, I can find a job there or in another state. I don't want to live in my hometown for the rest of my life. I can use the extra months to study in a quieter place than my parents home. I may try to find someone to share the apartment so that I can split the cost of rent.

- Did any of you do this or did you only live there during the semester and came home for the holiday break?

Also, I know it depends on where I will be attending so rather than a specific cost, what is the price range that I can be expected to pay for an apartment per month? I just want something simple: a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living room, and possibly a washing machine. I am single.

I'm trying for optometry school next year. Maybe we can find a place together?

 

[eyestrain]

When I attend optometry school, I want to move there permanently. By this I mean, I want to get an apartment near the optometry school and live there 12 months a year until I graduate. Then once I graduate, I can find a job there or in another state. I don't want to live in my hometown for the rest of my life. I can use the extra months to study in a quieter place than my parents home. I may try to find someone to share the apartment so that I can split the cost of rent.

- Did any of you do this or did you only live there during the semester and came home for the holiday break?

Also, I know it depends on where I will be attending so rather than a specific cost, what is the price range that I can be expected to pay for an apartment per month? I just want something simple: a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, living room, and possibly a washing machine. I am single.

Holy balls, just pick up a phone and call some apartments. This isn't that hard. Also, it's probably not a good idea to want to practice in a city with an optometry school.

 

[mupreopt]

are you stupid? are you just dumb enough to ask for help in every aspect of your life?

This is a serious question. I've never done this before. I'm just seeing what most people are doing. Plus it's better to ask a question than not.

 

[mupreopt]

Holy balls, just pick up a phone and call some apartments. This isn't that hard.

I don't know the area well so how am I supposed to know which apartment to call when I am clearly hundreds of miles away from the optometry school.

 

[mupreopt]

I'm trying for optometry school next year. Maybe we can find a place together?

Well, I'm currently going at my own pace right now in college and not rushing it. Plus a few semesters ago I was re-reading my college catalog and one of the requirements for graduation is 48 hours of 300+ level courses. I've looked at my catalog many times before and didn't see it until I was a 2nd semester sophmore or 1st year junior. So it's going to take more time than expected.

 

[eyestrain]

I don't know the area well so how am I supposed to know which apartment to call when I am clearly hundreds of miles away from the optometry school.

You obviously have internet access. Go to www.google.com and enter "apartments in city, state". Enter wherever you are going in the "city" and "state" field. Click on the links, find some phone numbers and call them. I don't want to have to be an ass, but I can't help it in this case.

 

[mupreopt]

I don't want to have to be an ass, but I can't help it in this case.

You really need to change your attitude. I just asked an honest question. There are more polite ways to reply.

 

[mupreopt]

My questions are specific and harder to search on google. I just thought I would find more reliable information here. I just want to learn from what others have done. Plus you guys are optometry student and I can see what other optometry students are doing.

 

[butterfly413]

sorry, but i'm going to have to agree with the "harsh" answers. you have to learn to do some of the legwork yourself! not only is it ridiculous for current students to give you advice on these things, as it varies from person to person, state to state, school to school, year to year, etc but it really is quite easy to figure out the "rough" numbers from school websites or google. i've found the vast majority of my answers by just READING websites, talking to optometrists, or asking the actual schools themselves.

 

[zyg0te]

are you stupid? are you just dumb enough to ask for help in every aspect of your life?

We were all thinking it, I'm glad somebody said it.

 

[mupreopt]

No, I am not stupid. I just though I would ask.

This is one reason I don't go to the professor to ask questions when I need help. I always get rejected in life. I was always a shy and quiet kid. In school I would not ask the teacher for help, etc. and I was not sociable. So in college, I thought I would change my life and be more open. So freshman year, I had a problem in a chemistry course. I am the type of person who tries to find the answer and do it myself first before asking questions. I thoght to myself "I have to get over this fear". "Nobody is going to say anything bad to you". So I went up to the professor after class and asked him a question about a homework problem. He scolded me and said "try it yourself (name)!" or something similar. I'm thinking in my head "I did, that's why I came to you". I never been to a professor to ask a question since for fear of the professor getting mad.

