Student Life Blogs

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10/18/14

What Happened to September?

Whew! First of all, let me apologize for taking so long to write my second blog post. The past few months have been a total whirlwind. From the moment we started orientation, it seems like time has flown! Between classes, clubs, and meeting new people, my time has been very filled.

To start, let me say congratulations to my fellow classmates on making it through our first midterm week! SCO has implanted a new testing week policy, where we take all of our tests for all classes in one week rather than spreading them out over the semester. We will have two midterm weeks and a finals week this semester, and while the first one was definitely exhausting, I think we all did better than we expected and will use the experience as a learning opportunity going forward. All of the classes that we are taking as first years are an equal mixture of overwhelming, difficult, incredibly interesting, and fulfilling. It’s so exciting to finally learn about the underlying basics of optometry. I feel like my background has already become so much more complex in the past few weeks, and it’s very rewarding when connections are made between lecture material and real-world applications of optometry.

Last week, my classmates and I officially became the Class of 2018 as we received our white coats and stated the Optometric Students’ Oath. Coming into our Theory and Methods lab this week and wearing our white coats while we practiced our chair skills was incredibly exciting. I definitely feel like I’m becoming a clinician. Although we have only begun the basics of an eye exam, it is very fun to be able to interact with classmates in a patient-doctor type scenario. It makes me incredibly excited that this is my chosen career.

In terms of activities other than classes (which take up a lot of time, believe me!) I have also started a work-study position in The Eye Center. I am working with Clinical Operations, preparing student charts for various school screenings. I love being able to see some of the behind-the-scenes work that goes on at the Eye Center, and it’s nice to get to know the Center before we actually begin clinic there. I have also joined the Lion’s Club and Gamma Omicron, a group focusing on women optometrists. I am amazed by the amount of activities available for students at SCO, and I know I will only continue to get more and more involved as I go forward in my optometry student career.

I think that’s all for now! I will write in a few more weeks with some specifics about classes and labs. I have also done a lot more exploring in Memphis and will share some things that I have found to be fun. Until next time!

Posted by Amy Dunbar at 10/18/14

10/17/14

Midterm Week 1 + Convocation

Happy Friday, readers!

I figured I should dedicate a post to one of the hottest topics on campus right now: midterm weeks. This is the first semester of “block” midterm weeks here at SCO. What this means for us is that instead of our exams being scattered randomly throughout the semester for each course, we actually have dedicated midterm weeks during which we have an exam in every single class (kind of like final exams week, except three times per semester). Based on my own opinion and the opinions of my classmates, there are pros and cons to this new exam schedule. One of the major benefits is that we don’t have regular lectures scheduled during the exam weeks. We still have our labs in the mornings, but the afternoons are reserved for exams ONLY. This is great, because it means that there is no new lecture information coming in during midterm week. This keeps us from getting behind in material that will be covered on the following exam when we’re busy studying for the current exams. Another advantage to our new schedule is that studying this way should help us down the road when we are getting ready to prepare for our National Board Exams. It (hopefully) will help with our time management and productivity when studying large amounts of material at one time.

As for the aspects of the new schedule that we don’t love quite as much, there’s the obvious downside: seven exams in one week is a LOT. Our first midterm week was two weeks ago and it was definitely tough. My class had our pharmacology exam on Monday, our binocular vision exam on Tuesday, our pathology AND optometric practice exams on Wednesday, our theory/methods AND ophthalmic optics exams on Thursday, and our pediatrics exam on Friday. By the time Friday afternoon rolled around, we all felt (and looked) a little bit like zombies. The schedule also makes it a little more difficult to spend a lot of time focusing on one class, and I worry that I may not be retaining quite as much of the information since so much of the studying happens in such a short period of time.

Overall, we are all adjusting to the new schedule the best we can! While it would be ideal for us if the midterm week staggered a weekend or if we didn’t have labs and school screenings during midterm week, I’m sure we will soon adjust and won’t be able to believe that our midterms were ever administered in a different way! I’ve heard from my friends at other institutions that this schedule grows on you quickly and that you actually come to love it. I’ll post again at the end of the semester and let y’all know what the general consensus is at that point!

Another big thing that has been going on at SCO recently is that our White Coat Ceremony / Convocation was last weekend! A big congratulations to the Class of 2018 on their exciting ceremony. It seems like just yesterday that my class was walking across the stage and signing the Optometric Student Oath in our brand new white coats. This is such an exciting time for the first year students and I am looking forward to watching them grow into the wonderful clinicians that I know they will be! At the ceremony, I was extremely honored to be presented with a First Year Basic Sciences excellence award and a beautiful engraved plaque for my academic achievements during first year. Clinical Sciences awards and various scholarships were also awarded to other members of my class as well as members of the classes of 2016 and 2015. The ceremony is an exciting day for everybody and it’s always so wonderful to see the SCO community come together and celebrate!

As a Student Ambassador, I had the opportunity to help out at the ceremony and to volunteer at the Graceland tour with friends and alumni of SCO the following day. I had actually never been to Graceland before, so it was an awesome opportunity for me! In addition to learning a ton about Elvis and seeing his home, I also got to meet some pretty awesome people at the tour. It was an exciting and busy weekend and it absolutely flew by. I’m sure before I know it, it will already be time for the Class of 2019 to get their white coats. :-)

That’s all I have for today! Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

-Lisa

Posted by Amy Dunbar at 10/17/14

10/16/14

When the Scales Fall from Our Eyes

As we journey from adolescence, through high school, and into the soul-searching collegiate era of life, we formulate our own version of a honey-glazed “what I want to be when I’m older.” Many of us are persuaded by the glamor, prestige, financial stability, flexibility, or simply by the only thing we know how to do. For myself, I knew I wanted a career where my mental fibers would stay firm, my time would be worth enough to provide for a healthy home, my weekdays would end with a taste of fulfillment, and I could give my family the time and attention they deserve.
At the moment, the road through SCO resembles the agony of Sisyphus and his longing to cross over the forever-fading peak. I see the upperclassmen, all-smiles as they wear the hope of a tasseled cap throughout the clinic. How grand it must be to savor near victory? But even with this motivation, the looming days remain daunting, which can only mean we are what we should be… human. But a brighter future is there even when we can’t see it.

