Hey there!
Last time I blogged, I was just wrapping up my first year of optometry school. Now I’m writing to you as a second year! My classmates and I just finished our first week of our 6-week mini-term after a 10-week break. Now, before I get into second year happenings, let me quickly recap my summer break for you.
The morning after my last final exam, I boarded a plane to head to Belize! I had the amazing opportunity to go on a mission trip to Caledonia, Belize with SCO’s Fellowship of Christian Optometrists. It was truly an eye opening (no pun intended!) and humbling experience. Our team of 24 students and 2 staff doctors saw about 500 patients of all ages over the course of two and a half clinic days. I got a chance to put my clinical skills to use on actual patients, see some pathologies I had only heard of or seen pictures of, and learn some new things as well.
My patients were all wonderful. We gave out lots of prescription glasses, readers, safety glasses, sunglasses and eye drops. It was great to see everyone leave us with a huge smile! We also coordinated an after-school children’s ministry to take place after each day of clinic. Close to 200 kids of all ages came to hang out with us. It was such a refreshing thing to come back to after a busy clinic day! We also had the pleasure of enjoying time at an island resort on Caye Caulker Island, Belize. Everything on the island was so beautiful. I had probably THE best jerk chicken ever and had so much fun snorkeling in the Caribbean sea. It was a truly awesome experience and I can’t wait for my next trip!
After returning from Belize, I headed back home to Nashville. I spent the majority of my break enjoying time with my family and friends. The summer months are always filled with graduations, weddings, holiday barbecues and last but not least, my birthday! While at home, I was also able to volunteer at the Special Olympics Opening Eyes Program sponsored in part by the Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians. Students and staff doctors from SCO volunteered to conduct eye exams and provide glasses for the athletes participating in the day’s activities. Everyone I worked with was great and I became quite adept at using a hand-held tonometer, might I add! All in all, I had a wonderful time just relaxing with friends & family and being a tourist in my own city. It was probably the first true summer break I’ve had without classes, a job or internship in a very long time. So, no complaints here! Although, a couple of additional weeks couldn’t have hurt. :-)
Which brings me to the start of second year..we’re back! True to style, we hit the ground running in our Theory and Methods lab. One lab is dedicated to keeping our refraction and chair skills sharp, while the other session is where we will learn slit lamp skills. Very exciting! As far as lectures go, we are taking Evidence Based Medicine, Basic Pathology, and Systemic Pharmacology. We also have two new additions to our curriculum – a weekly Service Learning Workshop and an Interprofessional Educational seminar series, both of which I’m also very excited about. By nature of it being a six-week term, classes and labs are conducted at a much faster pace. But, I’ve found myself keeping up and getting back into “student mode” with no problem…so far so good!
Until next time!
Feyi