 

[jefguth]

ok, honestly, how much effort could you have put into finding out what you wanted to know about apartments??? Shouldn't take anymore than 20 min of searching listings online to get an idea. google, craigslist.org, etc...

I can appreciate being apprehensive about asking questions, but seriously there are some people, though they claim to have tried to make an attempt to find the answer themselves, clearly haven't put more than 5 min thought into the problem.

If I were your chemistry prof I'd be expecting you to come to my office with some of the rough work you did while trying to solve the problem. At least then we could try to isolate the problem you've had. This is what I was expected to do with my physics and calculus professors when I had problems. Trust me, they were not happy whenever someone showed up without having made any attempts on their own - and for those courses 5+ hours on one problem would not have been an unreasonable amount of time to try and work through it.

If anything, why not be more specific in your questions???? How the hell are we supposed to know what part of the country you're talking about??? You're hypothetical 1bdrm appt could cost anywhere from $400-3000/mo depending on location.

 

[mupreopt]

If anything, why not be more specific in your questions???? How the hell are we supposed to know what part of the country you're talking about??? You're hypothetical 1bdrm appt could cost anywhere from $400-3000/mo depending on location.

That is why I underline "range" because I know that a specific cost cannot be determined because of region. Or someone could have simply put what they personally paid so that I can get a general idea.

Also, about asking the professor. I did have my problem worked out to show him but he didn't even take time to look at my paper. He was erasing the board when I asked him while his head was turned to the board. Other students also went up to him after class. It really hurts when you are being a good student and then something like that happens.

 

[Chiuey]

mupreopt,

SCCO, Fullerton, will be about $400-600 with some roomates; I believe Berkeley will cost you a little bit more, maybe $500-800 near campus. I think thats what people pay on average. Someone correct me if I'm wrong? New York and Boston I assume would be about the same as Berkeley or higher. No idea about central America. And yes, moving out of your hometown is a big step but also a good experience. You can always go back for holidays anyway. Does that help any? I actually want to know about SCCO apartment costs too cus I just got accepted! Anyone know good apartments there? Oh yea, and anyone hear from Berkeley yet?

 

[mupreopt]

Thanks chiuey.

 

[Eyedoc1999]

No, I am not stupid. I just though I would ask.

This is one reason I don't go to the professor to ask questions when I need help. I always get rejected in life. I was always a shy and quiet kid. In school I would not ask the teacher for help, etc. and I was not sociable. So in college, I thought I would change my life and be more open. So freshman year, I had a problem in a chemistry course. I am the type of person who tries to find the answer and do it myself first before asking questions. I thoght to myself "I have to get over this fear". "Nobody is going to say anything bad to you". So I went up to the professor after class and asked him a question about a homework problem. He scolded me and said "try it yourself (name)!" or something similar. I'm thinking in my head "I did, that's why I came to you". I never been to a professor to ask a question since for fear of the professor getting mad.

I'm going to be kind and fatherly here (I'm only 36, so if I do it badly cut me some slack). This persecution complex from which you seem to suffer needs to straighten itself out pronto. People are going to crap on you till you die, that's life. You can't get your feelings hurt every time someone looks crossly at you. I promise that optometry school will be the hardest thing you've ever done and the instructors will do nothing but make it harder. The truth is that if you can't survive through the BS of school, the real world practice environment will eat you alive and spit out your crying bones.

That having been said, I lived in Memphis year round during OD school and I can't imagine doing it any other way. I entered OD school at 23 and I hadn't lived at home since I was 19 so going home would have been really awkward since I was used to being king of my castle! A good question is whether or not to have a roomate...I didn't because it wouldn't have mattered whether or not I graduated with $110K or $130K and it was worth it to come and go as I pleased and it was a quiet as I wanted it to be WHEN I wanted it to be. Good luck.

