Optometry's history

[ProZackMI]

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Does anyone know how optometry evolved as a profession in the US? What are its origins? When did the OD degree first emerge as a professional designation, and what sort of education did pre-OD optometrists receive?

Thanks,
Zack

 

[JennyW]

Does anyone know how optometry evolved as a profession in the US? What are its origins? When did the OD degree first emerge as a professional designation, and what sort of education did pre-OD optometrists receive?

Thanks,
Zack

This history is easily found with a simple google search.

 

[ProZackMI]

This history is easily found with a simple google search.

Obviously, it isn't. Thanks for being soooo unhelpful. How useless.

 

[JennyW]

Obviously, it isn't. Thanks for being soooo unhelpful. How useless.

You're joking right?

A simple google search netted dozens of links to histories of the profession in various states, the history of various state societies, the history of the profession as a whole in the USA and abroad, and the history of most of the colleges of optometry including those colleges that preceeded the current ones such as the one at Columbia.

I found even MORE relevant information in the professional journals by doing a simple Pubmed search.

I would think that someone with as many years of education as you seem to have would be a bit better at information searching. I guess not.

Jenny

 

[rpie]

Ok Zack I’ll give you a short history on OD’s. Optometry started around the late 1700, early 1800’s as spectacle peddlers and jewelers selling eye glasses. Around the mid to late 1800’s schools of optometry were opened to standardize Optometry. I believe the earliest record of the Doctor of optometry degrees awarded is from Northern Illinois College of Optometry, founded in 1871, (NICO merged with Monroe College of Optometry to form ICO), and the New England College of Opt. 1894. They awarded the degree of Opt. D., which was shortened to OD. In the 1800’s the pre entry requirement was that you finished high school. By 1910 Optometry schools began requiring undergraduate school before entering. Between 1930-1945, although Optometry was supposed to be standardized there were 3 and 4-year programs. The 3-year program leading to a Masters of optometry or M.opt. 4-year leading to the O.D. degree. Most of the M.opt degrees were awarded from the university-affiliated schools because making Optometry a doctorate level degree was strongly opposed by university graduate schools and medicine. The 4-year OD degree became the US standard around the 1960’s, and towards the late 70’s schools like SCCO and UCBSO began requiring a published research project with thesis for graduation.

A couple bits of trivia. According to some, when Columbia University had a school of Optometry, a movement in the 1940’s by the students was the catalyst that got all University affiliated Optometry schools to go to a 4 year, graduate OD degree.

In 1904, the Los Angeles Medical School of Ophthalmology and Optometry was chartered. Degree awarded was either a Doctor of Optometry, for a 6-month term $75.00 or a Doctor of Ophthalmology for an 8-month term $100.00. The Los Angeles Medical school of Ophthalmology and Optometry later became SCCO.


Optometry like Medicine, Dentistry, etc. fills a need. The number of state supported Optometry schools, which were all founded by a legislative act, reflects this need.


Although turf wars go on between OD’s and OMD’s symbiotic relationships exists especially in academics. There are many Ophthalmology residency programs that have faculty OD’s appointed as “professor of Ophthalmology” and responsible for teaching contact lens, binocular vision, primary eye care, and I believe 2 recently appointed OD’s teach treatment and management of ocular pathology,. Like wise there are OMD’s that teach at OD schools appointed as “Professor of Optometry”.