Just to give you a quick update with myself as a 4th year. My first rotation is here at The Eye Center at SCO. It is going very well. I am starting to not feel like a student anymore- maybe because I don't have any more classes or tests. But I am loving it. I usually get to school by 7:30am and am at school till 6:00pm or so (it depends on the day and the patients). Mondays I have Contact Lens, Tuesday I have Vision Therapy ( and soon to be Low Vision and Optical as well), Wednesday is Adult Primary Care, Thursday is Pediatrics, and Friday is Ocular Disease. I have had many interesting patients. Some are complex and some are simple. All of it is great experience. I am here in Memphis until August, then we are off to a cataract and surgery center in Arizona for 4 months. After that I finish up my externships in St. George, UT at a private practice for the last 4 months. In between now and graduation I will be preparing for NBEO boards part 2 and 3. Also I have to squeeze in time to prepare for applying for a residency program as well!
Last week I had a great experience attending Optometry's Meeting at the annual AOA meeting. This year was in Salt Lake City, UT. I went to undergraduate school in Utah so I felt I really wanted to go. I was able to get a travel grant which covered most of the cost of my trip. It was definitely worth it! I was able to attend some student oriented classes, talk with different vendors about their products and services, and meet some great doctors. I learned more about residency programs and met many students like myself. If any of you have the chance to attend the AOA meeting, I say do it! Next year is in Chicago, so start planning early.
Well that's it for now, but I will keep you posted.
cheers