 

[Ben Chudner]

Buy a house if possible. The housing market can't get much worse and its a buyer's market.

At the end of 4 years I made a profit on my house.

I am surprised that no one has commented on Indiana's response. This is an excellent idea. My wife and I totally regret not trying to purchase a home when we were in undergrad (Southern California) and while at optometry school (Berkeley). When I look at what the housing market did in the years since I left both those locations, it sickens me. Of course I might have still had the properties today which would sicken me even more with what the market has done recently. When my children go off to college, we will be buying a house for them near the campus. They will have roommates to help offset the mortgage.

My advice is the same as Indiana. Try to buy house, especially in this market. Since I also agree with the poster that stated it's not a good idea to try to practice near a school, you can hopefully sell it for a profit in 4 years. Another option is to keep it as a rental property. There will always be students looking to rent a house near campus.

 

[Carly Ess]

Well, I'm currently going at my own pace right now in college and not rushing it. Plus a few semesters ago I was re-reading my college catalog and one of the requirements for graduation is 48 hours of 300+ level courses. I've looked at my catalog many times before and didn't see it until I was a 2nd semester sophmore or 1st year junior. So it's going to take more time than expected.

Sorry about all these harsh posts against you. One of my very best friends is in optometry school right now at ICO, and she tells me that if you are too timid you will have a very hard time. Try not to let people scare you here.

 

[Eyedoc1999]

Sorry about all these harsh posts against you. One of my very best friends is in optometry school right now at ICO, and she tells me that if you are too timid you will have a very hard time. Try not to let people scare you here.

Thanks for saying it in a nicer format...btw, why are bananas a guilty pleasure?

 

[mupreopt]

and she tells me that if you are too timid you will have a very hard time. Try not to let people scare you here.

I expect opt. to be hard. I already expect it. Why are you saying that I will have a hard time? By this I mean, are the professors not nice? The reason I asked is because I know someone who was in med school and the instructors and doctors were always scolding her and I gues the reason is to make her a better doctor. But that was med school. Is this the way optometry school is? Is this what you mean by the fact that I will have a very hard time?

 

[mupreopt]

I am surprised that no one has commented on Indiana's response. This is an excellent idea. My wife and I totally regret not trying to purchase a home when we were in undergrad (Southern California) and while at optometry school (Berkeley). When I look at what the housing market did in the years since I left both those locations, it sickens me. Of course I might have still had the properties today which would sicken me even more with what the market has done recently. When my children go off to college, we will be buying a house for them near the campus. They will have roommates to help offset the mortgage.

My advice is the same as Indiana. Try to buy house, especially in this market. Since I also agree with the poster that stated it's not a good idea to try to practice near a school, you can hopefully sell it for a profit in 4 years. Another option is to keep it as a rental property. There will always be students looking to rent a house near campus.

I would love to do this. Never thought about doing this. My parents would flip if I told them I was going to buy a house. They would be like "you have to get an apartment first" or something like that.

 

[Eyedoc1999]

I expect opt. to be hard. I already expect it. Why are you saying that I will have a hard time? By this I mean, are the professors not nice? The reason I asked is because I know someone who was in med school and the instructors and doctors were always scolding her and I gues the reason is to make her a better doctor. But that was med school. Is this the way optometry school is? Is this what you mean by the fact that I will have a very hard time?

Yes to everything. Optometry school is as hard as med school. You will take almost as many credit hours your first year as you did in your undergrad degree. The instructors are not nice and they are, in fact, very large jackasses. Any good instructor will grill you without mercy to help you learn to think on your feet. Believe it or not, being a doctor of any kind is hard and you don't have the benefit of pondering and researching when a patient is staring you in the face. Are you under the impression that OD school is easier? If so, I agree that you will have a VERY difficult time with your feelings being hurt roughly every 30 seconds.

