Get Started
Get Info
Tour
Give

Enter a search request and press enter. Press Esc or the X to close.

Close

Student Life Blogs

12/21/12

Fall Semester, Year One?…Check!



Hey people!

I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve blogged! My last post recapped Convocation/White Coat ceremony and to say a lot has happened since would be quite the understatement. But I’m here again with another milestone — I just successfully completed my first semester of optometry school! While studying for finals, I was amazed at how much I’ve learned (and retained) in just a few short months. A couple of weeks ago I even performed a full refraction for my final Theory and Methods lab practical. I never would have expected to feel so comfortable doing a refraction on my own after just a few months. What a difference one semester makes!

While giving a synopsis of everything that has happened this semester would be great (and lengthy), I’ll sum up my first semester of optometry school with the most important lesson I’ve learned – BALANCE. It’s too easy to get caught up in studying and completing that seemingly never-ending to-do list. For me, it was very important that I found a happy medium between academic responsibilities and personal responsibilities & interests. Once I found that balance, it was quite a nice position to be in. I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed my first semester as much as I did if I didn’t make time for the people and things I enjoyed. I had lots of opportunities this semester to serve in the Memphis community and I’m really glad that I could take a “break” from being a full-time student and get involved. I’ll probably go into more detail about my experiences in a separate post.

I’m so excited to be home with my family and friends for the holidays. Number one thing on my agenda during this winter break is to relax and recharge. I’m going to try to practice some chair skills while I’m home as well. We’ll be hitting the ground running once classes and labs start next semester, so I can’t let myself get rusty!

Well, I’m off to get some last minute Christmas shopping done. As always, thanks for reading!

Happy Holidays! :-)

Feyisayo
Posted by Amy Dunbar at 12/21/12

12/21/12

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…in Michigan!



The semester has come to an end, and the holiday break has started. As a third-year, exams were earlier and less intense than previous semesters. It was so nice to be done on the 14th and to be in Michigan later that evening. It has been hard preparing for Christmas without any snow on the ground. I look forward to a White Christmas with hot cocoa, Sorel boots and snow drifts. The 65 degree weather in Memphis wasn’t putting me in the holiday spirit!

It’s hard to study for exams when we have been so busy in Memphis with other fun events. The St. Jude Marathon was December 1st and brought lots of people to Memphis. The streets were blocked off and runners were everywhere. We had lots of SCO runners in both the half and full marathon. Not to brag, but we have lots of smart and athletic optometry students, including the 2nd place half marathon female finisher and my personal favorite pair of running legs on the island!

I also had my first nursing home experience. Each third-year has a rotation through nursing homes or rehabilitation centers across the area for 4-5 weeks. I was very nervous for mine. I really enjoy the younger crowd, and was anxious about communication issues among other things. It turned out to be very interesting and not scary like I had originally thought. The staff doctor explains the situation when you arrive and has a list of scheduled follow-ups and full exams for the day. They also show you how to use some mobile equipment that we don’t typically use in The Eye Center. It’s definitely challenging to get all the information you want, especially if your patient no longer speaks or hears well. It is part of the challenge to figure out how to get all your exam information without putting too much stress on the patient. Overall, it was a very rewarding experience.

The end of the semester also meant saying goodbye to some of my dear friends that are moving on to their new extern sites outside of Memphis. It’s crazy to think that the people I have spent the last two and a half years with are splitting up in May. This is our last semester as the class of 2014 all living in one place, so besides studying for boards (yeah, those are on the calendar finally), it is necessary to enjoy Memphis with all my friends before we leave. At the end of the year, I look back at so many fabulous memories and raise my coffee mug to the Iguana Club, Team Liechtenstein, Leah-Weens, SVOSH Dream Teams, Team Chalazion, Cheetahdactyls, Big Dog’s B-Blockers, and all my dollies.

Have a wonderful Holiday!
Posted by Amy Dunbar at 12/21/12

12/20/12

3/8th OD



It was a crazy, frenetic dash to the end, but I can finally say it:

I’m done with fall semester of second year!

Ah, that feels so good to say. I suppose that I am now 3/8th of an OD. Looking at it another way, the letters added to the end of my name would be an O, minus a quarter. Virgilio Gozum, Pac-Man? I’ll take it.


Coincidentally, this was me during Finals Week. I could not stop eating everything in sight.

Still, I can’t believe that this semester is over already. Like with first year, it flew by. I also can’t believe that at the end of next semester, I’m halfway there.

So, how do I recap this fall semester in a nutshell? If I could choose two words for it, it would be “organized chaos.” There was so much to do each week, but yet, it seemed manageable most of the time. It was tough, though, make no mistake. The material in the classes was much harder. As second years, we absorbed more responsibilities, such as going to school screenings, central testing in the Eye Center, etc. Also, life was all about balancing studying, practicing new (and much more complex!) skills in the lab, social life, extracurriculars. Sometimes (well, no, often) that balance was really hard to find.

