Positives about Optometry

[Ryan_eyeball]

I know I myself have been critical of Optometry on this board and thought I would share some of my positives since I've been out a year.

1) Patients see instantly whether you're helping them or not. A lot of what we do still is glasses or contacts. Seeing an accommodative esotrope straighten from mom's expression is joyful. Or hearing the next year, that the glasses really helped the child in school function better.

2) You can always set your own schedule. If in corporate you can set the time, no one controls you. If they want something different walk. In private you have a lot of freedom to work any time or day.

3) Income is relatively very good. You will never starve in Optometry, but you do have to be more creative in generating income before insurance plans ever came about.

4) The first professional to diagnose Cholesterol, Hypertension, and Diabetes and numerous other conditions of the body.

5) Mal-practice insurance I believe is still the lowest of any health care professional (knocking on wood).

6) You have the opportunity to become a business person. You can call all the shots of your business, and watch the mistakes and failures over the year. Almost like a child growing up (at least this one you can sell when you're done).

7) We enjoy the battles of past generations that have won TPA, DPA, and Glaucoma certifications for us. Its hard to imagine how much pathology was missed by never dilating by OD's before 1985ish.

8) Ability to comanage Lasik, Gluacoma, and Cataract patients. We are better educated than any generation before us (kinda a given)

9) Acceptance onto medical plans, and getting paid to treat medical eye conditions.

10) Knowing you will always have a job, somewhere, someplace.

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[longlashes]

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[Ryan_eyeball]

Thanks for this post

What is comanage? You cooperate with the MD to take care of patient undergoing glaucoma treatment?

i.e. sending out the patient to get a SLT procedure, Trab Sx (although I would let the OMD keep this one), or a scanning laser procedure.

My state requires you to co-manage 20 glaucoma patients for 2 years if you graduated before 1998.

 

[Oogilily]

Any job is what you make of it. Sure, it may be hard for a lot of us to make it in optometry, or at least make it how we want to. There's hard work in owning any business. My dad owns a business and he struggles a lot of the time even though he never runs out of work. Optometry isn't the only field struggling with oversupply or prices being driven down.

Anyways, thanks for the positive post!

 

[jc812]

awesome.

 

[hello07]

Optometry is an easy profession. Nothing difficult about it. getting thru optometry school and passing all boards is the hardest part. Working, no matter what the setting might be is piece of cake if you know what you are doing are really good at it. refractions, contact lens fittings- all types, diagnosing anterior and posterior disease as long as you are confident of the diagnosis - the management and treatment comes easy. Except ofcourse with glaucoma cases.
Again easy, clean profession. You make it what you want it to be. Good pay- nothing exoberant like radiology but pays the bills and more. Low malpractice rates and not much stress depending on the circumstances and how you carry yourself.
Managed care and reimbursements- another issue. Starting a practice cold- can be very difficult but possible. If you want to be jsut saleried in any mode- you will always have a job.
my 2 cents- hope this helps