 

[mupreopt]

Yes Eyedoc, I was under the impression that opt school was easier than med school because you didn't have to do residency, etc. and it wasn't med school. That's not the reason I chose optometry though.
To be honest, I'm scared right now of the difficulties of optometry school (educationally). However, I also do not want to quit and change my major after 3 or 4 years in college. If I did change majors, I would always wonder whether I could've made it through optometry school, and that will bother me. Plus I always had in mind that any major is going to be hard. Also, I am doing it for financial reasons (not the only reason). My parents were in a bad financial situation because my mother got divorce and things just went down hill from there because the loss of income, even when she re-married. I don't want to be one of those people who has to live from paycheck to paycheck. I want to be able to support a family in the future and still have money left over. I'll just have to take a risk. Also, I don't want any regular/boring job that everyone else has.

 

[Eyedoc1999]

Yes Eyedoc, I was under the impression that opt school was easier than med school because you didn't have to do residency, etc. and it wasn't med school. That's not the reason I chose optometry though.

Consider OD school to be very similar to med school w/o the dead body but with added physics. The fact that it doesn't require a residency only makes it shorter. You will know more about the eye at graduation than most 2nd or 3rd year ophthalmology residents about medically treating the eye and it's pathologies. It is easier in some respects because you aren't doing worthless clinical that don't apply to your chosen field, but you still have all of the didactics such as gross anatomy, pathology, physio, neuro, etc...oh, and you have all of the clinical gems like learning how to perform injections (including eye injections which you practice on each other as part of your check-out ).

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to paint a bleak picture. If you have the stuff to get through, it's a great profession. I love my job...it was just a pain in the behind to get here.

 

[mupreopt]

like learning how to perform injections (including eye injections which you practice on each other as part of your check-out ).

Are you saying needles in the eye? Ouch. I didn't know opt school would be a pain

 

[prettygreeneyes]

I am surprised that no one has commented on Indiana's response. This is an excellent idea. My wife and I totally regret not trying to purchase a home when we were in undergrad (Southern California) and while at optometry school (Berkeley). When I look at what the housing market did in the years since I left both those locations, it sickens me. Of course I might have still had the properties today which would sicken me even more with what the market has done recently. When my children go off to college, we will be buying a house for them near the campus. They will have roommates to help offset the mortgage.

My advice is the same as Indiana. Try to buy house, especially in this market. Since I also agree with the poster that stated it's not a good idea to try to practice near a school, you can hopefully sell it for a profit in 4 years. Another option is to keep it as a rental property. There will always be students looking to rent a house near campus.

I'll also chime in and agree with Ben and Indiana here. My husband and I bought a house 6 months ago, and now two of our neighbors are asking $10-24K more than we paid for the same floorplan. I just hope that trend continues over the next four years!

OP - As others have mentioned, more detail is needed before anybody can give you a decent answer. The price range for a 1 bedroom apartment is going to be huge considering you have one optometry school in Manhattan, and one in tiny Forest Grove, Oregon. If you have some schools in mind, you should get on their website and look for apartment lists. The schools I applied to had lists with short descriptions and contact information for all of the complexes close to school. Google is your friend.

 

[Eyedoc1999]

Are you saying needles in the eye? Ouch. I didn't know opt school would be a pain

Oh yes! You have to learn to perform subconjunctival and eyelid injections...by learn I mean perform one on a lab partner and they do the same to you! The subconj is scary, but reasonably painless...the eyelid injection, well, how can I put this...I know, have you ever had a bee sting you in the eye? Those aside, you still have to do subcutaneous, intravenous and intramuscular injections (again, you do this on each other).

 

[IndianaOD]

Consider OD school to be very similar to med school w/o the dead body but with added physics. The fact that it doesn't require a residency only makes it shorter. You will know more about the eye at graduation than most 2nd or 3rd year ophthalmology residents about medically treating the eye and it's pathologies. It is easier in some respects because you aren't doing worthless clinical that don't apply to your chosen field, but you still have all of the didactics such as gross anatomy, pathology, physio, neuro, etc...oh, and you have all of the clinical gems like learning how to perform injections (including eye injections which you practice on each other as part of your check-out ).

Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to paint a bleak picture. If you have the stuff to get through, it's a great profession. I love my job...it was just a pain in the behind to get here.

We had the dead body at IU, it was a great experience. I think the optics and physics is technically more difficult than any anatomy or physiology. Most of those classes are memorization and regurgitation unlike optics and physics.

 

[IndianaOD]

I'll also chime in and agree with Ben and Indiana here. My husband and I bought a house 6 months ago, and now two of our neighbors are asking $10-24K more than we paid for the same floorplan. I just hope that trend continues over the next four years!

OP - As others have mentioned, more detail is needed before anybody can give you a decent answer. The price range for a 1 bedroom apartment is going to be huge considering you have one optometry school in Manhattan, and one in tiny Forest Grove, Oregon. If you have some schools in mind, you should get on their website and look for apartment lists. The schools I applied to had lists with short descriptions and contact information for all of the complexes close to school. Google is your friend.

It is my understanding that college towns are pretty stable. I don't think the prices will slide like some areas.

 

[KHE]

Yes to everything. Optometry school is as hard as med school.

On what basis are you saying this? Have you been to medical school? Please don't respond with some story about how you have "many friends" or "many family members" who are MDs because that still won't give you anywhere close to an adequate frame of reference from which to make that claim.

You will take almost as many credit hours your first year as you did in your undergrad degree. The instructors are not nice and they are, in fact, very large jackasses. Any good instructor will grill you without mercy to help you learn to think on your feet.

After being in education for years, I can tell you that NO good instructor would grill you without mercy. Grilling someone without mercy will not in any way, shape or form get the most out of that student. What it will get you is a student who will do the absolute bare minimum required to just shut you the hell up and get out of there. Throughout my tenure in optometry school, I found virtually all of my instructors to be tough, but fair and were almost to a (wo)man concerned about my academic and clinical development.

Believe it or not, being a doctor of any kind is hard and you don't have the benefit of pondering and researching when a patient is staring you in the face. Are you under the impression that OD school is easier? If so, I agree that you will have a VERY difficult time with your feelings being hurt roughly every 30 seconds.

You can ponder as much as you want with patients staring you in the face. Also, the reason doctors have offices is so we can retreat to them to look stuff up if we have to, but I rarely do that and have no qualms with telling patients that I'm going to do some research to find the best course of treatment for their particular situation. I don't expect my doctor to know everything about every one of my problems while I'm sitting there any more than I expect my attorney or my accountant to know the correct way of handling every situation I present. I do however expect them to know how to look it up.

 

[KHE]

I would love to do this. Never thought about doing this. My parents would flip if I told them I was going to buy a house. They would be like "you have to get an apartment first" or something like that.

Respectfully,

Judging from your numerous postings on here, you are no where close to being mature enough to handle the responsibilities of home ownership.

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Just a reminder to everybody to refrain from personal attacks on other members. Thank you.

 

[JMU07]

I think you almost have to live there permanently, since most schools you don't really get much of a summer break and the winter break is usually pretty short. I'll be a 13-14 hour drive from my parents so there's no WAY i'm going back home over breaks! 😀

 

[Eyedoc1999]

On what basis are you saying this? Have you been to medical school? Please don't respond with some story about how you have "many friends" or "many family members" who are MDs because that still won't give you anywhere close to an adequate frame of reference from which to make that claim.



After being in education for years, I can tell you that NO good instructor would grill you without mercy. Grilling someone without mercy will not in any way, shape or form get the most out of that student. What it will get you is a student who will do the absolute bare minimum required to just shut you the hell up and get out of there. Throughout my tenure in optometry school, I found virtually all of my instructors to be tough, but fair and were almost to a (wo)man concerned about my academic and clinical development.



