Posting from Mentor

[KHE]

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I will do my best to answer this here. I think however it's safe to say that the mentor forum for optometry is pretty much dead. Students and potential students looking for the mentors should PM them if they wish to ask privately or simply make public postings in either the pre-optometry or optometry forums. Because the mentor forum is dead, I rarely check in there and the following question is about 2 weeks old. I just realized it was there. My apoligies to the poster for the delay.

i have few questions.
If you were on the admission committee, what would you look for in the applicants?
Second, the two new schools that opened in CA and AZ, what are your thoughts on it in terms of education? Do you recommend that applicants apply there or do think they should wait?
Last question, I work at a private office. One of the doctors didn't do residency but she said that she is contact lens specialist. The other doctor that I shadowed even she put that she said that she is contact lens specialist and visual therapist (she didn't do residency either). How can you do that without doing residency?
Thank you so much for your help.

1) If I was on the admission committe (I am NOT), I would look for candidates that had a decent understanding of what optometry is and what optometrists do. I would try to weed out anyone who was doing optometry because they thought they couldn't get into medical school and optometry was "good enough." I would also look for someone who has a geniune sense of scientific curiosity. Many people enter health careers because they are lucrative and they want to "help people." That's not enough. Being a good clinician involves having a strong background in the scientific method and a good amount of scientific curiosity.

2) I would not apply to the new schools. I would wait at least 5 years. This is just a personal opinion. Any undertaking like that will invariably have a number of bugs to work out and there is little point in you being in the class that has to go through the bug filled program.

3) The term specialist in optometry is often times vague. Sometimes it refers to someone who is residency trained. Sometimes it refers to someone who has attained FAAO status in their specialty. (http://www.aaopt.org/)
Sometimes people who have an interest in a certain area and get a good reputation for being particularly proficient in a certain area of practice start to get referred to as specialists either by themselves or their collegues in the area. Different state boards have different requirements as to who, if anyone can use the term specialist so it's always to check with the state board on that issue.

I hope that helps.

 

[optsuker]

I agree.
1) Being an analytical thinker goes a long way since solutions to visual problems often goes beyond a cookie-cutter solution to subjective test results.
2) The only good reason I can see for attending one of the new schools would be, "I already live across the street" or "I didn't get in anywhere else."
3) Many states forbid the use of the word specialist, regardess of doing a residency, FAAO, etc. A special interest in CL is more appropriate.

 

[preopt2012]

Thank you for replying. I really appreciate your feedback.

 

[DryEye]

I will do my best to answer this here. I think however it's safe to say that the mentor forum for optometry is pretty much dead. Students and potential students looking for the mentors should PM them if they wish to ask privately or simply make public postings in either the pre-optometry or optometry forums. Because the mentor forum is dead, I rarely check in there and the following question is about 2 weeks old. I just realized it was there. My apoligies to the poster for the delay.



1) If I was on the admission committe (I am NOT), I would look for candidates that had a decent understanding of what optometry is and what optometrists do. I would try to weed out anyone who was doing optometry because they thought they couldn't get into medical school and optometry was "good enough." I would also look for someone who has a geniune sense of scientific curiosity. Many people enter health careers because they are lucrative and they want to "help people." That's not enough. Being a good clinician involves having a strong background in the scientific method and a good amount of scientific curiosity.

2) I would not apply to the new schools. I would wait at least 5 years. This is just a personal opinion. Any undertaking like that will invariably have a number of bugs to work out and there is little point in you being in the class that has to go through the bug filled program.

3) The term specialist in optometry is often times vague. Sometimes it refers to someone who is residency trained. Sometimes it refers to someone who has attained FAAO status in their specialty. (http://www.aaopt.org/)
Sometimes people who have an interest in a certain area and get a good reputation for being particularly proficient in a certain area of practice start to get referred to as specialists either by themselves or their collegues in the area. Different state boards have different requirements as to who, if anyone can use the term specialist so it's always to check with the state board on that issue.

I hope that helps.

Hi KHE,

I value your advice very much. But I have to ask, if you were given a choice between NOVA or MidWestern, which would you choose? I just submitted by application to MidWestern. I havent heard ANYTHING from the other schools and I am hoping to get get an acceptance this year. I just don't see myslef going through this whole application process again nest year. And to be honest, I dont think I will... I am old and tired!

 

[KHE]

Hi KHE,

I value your advice very much. But I have to ask, if you were given a choice between NOVA or MidWestern, which would you choose? I just submitted by application to MidWestern. I havent heard ANYTHING from the other schools and I am hoping to get get an acceptance this year. I just don't see myslef going through this whole application process again nest year. And to be honest, I dont think I will... I am old and tired!

Since midwestern is one of the "start up" programs, I would attend NOVA if given the choice.