The daily grind in this modern age seems to drain me more than the ruthless humidity of past high school afternoons. On many evenings, I feel like a wave tossed about on the ocean surf… longing for the shore and hopeful for steady ground. But in this understanding, I have found that the heaviest yoke of the day results in the softest bed at night. When our efforts seem exhausted is also when we are the most open to change. I believe in change, in forward motion, in pursuing a calling, in surrendering your status quo…

Before my endeavors here at SCO, I was unaware of the many aspects leaving home had to offer; some wonderful, some difficult. Without a hint of doubt, this present journey has been one of transformation and sanctification. The personal development and insight that has come so unexpectedly, reminds me how much we learn when we are pushed to the precipice. But to gain these innovative qualities we must sacrifice, something that isn’t easy. Our backbones solidify with every ounce of dripping effort required of us, which prepares us for the “real world.”

My personal struggles are slowly becoming illuminated verities. A longing for home and its sweet familiarity, the weight of a long distance relationship, and the hardest mental push of my life have radical developed my “What I want to be…” into “Who I want be…” What you are doesn’t matter as much as who you are. This truth will never leave my mind.

Even with my life residing in Memphis, and my heart still back in the Georgia clay, I can’t say that I regret coming here. These are the days that produce perseverance and professionalism deeper than our white coats. The difficulties of the present will multiply happiness in the future. I stand confident in my decision to continue pushing hard, and I hope that you can say the same about your life, here and now.

Posted by Amy Dunbar at 10/16/14

9/28/14

Externship Round 2

Happy fall blogosphere!

It’s exciting in the life and times of Amy Puerto. I’m almost one month down into my second externship rotation, and I’ve already learned so much! I’m currently working at the Eye Care Centers (ECC) of Kentucky, a large private practice with 8 satellite offices across central and eastern Kentucky. In one day I participated in a optometrist-preformed YAG laser procedure, foreign body removal, punctual plug insertion, a slew of glaucoma diagnostic tests, and many, MANY red eye cases. My patients have ranged from toddlers to 91 year olds, and everything in between.

I’m amazed at the change of pace going from my SCO rotation to my private practice rotation. I saw a variety of patients each day at SCO, and there was tons of pathology, but I’ve really had to step up my patient care to match the volume and pace of the ECC….that in itself has been an unmatched education! Also, since this is a large practice, I have the extra benefit to work with six other optometrists throughout the week. Learning their various practice and patient management techniques has been invaluable. If that’s not enough, a retina specialist and cataract surgeon rotate through the practice every other week, which offers me even greater networking and observation opportunities with our ophthalmology counterparts.

After three weeks in my private practice rotation, I can confidently say SCO gave me an excellent foundation to manage ocular pathology and to assess visual complaints well beyond the lecture hall or The Eye Center. I feel competent in patient care, and I’m excited to see how I grow as a clinician in optometric skills and knowledge each day this semester.

Now that applying for residency is right around the corner, I thought I’d share an article I wrote on the topic for the national student optometry publication Foresight. Here’s a like to the online version: http://www.theaosa.org/all-about-residencies/

Last, but not least, welcome to Memphis SCO Class of 2018…time will fly!

Carpe Diem,

Amy

Posted by Amy Dunbar at 9/28/14

9/4/14

Welcome, Class of 2018!

Good morning, readers! Last time I wrote I was just a few weeks into the second year summer mini-term, and now I’m one week into the regular fall semester. Besides taking different courses and labs, there is one major difference between the summer term and the fall term: the presence of a first year class! Even though we became second year students as soon as we finished our spring finals in May, it didn’t REALLY feel like it until there was a first year class on campus as well. We finally feel like we’re not at the “bottom of the food chain,” and that we can help out the first year students the same way the class of 2016 helped us one year ago. Having a brand new class of 136 students here is a nice reminder of the INCREDIBLE amount of information and clinical skills we have learned since we were in their shoes one year ago. It is truly amazing to think about how far we’ve come in one year. I wish the best of luck to the class of 2018 as they take on this exciting adventure and I hope they know how excited we all are to have them join the SCO family this semester.

Because of my role as a Student Ambassador, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of the first year students at New Student Orientation and through campus tours. I remember how nervous and excited I was before my class’ orientation events, and I loved being on the other side this year and being able to help answer questions and make the students feel more comfortable about their transition into optometry school. I could hardly believe that it had been a year since I was sitting in the lecture hall with my class for the first time.

Besides welcoming the class of 2018 to SCO, there has been a lot going on for my class this week. Our fall schedule is packed full with courses, labs, and school screenings. It’ll be a busy semester, but I think it will be a fun one! We are about to start learning BIO in our pre-clinic lab and the school screenings give us the opportunity to work with REAL patients and to fine-tune our first year skills. As we embark on learning the rest of our major clinical skills, I am constantly reminded that in only eight months we’ll be over in the clinic seeing our very own patients! This is such an exciting time and I know that second year will fly by just like first year did. Between courses/labs, involvement in student organizations, and other various extracurricular activities, I’m thinking it’ll be Christmas Break before I know it.

Once again – CONGRATULATIONS to the Class of 2018! Enjoy your time as a first year student because it will absolutely fly. :-)

Posted by Amy Dunbar at 9/4/14