You can ponder as much as you want with patients staring you in the face. Also, the reason doctors have offices is so we can retreat to them to look stuff up if we have to, but I rarely do that and have no qualms with telling patients that I'm going to do some research to find the best course of treatment for their particular situation. I don't expect my doctor to know everything about every one of my problems while I'm sitting there any more than I expect my attorney or my accountant to know the correct way of handling every situation I present. I do however expect them to know how to look it up.

Oh, so you're that guy. Well, I would be happy to answer your charges and thanks for posting them in such an accommodative, congenial fashion.

No, I haven't gone to med school. I did however have several close friends in my study group that were in the same year at UT Med and we very often compared notes and EVERY available exam (you understand...a little competitive). One of my friends actually used some of my notes to study for his medical boards. I realize that in your model that this still doesn't qualify as knowing anything, but it's what I have (btw, did you go to medical school?). There were several items that they studied that I didn't and the other way around, but all in all, the course work was very similar. Their clinical schedule was a little more challenging because they were in a compeletely different clinic every 3mo their 3rd and 4th year rather than different departments in the same field.

Item 2: I was in education for years myself...9 years of upperlevel (double major in college) to be exact and I can tell you that I had several instructors that would grill us w/o mercy. I learned more from those guys than I did from most others because I learned to think on my feet and I studied more because I didn't want to be caught with my pants down unable to answer a question. I needed to be able to answer complicated questions fast then and I need to now. I didn't say that they weren't fair, I said they were difficult. The doctors from whom I learned the most concerned themselved little with my "development," but were terribly concerned that I was a competent, caring and most importantly knowledgable OD.

Item 3: I'm not sure what kind of clinic you're practicing in, but where I practice I don't have the luxury of sitting pondering and thinking about my options. I need to KNOW what I'm looking at and I need to have some rudimentary idea of what to do with it...even if that means get it out of my office to someone more qualified in that area. I don't run across a lot that I don't know, but when I do it's generally something exotic enough that it will require a referral...so I photodocument, refer and learn from the experience for next time. I can't say I've ever looked at something and then gone to a book to try and figure out what it is and what to do with it. I also can't say it would inspire a lot of confidence with my patients if I told them I would be stepping out of the room to try to figure out what I'm looking at. If my personal doctor is that unfamiliar with something I have, they BETTER refer me to someone that is. I would have a lot bigger problem with someone guessing on me than just explaining that I need someone with more experience in a certain area.

I'm not sure the origin of your digs, but I hope that this answers some of your questions.

 

[cpw]

.

Item 3: I'm not sure what kind of clinic you're practicing in, but where I practice I don't have the luxury of sitting pondering and thinking about my options. I need to KNOW what I'm looking at and I need to have some rudimentary idea of what to do with it...even if that means get it out of my office to someone more qualified in that area. I don't run across a lot that I don't know, but when I do it's generally something exotic enough that it will require a referral...so I photodocument, refer and learn from the experience for next time. I can't say I've ever looked at something and then gone to a book to try and figure out what it is and what to do with it. I also can't say it would inspire a lot of confidence with my patients if I told them I would be stepping out of the room to try to figure out what I'm looking at. If my personal doctor is that unfamiliar with something I have, they BETTER refer me to someone that is. I would have a lot bigger problem with someone guessing on me than just explaining that I need someone with more experience in a certain area.
.

So, you've NEVER had to go "hmmm I haven't written a scrip for this in a long time.. lemme go double check the strength % and dosage schedule with my trusty friend emedicine/google" ? "

 

[KHE]

No, I haven't gone to med school. I did however have several close friends in my study group that were in the same year at UT Med and we very often compared notes and EVERY available exam (you understand...a little competitive). One of my friends actually used some of my notes to study for his medical boards. I realize that in your model that this still doesn't qualify as knowing anything, but it's what I have (btw, did you go to medical school?).

No, I didn't go to medical school. But then again...I'm not the one making the claim that optometry school is as hard as medical school.