But through it all, I can say that I certainly enjoyed this semester much more than the first two. The increased responsibility isn’t something to be shirked; rather, it should be enjoyed. After all, one day we will have full responsibility for our patients! If we don’t appreciate those responsibilities now, how can we in the future? Furthermore I enjoyed what we learned in class and lab, as much of what was taught will be very important in the future. So, while this semester was much more difficult, I feel like it just went much better for me. I’m in the groove, man.

This time, like all others thus far in my life, is a very exciting series of moments. I have learned much. But, there is still an incredible amount to learn, and I look forward to it. But for now, I’m going to enjoy being done for a little while! Happy holidays to you all, and Merry early Christmas! I’ll check back in with you in 2013!
Posted by Amy Dunbar at 12/20/12

12/20/12

The Life of a 4th Year

 

Hi everyone!


It’s been forever since I’ve talked to you guys so I have a lot to share. I’ll start with 4th year externships. Each 4th year student completes two externships off-campus, either in the Memphis area or at practices throughout the US, and spends one semester at The Eye Center on campus.

I’ve been on extern in GA since May, spending summer at a private practice in Marietta and the fall semester at a MD/OD practice in Morrow. I have seen and learned a lot since I’ve been here, and I’m so grateful SCO gives us this opportunity to branch out into the real world. On externs I’ve seen very common and some rare ocular pathologies that I may never see again throughout my career. I even saw my first case of Acanthamoeba Keratitis, which was a great learning experience! I’ve gotten to work with a large variety of patients, met some really nice people, and attend various optometric lectures and dinners. Externships are a great and vital part of our optometric education, and I’m so thankful SCO gives us this opportunity before we graduate.

Another great thing about 4th year is all of the FREE TIME we have! Besides studying for part 2 of national boards and completing a few writing assignments, there is not much work to be done. I’m usually at my extern site from about 8-5 or 6 Monday-Friday and some Saturdays from 8:30-12. It feels like a real job, and that’s what I love about this whole experience. It’s getting me ready for life after graduation.

I’ve also had time to hang out with my family and friends here, as well as enjoy some of the fun Atlanta has to offer. My externship ends soon and I’ll return to the Eye Center in January. Although I’m a little sad to leave Atlanta, I’m looking forward to going back to the clinic and working in some areas where I didn’t get a lot of exposure while on extern. It’ll be a good clinical experience to end my educational career.

I also believe the last time I wrote I was getting ready for my wedding! Everything went well and turned out beautiful. I’ve been enjoying all of the free time I have to spend with my husband. Before we know it, we’ll be celebrating our 1 year anniversary.

That’s all I have for now, but I’ll be talking to you all again soon!!
Posted by Amy Dunbar at 12/20/12

12/13/12

T’was the Night Before Finals

 

Season’s Greetings Blogosphere!


I apologize for not posting sooner blog readers…I’ve been knee-deep in practicals and exams ever since getting back from Thanksgiving break. I promise to catch you up on all my watcha-be-doings as soon as I finish up final exams next week. In the meantime, one of my fellow Class of 2015-ers, THE Mr. Andy Hawkins, put together this perfect SCO rendition of a classic Christmas poem I know you’ll enjoy reading:

‘Twas the night before finals, when all through SCO
Not a student was studying, not even Class President Puerto;
Their heads were hung low by the crick in their neck,
In hopes that Dr. Phillips would say, “Your finals? To heck!”
Their notes were crumpled, all jammed in their bags,
While visions of Dr. Kress gave them accommodative lags;
Dr. Newman in his office, the lights off and door closed,
Had just settled down for retirement, I suppose.
When out on the annex there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my seat to see what was the matter;
Away to the window we flew like a flash,
And were careful not to epilate a single eyelash.
The moon, shone bright on the new-fallen snow,
Gave all objects a relative disparity depth from below;
When, what to my bifoveally fixating eyes should there be,
But an enormous armored man wielding a machete.
With the flick of an occluder, in a lively motion,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Vision;
More rapid than proparacaine his courses they came,
He whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now Bino! Now more Bino! Now Peds and Practice!
On Ophthalmic! On Pharm! On Path, Oh the injustice!
To the top of The Eye Center! To the top of the Tower!
Refract away! ‘Fract away! ‘Fract away all!”
His eyes, what a reflex! His retina, how glossy!
His nerves were distinct, his macula like a cherry! (uh-oh)
His beady little pupils glistened from the snow,
And I wondered how I would ever do BIO.
“No one is studying? What’s this!” He exclaims,
“Memorize those drugs, yes all 400 names!
Binocular summation is as easy as pie,
And yes, it is okay if you cry.”
“Those kids, those patients, they all will need you,
What will they think if you couldn’t get through?
That one week of tests of pressure so great,
Is nothing compared to what your future awaits.”
“Lift up your heads, don’t look so weary,
After all, your last test is not Theory;
This semester’s been rough but here’s what to do:
Study like crazy (but don’t get the flu).”
“I believe in your knowledge, you put in the time,
Now show those professors it’s your time to shine!
Saving some vision is the only way out,
You all will pass – I HAVE NO DOUBT!”
Posted by Amy Dunbar at 12/13/12
loading