Frustrated With My School!!!!!!!!

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cunikki

SCCO 2009
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alright; so basically i just need to vent but was wondering if my school is the only one or if other students feel the same way!
I am currently at the end of my third year and not really enjoying school right now to begin with. A lot of the classes we are taking are very specialty oriented but they make us do a lot of busy work (papers on public health problems such as obesity ... hey are we back in high school???) and proficiencies for stuff that 95% of the students will never do (very specialty low vision and strab management)

But the real reason i am so frustrated is because i found out today that 2 of THE BEST doctors are leaving our school. Why? one might ask????
because they actually care about the students and patient care and try to get us to be the best doctors we can be.
One of these doctors is hands down the smartest doctor at our school, has helped institute getting teaching tubes in our clinic (Yes thats right; the school didnt want teaching tubes because they are not "aesthetically pleasing",... who gives a *&$^%*# about TEACHING the students), teaches you how to bill properly and at the end of the day doesnt care if we sold 25 pairs of glasses with AR but rather cares that all his patients are getting the best treatment for them

OBVIOUSLY the administration doesnt give a damn about the students and really doesnt care about if we learn how to be a good doctor...

I just dont know what to do; a very big part of me just wants to go to the administration and say; "hey i am sick of your games"
it is sooooo obvious that our school is ONLY about making money; and if they happen to teach us something it is only by accident

and what did they leave us? one of the 'older' staff doctors that the one that is leaving doesnt know how to put on a gonio lens (i had to show him) and does worse BIO than me ( and i really dont think i am at the top of my class)

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alright; so basically i just need to vent but was wondering if my school is the only one or if other students feel the same way!
I am currently at the end of my third year and not really enjoying school right now to begin with. A lot of the classes we are taking are very specialty oriented but they make us do a lot of busy work (papers on public health problems such as obesity ... hey are we back in high school???) and proficiencies for stuff that 95% of the students will never do (very specialty low vision and strab management)

Totally agreement here, I'm so sick all of the BS busy work. Interestingly it's almost exclusively related to pediatrics. Two pages of exam notes for VT, the lab practical based entirely on grading intelligence test that really have nothing to do with Optometry, the list goes on, the two hour video on learning disabilities for teachers I had to watch today.

I thought the high school mentality would have been long over, but no they just keep going with it right up until the bitter end.
 
I have to admit I'm disappointed that you both consider the assignments in two of my favorite topics "busy work". (Public health and VT/behavioral optometry)

My bet is that looking back in 5 to 10 years (hopefully less) you'll appreciate the subjects and be more forgiving of the assignments.
 
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well the assignments are busy work! do they have to assign stuff to do for disease? no!! because people will read stuff on their own or they will fail the tests. do they have to assign papers on topics such as 'tobacco use' 'obesity' and teenage pregnancy?
well they sure do assign those! most of the assignments are things everyone has done before and everyone knows the basic info about!
in terms of the strab management class the doctor in charge at the end of each class period says; ok now write me a list of 5 things you got out of this class, or hands out paper assignments that are due the next class period. am i in high school? NO! i do not want to go home and write up 5 things i learned today and then bring it to the next class period so she can assign a new topic. if i want to go to class i will.. if i dont i wont; i dont need a monitor holding my hand to make sure i attend class.

thats cool that you are interested in public health and vt; but A LOT of the things we learn i really dont believe are my problem ....
if your kid has dyslexia that is not my problem; i think you need a different referral! if your kid is 12 and doesnt know their left from right hand that is NOT MY PROBLEM! maybe you want to spend your days teaching some ADHD kids that do not want to be in VT that their right hand is this one and their left is the other... but i really dont see what it has to do with me as an eyedoctor... and i end up resenting the 4 hours a week i am in the vt department teaching some kid taht instead of doing a strab/amblyopia eval

sorry.... i am just too bitter and necrotizing at my school! i need to get out! i just cant believe that my school cares more about optical sales than whether or not a guy with a retinal detachment gets a quick and appropriate referral so that he can regain some vision ... but good news... they bring him back every year for disease grand rounds so that we can all see what a 75% off the retina RD looks like.....
 
You're sounding really whiny. It's a school, this is what schools do. YOu'll run into the same thing everywhere you go. You may not think you're getting anything out of it, but you probably are.
 
alright; so basically i just need to vent but...
If you're just going to vent, I'd recommend getting a journal instead. At the very least, work to adopt a more constructive outlook. Every institution has flaws—some of them terrible flaws—but you've put 3 years into it, and that's your responsibility; it was your decision to enroll/stick with it, afterall. I really think we should turn this thread around b/c I don't want to see it turn into another b*tchfest...it doesn't look good for our profession.

I'd like to sort out some of the points you made beacause there are some interesting things you've brought up. For instance, I'm curious as to the circumstances of your school losing some talented instructors. I've seen good instructors leave, but typically it seemed like the decision was extremely hard for them...but from the way your post was thrown together, it wouldn't surprise me if you reported that they were just plain burnt out.
 
