Things you wish you knew...

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MariaMaria

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I think a lot of us deciding on what school would make the perfect fit for us would like this question answered so I'm asking...

For all the optometry students and grads, is there anything you wish you knew about the program you picked before you entered that may not of been so obvious before. For example, that the curriculum is...?, that the externship is...?, that the cafeteria is.......?, that a certain elective would have been really great to take...?

Maybe even things you wish you did before entering school that would of prepared you better for school. ???

Anything would be great. It would be great to mention the program so us future students know what to expect.

Thanks

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Although I can't say it would have made a huge difference, I would have like to have known that Northeastern in Tellaquah teaches lasers. Don't get me wrong, OK is the only place you can use them but I still think it would have been pretty cool to have that didactic training on my resume (I did learn on externs, but it was sort of unofficial).
 
I heard that certain schools (PCO or others ?) send students to Bascom Palmer for one of the externships, since that is the top eye institute in US, it is famous for its pathology, I would definitely look into that if the school has it on the externship list. If not, most of the disease sites also gives lots of stuff to learn ,but it's just cool to see how they train ppl there at Bascom Palmer :)

also, I think the smaller programs also have their advantage, you know everyone in your class (pretty much I would think) and you can form a close bond with your classmates (if you want to.), which I think would be also cool since I went to a large undergrad, and most of my classes were big, so I find it hard to make connections/bonds with my classmates.

just a thought, I am still trying to sort out what is the priority for me when choosing between different schools.
 
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also, I think the smaller programs also have their advantage, you know everyone in your class (pretty much I would think) and you can form a close bond with your classmates (if you want to.), which I think would be also cool since I went to a large undergrad, and most of my classes were big, so I find it hard to make connections/bonds with my classmates.

I think you'll get to know your classmates VERY well (for better or worse) no matter where you go.
 
I heard that certain schools (PCO or others ?) send students to Bascom Palmer for one of the externships, since that is the top eye institute in US, it is famous for its pathology, I would definitely look into that if the school has it on the externship list. If not, most of the disease sites also gives lots of stuff to learn ,but it's just cool to see how they train ppl there at Bascom Palmer :)

also, I think the smaller programs also have their advantage, you know everyone in your class (pretty much I would think) and you can form a close bond with your classmates (if you want to.), which I think would be also cool since I went to a large undergrad, and most of my classes were big, so I find it hard to make connections/bonds with my classmates.

just a thought, I am still trying to sort out what is the priority for me when choosing between different schools.


I haven't actually been to Bascom Palmer for externship (not offered through SUNY) but I do know people who have and also people who have done residencies there. It is definitely one of the world top centers for ocular disease but you have to remember a couple of things.
1) 90% of the stuff they see there you probably won't ever see again in your lifetime
2) you will likely be treated as a tech, just working up patients for the OMDs and might not even get to look at their dilation afterwards.


Also, agree with above, you'll get to know your classmates very well wherever you go.
 
for better or worst, I certainly hope it's the better part that brings us together :)

Eyeballer, you get a point there, I almost forget all the bashing and the ongoing war between OD and OMD....

so what else do you guys think it's important to know before you pick the school/or school starts??
 
I haven't actually been to Bascom Palmer for externship (not offered through SUNY) but I do know people who have and also people who have done residencies there. It is definitely one of the world top centers for ocular disease but you have to remember a couple of things.
1) 90% of the stuff they see there you probably won't ever see again in your lifetime
2) you will likely be treated as a tech, just working up patients for the OMDs and might not even get to look at their dilation afterwards.


Also, agree with above, you'll get to know your classmates very well wherever you go.

Bascom Palmer was an amazing site! However, keep in mind that any extern site is what you make of it. Some students will not try, and therefore learn very little. It's all about what you put into it.
 
for better or worst, I certainly hope it's the better part that brings us together :)

Eyeballer, you get a point there, I almost forget all the bashing and the ongoing war between OD and OMD....

so what else do you guys think it's important to know before you pick the school/or school starts??

