Page 17 - True Stories

Balance work with life. You can balance a challenging primary-care profession with a rewarding family life—just ask an optometrist. Optometry’s unique suite
of advantages—including multiple career pathways, regular practice hours, and a pleasant work environment (patients who enjoy their visits, for one!)—makes it one of health care’s most flexible professions.
Enjoy a respected profession. You can have the status of a highly skilled primary- care doctor, while building compassionate, long-lasting relationships with your patients. Optometry requires the kind of personal interaction—asking questions, listening to concerns, discussing options— on which meaningful doctor-patient partnerships are formed.
Start now. Start here. Here’s how you do it.
Earn the right degree. Only one degree qualifies you to become an optometrist: the doctor of optometry (OD), a four-year, doctoral-level degree. This means that doctors of optometry spend the same amount of time in professional school as medical doctors and dentists but are not required to complete residency training to practice. (Residency training is an option
in a number of optometric practice areas.) While concentrating primarily on structure, function, and disorders of the eye, students of optometry also take courses in human anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology, among others, to prepare for their role as primary-care doctors protecting patients’
Because vision problems tend
to occur more frequently later
in life, an aging population will lead to demand for more optometrists.
overall health and wellness. Turn the page for a list of U.S. schools and colleges offering the doctor of optometry degree.
Pursue the right coursework. Aspiring optometrists should complete a bachelor’s degree and build a strong background
in the sciences, preferably at a four-year college or university with a rigorous academic program. Optometry school is demanding, and admission is competitive. The best candidates pursue pre-professional level science courses that are designed
for science majors and health professions students. Just like an aspiring medical school applicant, you should obtain laboratory experience and study such science disciplines as biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, general physics, and microbiology. Consult with your pre-health adviser or an admission counselor from any optometry school or college for specific guidance.
Get the right exposure. Now’s the time for a firsthand look at the health care professions. Visit your optometrist and ask questions. Shadow an optometrist as he or she cares for patients and runs a practice. Real-world experience will tell you if optometry is the right career for you.
www.optometriceducation.org
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