internships/ shadowing

[soccerstar22]

hey, just wondering what other people's shadowing experience have been like. I'm just starting my first and not quite sure what to expect. Basically I'm just curious about how long they usually last and what tasks you do. Do you just sit and watch- do you get paid- did the doctors have a plan set up or was it just spontaneous? Thanks so much!
-Mitch

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[pienfoo]

Hi.
i interned at four different settings and got paid at most of them. i personally think shadowing is just for u to check out what an optometrist does but it dosen't show much commitment from your part of wanting to go to optometry school.
i interned for new offices, established offices (40+ yrs), and a vision therapy office. the length ranges from 3-16 months. some optometrists (especially those who have just opened up and are trying to save money) take advantage of the fact that pre-optometry students need internship experience, and they hire u as an intern to "help you learn" but they expect you to be their office manager, so watch out for those... 👎 but there are great optometrists out there that open up their office to interns when they are already fully staffed, i would look more into that type of office to work at. good luck.

 

[hoosier1]

usually i just end up shadowing them, which is just watching and observing what they do. most optometrist tell me specifically what they are doing for the patient so that I'm learning. When there are no patients in i end up helping the doctor with filing, phone calls, etc.

 

[Colonel Mitchel]

How important is interning/working with an Optometrist? I have done some shadowing and plan to do more. Is shadowing sufficient? What are the benefits of interning/working vs. shadowing (except for getting paid)? H

 

[Carolinagirl17]

How important is interning/working with an Optometrist? I have done some shadowing and plan to do more. Is shadowing sufficient? What are the benefits of interning/working vs. shadowing (except for getting paid)? H

This is my opinion; however, but I think its better to work there. I think shadowing is sufficent for school, but seeing the profession as an employee of a doctor gives you a whole new outlook. It is the day to day that shows you how to deal with unhappy patients, what to look for in employees, and the business side of the profession. You don't always get to see the reality of all that goes on in an office if the doctor just shows you what he does. The things I have seen daily have been so valuable for my future career in taking things the current doctor does or changing things that don't seem to work

 

[optowoman]

I agree with Carolinagirl17. You definitely should try and work for an Optometrist to get the most experience. On my first day of internship the doctors had me pretesting all of their patients. 😱

Now I work for them and I'm learning how to run a private practice. Working for an Optometrist has given me more reasons to be one. People actually are happy to see you.

 

[JMU07]

I definitely wanted to just shadow my OD, but he insisted that giving me a job and having me work in his office would give me better experience, and he was right! You get more experience dealing with patients, and even though you're not in the office during exams as much (or at least, I wasn't) you still get to pretest and work the desk or whatever else they need you to do.

My favorite experience was when a lady called and said her contacts weren't marked so she needed to know which one went in which eye. So I pulled her chart and told her and she didn't believe me!!! She was like "I want you to ask the doctor and then call me back." so I hung up and called her back 5 minutes later. 🙄 I also had a woman get on my case b/c I wouldn't give her contacts for her daughter since her script was expired. Come to find out she was sleeping in her weekly's and that's why they weren't lasting very long... the dr. wasnt very happy with her 🙂

 

[mtrlOATgal]

wow that is really valuable info-

and so how receptive are optometrists to having you work for them? I guess i;m just spelling out failure before trying lol- I really want to do it but it seems to be so competitive

how should i look out for which optometrists should i work for? and how on earth did you get the optometrist to offer you the job?

 

[JMU07]

mtrl - I just called my own OD and asked him about it. He's known for years now that this is what I want to do so he was very receptive to the idea. Call around - the worst that can happen is they'll say no! 🙂

 

[Carolinagirl17]

wow that is really valuable info-

and so how receptive are optometrists to having you work for them? I guess i;m just spelling out failure before trying lol- I really want to do it but it seems to be so competitive

how should i look out for which optometrists should i work for? and how on earth did you get the optometrist to offer you the job?

I sent my resume to different optometrists in the phonebook, and only one called me back. All it takes is one who has been there and is willing to help a student like he was once.

 

[ODduck]

It seems like most of the people on SDN are on the East Coast, so this post may not matter to you guys. However, if you are applying to Pacific, just be aware that they REQUIRE that you have 30 UNPAID hours of observation with an OD before you apply. I don't see people mention Pacific very often on here, but it would suck to work for an OD and do all that work without it counting for anything.

Then again, I guess you could always just have the OD say that you were "unpaid" for 30 of those hours

 

[aam0050]

I know this has been said already, but I'm just adding in my experiences. 🙂

I shadowed an optometrist for a semester before I began interning, then eventually working, as a tech for a few other optometrists. I can't stress enough the benefits I've received from working for these optometrists. First off, I now have experience with simply talking to patients, which is a pretty big step in itself to me. Secondly, I've learned how to use equipment that we'd eventually learn to use in optometry school. I know I don't know everything, but I feel some relief when I tour optometry schools and recognize something I know how to use. 🙂 Also, learning how to do some of the pre-tests has helped build my confidence, which goes along with knowing how to use the equipment.. any extra knowledge you know is always a step up!

Viewing different modes of practice in optometry is always a good thing to do before considering a career.. but get your hands dirty if you can. 😎

I'm not saying you have to work with an optometrist to be successful, I'm just sharing my experiences and how it's made me feel.

 

[Colonel Mitchel]

Thanks. That is certainly some good information. I have done a little checking around for a job with an OD and it looks promising.
I might be able to work for an Ophthalmologist or an Optometrist. The OD would likely be mine and would be close by. The Ophthalmologist would be about 40 miles from my house which would be a little under an hour's drive one way. Any thoughts on which would be better?