Happy 2017, everyone!
It seems like forever since I’ve written, but that’s because it’s been a busy past few months!
Last semester finished well for me, but now I can’t believe I am a few weeks into my last semester of classes at SCO. After this semester, my classmates and I will be spread out all over the country doing externships. Luckily for us, we still have one huge and terrifying hurdle to conquer before that, which will be sure to bond us together—Boards!
As third years, we will take the first part of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry exam in March. Part II is in December 2017, and Part III can be anywhere from August 2017 until March 2018 (this is the hands-on/practical portion of boards, and I plan on getting it over with as early as I can!).
I think that everyone probably prepares for this portion of the test in his or her own way. It’s really easy to get caught up in how much someone else is studying, but really it’s an individual sport all the way.
I started studying over Thanksgiving break, by reading the KMK review books that I purchased (most of my class ordered these as well), and continued as much as I could through Christmas break. Our class has also had some review sessions in the mornings with various professors to go over some more challenging concepts. In addition to that, those of us who bought the KMK review course had our first review weekend a few weeks ago, so it’s pretty much in full-swing.
Other than boards, this semester is mostly about me trying to gain as much clinical experience as I can before externs start in a few short months. We still have 4 classes outside of boards studying, and we are in clinic 3 days a week as well. I have a feeling May is going to be here before I know it!
All of the studying aside, one of my goals for the year is to try to keep everything in a good balance, so I took this past weekend off to head to Colorado to visit my fiancé. It was a great mini-break, and now I feel refreshed and ready to take on all that this semester continues to offer.