How many hours does it take?

[BYUIDoctor]

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Everyone who got an interview/accepted at a particular school, please post how many shadowing hours you had when you submitted your application.

Thanks!

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Everyone who got an interview/accepted at a particular school, please post how many shadowing hours you had when you submitted your application.

Thanks!

I had something like 30-40 hours of shadowing plus a year of working in a private practice.

But...

There isn't a magic number when it comes to shadowing hours. Some schools, like Pacific, require 30 hours of observation in order to have your application considered. Others strongly recommend observation, but don't acutally MAKE you do it. What you should be asking yourself is how many hours do you need to shadow in order to make an informed decision about the profession you are entering.

Did you shadow in different modes of practice (VA, private, commerical, group, solo, OD w/ OMD, etc)? Do you have an idea of the differences of each one? Have you seen enough to comfortably say you want to do this day in and day out for the rest of your life? The amount of time it takes an applicant to reach that stage varies by person. Some know immediately... some will graduate optometry school and still won't realize what they are getting themselves into. You are on SDN and asking questions, so you are obviously doing your research.

 

[BYUIDoctor]

Yeah, I know most schools don't require a set amount of hours. Most of the advice I get from schools is exactly what you said greeneyes. However, in recent post, I read of a student who said he has an 80% chance of getting into Michigan because he only shadowed 20 hours. He had a 3.5 GPA and a 350AA on the OAT. He was told his weak point of his application was shadowing experience.

I've shadowed 20 hours myself as well, and seen both private and joint practices. I have also met with three doctors for Q&A sessions through our pre-optometry society. I know this is what I want to do, and think that these last few weeks are better spent studying for the OAT than trying to get more hours.

I'm very interested in SCO, Indiana, PCO, and SUNY. So, anyone who got accepted to those schools PLEASE POST!!! Thanks.

 

[eyestrain]

I had 30 hrs, all with solo private docs. Good enough for IU, I guess.

 

[aam0050]

I shadowed for about 15-20 hours during my last semester of college, then worked in a private group practice and a commercial practice for a little over a year as a tech. I had a year break between undergrad and opt school because I graduated in August, so I used the time to become more familiar with the profession, and man was it worth it!

 

[Lovelylizz]

I did co-op (co-operative education) for a laser vision clinic for a month. There I spoke to ophthalmologists and optometrists and watched 2 laser surgeries.

I also worked at a contact lens clinic for 1.5 years as the clerical assistant so I got to see how that clinic worked.

With those shadow experience, I am going to go to PCO this Aug.

And currently for the summer (2 months), im working at a private practice.

I think exposure is the best way to find out if you really want Optometry!

 

[still_confused]

i had 10 hours of "shadowing" spread over 3 places and 0 work hours

 

[eyelikegolf]

I had 0 hours and did not know what a diopter was when I got in. I had a 3.5 GPA and a 320 on the OAT. Goes to show you don't necessarily have to have any shadowing experience to get in.

 

[eyestrain]

I had 0 hours and did not know what a diopter was when I got in. I had a 3.5 GPA and a 320 on the OAT. Goes to show you don't necessarily have to have any shadowing experience to get in.

Depends where you apply. I only did the 30 because I one of the schools I applied to was Pacific and they required it. If not, I probably wouldn't have done it either.

 

[hfpepperbean47]

I had a grand total of eight observation hours.

 

[idoctobe]

i applied to OSU and SUNY and got into both. I had about 40hrs? maybe? but really it was the quality of my work that i/they focused on. i went to different clinics and i really really put myself out there to know exactly what they were doing and i even participated in doing stuff and talking to patients (ive also had pt contact so they were ok with it). i hate the kind of shadowing where you stand and watch. i like being part of whats going on and i was lucky that all the places i "shadowed" allowed me to do so!

 

[iowaeyes]

I had about 30 hours with three different optometrists in different practices (solo doctor, commercial, and group). I also worked at a commercial eyewear chain for almost 2 years. I will be at IU this fall!