ICO vs. Nova vs. SCCO

[norsha]

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How do the clinical experiences at each of these schools compare? Given their locations, I would imagine each to offer a plethora of diverse cases. My impression is that the clinics at each of these schools are a large part of what makes them appealing. Any thoughts on how the clinical experiences compare?

 

[whizzle]

SCCO's clinic is really pretty and new, ICO has connections with the opthalmic institute but in a more sketchy area so you'll probably see more disease if the safety isn't a big issue; both are on campus. I don't know about NOVA..

I'm curious to know how the education at each school differs due to different board exams & how that effects the OD hoping to return to Chicago vs CA.

 

[Cappuchino]

Nova has 5 clinics, with one built last year called "distressed kids", focusing on pediatric optometry. I am not sure how many of the 5 clinics are onsite at the university, but at least one of them is.

Compared to ICO, the clinic (the one that I toured, which is on campus) was a lot smaller, older, and did not have the same amount of patient flow.

I would assume you would get quite a lot of patient diversity at Nova tho, I remember someone saying at the interview that people from the surrounding islands come to their clinics for eye care (potential sources of pathological cases?).

As for externship sites, ICO has a much larger variety (130 sites in the US, Canada, Australia ...etc). Nova has less of a choice for externship sites, mainly in Florida and I think another one in Shanghai, China.

 

[JennieJoy]

ICO has the biggest clinic in the state of Illinois. They see over 90,000 patients a year. An overwhelming amount of the patients are in because of pathologies and not just for refractions. We get a great amount of exposure. I'm just about finished with my first year and I've already refracted in clinic and done entrance testing. I can't say that all schools give you that opportunity that early in the curriculum. We also have off site clinics as well. We partnered up with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and have made the news several times because of the impact we are making in the school system due to the mandatory vision screenings for children in Chicago. We have a spanish speaking clinic as well as workshops where you can learn to give exams in spanish to make yourself available to more patients. Our clinic is also going through a revamp and getting electronic record keeping which should be established early this summer. So the entering first year class will get to learn how to take a case history electronically.

Also, as for safety being an issue..I have never felt scared being on campus. We are adjacent to the Illinois Institute of Technology and have amazing security (who make amazing coffee!).