Interesting post. Why are the "great teachers" leaving?

well, if she's at SCCO, maybe they took jobs at the new OD school that's going to be right down the street ? Who knows ? It would all be hearsay and speculation anyway unless you could talk to them directly.
 
mmm no actually they are not going to the new school. basically the intention of my school is VERY optical related and the doctors in charge do not really care if we learn anything else in the clinic.
these doctors fundamentally did not agree with that and tried to teach us how to really look at eyes as well as how to properly bill for medical reasons. are all schools this optical oriented? i almost wish i had gone to another school...
 
Yeah, I just heard the news today about one of the doctors leaving and I was crushed. I mean really crushed - this guy is absolutely brilliant and teaches us all sorts of great ways to remember stuff but at the same time he looks out for us students and does not see us as people "below" him. I really like the fact that he taught us in a more supportive, conducive way, rather than feeling like you're being grilled. His announcement definitely bummed us out during class...
 
I have been out for just about a year now. I remember complaining a lot about the peds stuff and having to grade all those test and having to calculate some crazy low vision stuff. But, it is all a distance memory now. Did I learn some important things? Yes. Was some of it a great waste of my time? Yes.

If the clinic is strongly optical based, that is good and bad. They should be spending more time teaching you about disease, but unfortunately many students walk out of school not understanding the importance of the optical. Most private office's income is 60-65% optical. Yes, more than have my income is from the sale of A/R, Transitions, and multi pairs! The techniques you are learning in the optical will be helpful. I understand you want to see more RD's, AMD, glaucoma, foreign bodies, and DES. But, those pathology skills will all come on your externs. The optical stuff will help too.
 
In my opinion, pediatrics and VT are strongly reliant on appropriate documentation both for reimbursement or timely payment from the patient or their family and for interprofessional referral. I'm afraid that this frustration that you have, although, heartfelt, is best addressed with your faculty so that their rationale for teaching it might become more apparent to you. Your eloquence on this matter should probably be a bit more refined less your intent be characterized as "whining". I'm wondering if the ability to write prose is lost in the new generation of students.
 
I'm wondering if the ability to write prose is lost in the new generation of students.
This deficiency in prose ability that you have alluded to could be a result of:
a.) the adoption of multiple choice testing format
b.) icanhascheezburger.com
c.) the absence of a verbal section on the OAT
d.) all of the above :laugh:
 
I'm wondering if the ability to write prose is lost in the new generation of students.

I don't think the ability to write prose in the new generation of students should be based on how people write on a forum. This is a pretty informal environment so there should definitely be room for laxity in the grammar. IMHO of course.
 
The style of writing that is demonstrated on some threads leads me to believe that some would not know where the informal ended and the formal started. It is a habit that must be continually cultivated.

The inability to speak or write eloquently is most discernable when trying to explain things to patient or facing tough situations. As seen on some of our freeways, the inability of some to express themselves clearly is a progenitor to "settlement by raised voice or by violence".

I know all of us know how to speak distinctly and clearly without resorting to colloquialism or even profanity. There is a certain decorum that should be observed on this forum and far too often interlopers and even some residents have strayed. It is easy to hide behind anonymity but using a facade will not assuage your inner conscious or voice from labeling or calling yourself a distasteful person.
 
The style of writing that is demonstrated on some threads leads me to believe that some would not know where the informal ended and the formal started. It is a habit that must be continually cultivated.

The inability to speak or write eloquently is most discernable when trying to explain things to patient or facing tough situations. As seen on some of our freeways, the inability of some to express themselves clearly is a progenitor to "settlement by raised voice or by violence".

I know all of us know how to speak distinctly and clearly without resorting to colloquialism or even profanity. There is a certain decorum that should be observed on this forum and far too often interlopers and even some residents have strayed. It is easy to hide behind anonymity but using a facade will not assuage your inner conscious or voice from labeling or calling yourself a distasteful person.
Indubitably! :laugh:
 

Did you hear? They are accepting applications! So if any of us optometry students fails then at least we can has a backup plan. :) lol

The style of writing that is demonstrated on some threads leads me to believe that some would not know where the informal ended and the formal started. It is a habit that must be continually cultivated.

The inability to speak or write eloquently is most discernable when trying to explain things to patient or facing tough situations. As seen on some of our freeways, the inability of some to express themselves clearly is a progenitor to "settlement by raised voice or by violence".

I know all of us know how to speak distinctly and clearly without resorting to colloquialism or even profanity. There is a certain decorum that should be observed on this forum and far too often interlopers and even some residents have strayed. It is easy to hide behind anonymity but using a facade will not assuage your inner conscious or voice from labeling or calling yourself a distasteful person.

*snore* I don't read big-word-posts. I read too many big-word-filled-notes, and my attention span on here is way too short. Can you repost this, please? I'd love to see some simple sentences. Finals make my head hurt. That is all.
 
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