Item 2: I was in education for years myself...9 years of upperlevel (double major in college) to be exact and I can tell you that I had several instructors that would grill us w/o mercy. I learned more from those guys than I did from most others because I learned to think on my feet and I studied more because I didn't want to be caught with my pants down unable to answer a question. I needed to be able to answer complicated questions fast then and I need to now. I didn't say that they weren't fair, I said they were difficult. The doctors from whom I learned the most concerned themselved little with my "development," but were terribly concerned that I was a competent, caring and most importantly knowledgable OD.

When I said I was in education, I meant as a teacher at both the high school and college level. And being concerned with your competency and your knowledge IS being concerned with your development.

Item 3: I'm not sure what kind of clinic you're practicing in, but where I practice I don't have the luxury of sitting pondering and thinking about my options. I need to KNOW what I'm looking at and I need to have some rudimentary idea of what to do with it...even if that means get it out of my office to someone more qualified in that area. I don't run across a lot that I don't know, but when I do it's generally something exotic enough that it will require a referral...so I photodocument, refer and learn from the experience for next time. I can't say I've ever looked at something and then gone to a book to try and figure out what it is and what to do with it. I also can't say it would inspire a lot of confidence with my patients if I told them I would be stepping out of the room to try to figure out what I'm looking at. If my personal doctor is that unfamiliar with something I have, they BETTER refer me to someone that is. I would have a lot bigger problem with someone guessing on me than just explaining that I need someone with more experience in a certain area.

I'm not sure the origin of your digs, but I hope that this answers some of your questions.

So again, in your Walmart, you have never had to look up the dosage of a particular medication, or the recommended followup for an exotic condition?

And the reason you've never gone to a book to try to figure something out is because you have luxury of punting it to some ophthalmologist. I've worked with enough ophthalmologists to have seen them ALL sometimes come out of an exam room and say "what the hell was that???" and go looking through books or on the internet to try to find the most likely culprit. There's no shame in doing that sometimes.

 

[Eyedoc1999]

So again, in your Walmart, you have never had to look up the dosage of a particular medication, or the recommended followup for an exotic condition?

And the reason you've never gone to a book to try to figure something out is because you have luxury of punting it to some ophthalmologist. I've worked with enough ophthalmologists to have seen them ALL sometimes come out of an exam room and say "what the hell was that???" and go looking through books or on the internet to try to find the most likely culprit. There's no shame in doing that sometimes.

No need to attack, you should possibly try a decaffinated brand.

I don't consider looking up the dosage on a med I don't routinely rx to be "pondering" since I recognized the condition and treatment...just as I don't consider looking up CL parameters to be pondering.

We all have OMDs that we punt to on cases that are outside of our knowledge base. I have worked with many OMDs in my career and I do realize that even the specialists get stumped at times, but those times are pretty rare....rare for me and even rarer for the specialists. When I have an issue, I don't send to a general OMD because I don't think they have much more to offer the patient than I do. That having been said, I think a corneal specialist will have a broader corneal knowledge, a retinologist has broader retina knowledge, etc. I don't consider sending something exotic to the retinal specialist to be "punting." If you are willing to treat something that you had to pull out a book to even recognize, I would like to humbly suggest that you check the status of your malpractice insurance.

BTW, the fact that I'm in a WM is irrelavent to the discussion, but the fact that you went out of your way to mention it tells me a lot about you. 😉

 

[Ben Chudner]

Wow, this is starting to look like ODwire. As for Med School vs OD School, I cannot comment because I did not go to Med School. Two of my cousins did, but that is meaningless to this discussion.

As for looking things up, I have on occasion had to leave the room and look up a condition to be sure I was making the right diagnosis. I think all doctors have had to do this, maybe not you Dr. Nelson, but the rest of us. There is no shame in that, and it does not mean that we are not qualified to treat the condition. Sometimes you just want to be sure when there are a couple of things it could be. Furthermore, I trained in the same hospital as some of the best ophthalmologists in the country during my residency. I can tell you that even they had to leave the room to verify a diagnosis. It was rare, but even the best of the best get stumped occasionally.

