The end of the semester is always a frantic time: deadlines have to be met, practicals must be practiced, finals must be finished. However, the end of summer semester during third year definitely seems much more frantic than last year for a few reasons. One, if you think about it, these are our last lab practicals (I just finished mine today. It feels awesome). Two, this is our last five (or more) final frenzy, I think. Got to make them count. But the biggest reason for the frenetic nature of this semester’s end is a good one: externships for fourth year have been decided!
There are three pools of students in the externship process. Local pool is for people who would like to stay within the Memphis area for all of their externships. Fall pool is for those who would like to be at SCO in the fall. Finally, general pool is for everyone else. Of course, there’s different criteria to determine what pool you’ll enter into, but I’m not going to bore you with those details!
I admit it’s not the most stress-free of decisions to make. After all, going on your externs is a huge step in your optometric career. The step above this one, of course, is doctorhood. Therefore, you definitely want to make sure that you’ll get a great learning experience wherever you go, and location/learning environments/optometric interests/life concerns must all be considered. That all being said, I am excited to report that my fourth year will look like this:
Summer 2014 – One last semester in Memphis
Fall 2014 – Going back to my undergrad home in lovely Chattanooga at SouthEast Eye Specialists
Spring 2015 – Child & Family Optometry, a pediatrics/VT private practice in Wichita, Kansas
And then summer of 2015…I’ll be a doctor! That’s just absolutely crazy, how time rumbles along. I am quite excited to see how these adventures will unfold. But not too soon, of course – I have one more year here in Memphis, and I want to soak up as much of it as I can.
Oh yeah. I spent last weekend in San Francisco for my cousin’s wedding. It was Wedding #4 of the year for me, and the ninth wedding-related thing I’ve witnessed in 2013. Life – it too rumbles along!