I don't really think that at Bascom Palmer it's a bashing or war between ODs and OMDs. It's just the nature of the cases. These patients are for the most part ophthalmological. They need some kind of surgical/radiotherapy.

And tip for most schools: stock up on clinic clothes before you get there!
 
I think the more optometry students can see (pathology wise) the better, it would really suck if they only get to work up the pt and never see anything after dilation...

anyone with externship/residency experience at Bascom Palmer care to share?

clinic clothes=scrubs? or business casual (with white coat on top)?
 
I think the more optometry students can see (pathology wise) the better, it would really suck if they only get to work up the pt and never see anything after dilation...

This is not always true...you have to pick your externships or residencies based on what you want to do with your career.

If your goal is to work in a teritiary referal center, then yes...that would be a good rotation.

But if your goal is traditional private optometric practice, then a rotation like that may or may not be the best one. You will get lots of pathology training, but it makes little sense to be trained to recognize and treat obscure pathologies that have an incidence of 1 in a million that end up at places like Bascom Palmer because the patient has already seen 4 ODs and 7 OMDs, none of whom can figure out what is going on.

If you wish to have a traditional optometric practice, you will be much better served learning contact lenses and becoming more proficient in primary eyecare, not tertiary referal care.

Dr. Chudner did some training at Bascom Palmer. I hope he chimes in on this.
 
IU sends 4 students a year to BP. Its a 6 month site instead of the nomal 3 month. Very high cost of living from what I heard.
 
If your goal is to work in a teritiary referal center, then yes...that would be a good rotation.

If you wish to have a traditional optometric practice, you will be much better served learning contact lenses and becoming more proficient in primary eyecare, not tertiary referal care.

I see, thanks for the input :) I think I will have a better idea of what I want to do (primary or tertiary ) toward the end of my optometry education, too bad that I am not going to IU :rolleyes:

XY=tie and a shirt
XX=?
:)
 
XY=tie and a shirt
XX=?
:)

Umm I don't know.. females always have issues with what's "regulation" .... Just business dress I guess.. no open toed shoes and not too much on show. :eek:
 
I don't really think that at Bascom Palmer it's a bashing or war between ODs and OMDs. It's just the nature of the cases. These patients are for the most part ophthalmological. They need some kind of surgical/radiotherapy.

And tip for most schools: stock up on clinic clothes before you get there!


I am stocking up on clinic clothes at we speak!
 
This is not always true...you have to pick your externships or residencies based on what you want to do with your career.

If your goal is to work in a teritiary referal center, then yes...that would be a good rotation.

But if your goal is traditional private optometric practice, then a rotation like that may or may not be the best one. You will get lots of pathology training, but it makes little sense to be trained to recognize and treat obscure pathologies that have an incidence of 1 in a million that end up at places like Bascom Palmer because the patient has already seen 4 ODs and 7 OMDs, none of whom can figure out what is going on.

If you wish to have a traditional optometric practice, you will be much better served learning contact lenses and becoming more proficient in primary eyecare, not tertiary referal care.

Dr. Chudner did some training at Bascom Palmer. I hope he chimes in on this.
Sorry Ken, I missed the Bascom Palmer Bat Signal. :D I will chime in on this. I completely agree that Bascom Palmer may not be for everyone, and someone that is really interested in private practice may be better served by doing a rotation with a successful private practice. That being said, I have to disagree with the common misperception that all you see at Bascom Palmer are the rare pathologies. Someone earlier said that 90% of what you see there will not be seen again. That couldn't be further from the truth.

It is very true that many patients that end up there have seen several OD's and OMD's who didn't know what was going on, but the majority of the patients we saw had common conditions, like glaucoma, AMD, diabetic retinopathy, etc. The advantage of a place like Bascom Palmer is that you get to see these diseases is varying degrees of severity from very mild to very severe. In order to understand when it is appropriate to refer, you have to see how the OMD's approach the more difficult cases.

I refer a lot less to OMD's than most OD's, and it's because of my training at Bascom Palmer. I certainly do not see anywhere near as much pathology now that I am in private practice, but when something does end up in my chair, I am better prepared to handle it.
 
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