 

[Eyedoc1999]

Wow, this is starting to look like ODwire. As for Med School vs OD School, I cannot comment because I did not go to Med School. Two of my cousins did, but that is meaningless to this discussion.

As for looking things up, I have on occasion had to leave the room and look up a condition to be sure I was making the right diagnosis. I think all doctors have had to do this, maybe not you Dr. Nelson, but the rest of us. There is no shame in that, and it does not mean that we are not qualified to treat the condition. Sometimes you just want to be sure when there are a couple of things it could be. Furthermore, I trained in the same hospital as some of the best ophthalmologists in the country during my residency. I can tell you that even they had to leave the room to verify a diagnosis. It was rare, but even the best of the best get stumped occasionally.

I didn't mean to imply that I know everything I look at and don't "confirm" what I think. Of course I do this on occassion, but (just like you guys) I already had some idea of what it was and what to do. I don't know any more than you guys do. It could also be that I just don't get a lot of exotic pathologies in my office. Lots of glc, rd, tears, etc but that's pretty entry level as far as recognition. I certainly don't think there's anything wrong with confirming, but I do think that if you have to look in a book because you don't know what it is that there is a certain amount of responsibilty to give the initial presentation to someone with more experience for you to learn from.

I apologize if I came on a little strong, but I was engaged in a game of point/counterpoint by someone else (unless their intention was just to say I was wrong and just accept it).

 

[KHE]

No need to attack, you should possibly try a decaffinated brand.

I don't consider looking up the dosage on a med I don't routinely rx to be "pondering" since I recognized the condition and treatment...just as I don't consider looking up CL parameters to be pondering.

We all have OMDs that we punt to on cases that are outside of our knowledge base. I have worked with many OMDs in my career and I do realize that even the specialists get stumped at times, but those times are pretty rare....rare for me and even rarer for the specialists. When I have an issue, I don't send to a general OMD because I don't think they have much more to offer the patient than I do. That having been said, I think a corneal specialist will have a broader corneal knowledge, a retinologist has broader retina knowledge, etc. I don't consider sending something exotic to the retinal specialist to be "punting." If you are willing to treat something that you had to pull out a book to even recognize, I would like to humbly suggest that you check the status of your malpractice insurance.

BTW, the fact that I'm in a WM is irrelavent to the discussion, but the fact that you went out of your way to mention it tells me a lot about you. 😉

The fact that you are upset that I mentioned you work in a Walmart suggests that you are somewhat embarassed by it or at the very least would rather people didn't know that.

 

[Eyedoc1999]

Back to the topic at hand, I would move permanently. I would also consider a roommate because based on your posts, I think sharing the responsiblity of living expenses would be a good thing.

 

[Eyedoc1999]

The fact that you are upset that I mentioned you work in a Walmart suggests that you are somewhat embarassed by it or at the very least would rather people didn't know that.

Nope, I've mentioned it myself when relavent. I'm not embarrased or upset, just surprised (not really) that you went out of your way to mention it given the fact that it was pointless. I'm trying to be the nice guy, so why don't you let this be and move on.

 

[mupreopt]

We are all optometry/pre-optometry people and should be supporting one another rather than bashing each other. I am a member other forums and everyone is supportive and like family. KHE, just because you are a donor does not give you the right to bash people. It is alright to be critical of people but it is low of you to be making personal attacks. It is a shame.

 

[IndianaOD]

Lol, I'm not sure if any Opt board can get as negative as that one!

ODwire has a lot of passionate members that tell it like it is. As a student and still today as a doc I find it very useful. Sugar coating the facts does not help anyone IMO.

 

[Carly Ess]

Thanks for saying it in a nicer format...btw, why are bananas a guilty pleasure?

just use your imagination 😛

 

[ODduck]

ODwire has a lot of passionate members that tell it like it is. As a student and still today as a doc I find it very useful. Sugar coating the facts does not help anyone IMO.

Agree completely, sometimes it is better to realize that everything isn't "sunshine and lemon drops"