For the SCO first years, and all of the other years it seems, March Madness is upon us. No, not the basketball tournament, but the endless stream of tests, practicals, and studying. But before talking about our busy schedule, I want to talk about the awesome time I had at SECO!
SECO (Southern Educational Congress of Optometry) is a huge conference held in Atlanta where optometrists and other ophthalmic professions like opticians and technicians get the chance to develop their skills and increase their knowledge about new optometry advancements. The programs included continuing education courses and demonstration activities. While most of the education classes were over my head, I was able to participate in some hands-on exhibits! For example, I was able to do LASIK on a pig’s eye. How cool is that!? The technicians walked me through the entire procedure and explained every step along the way. Along with the programs during the day, the students had their own get-together at night, where we met students at the other optometry schools in the south. All in all, SECO was a great experience and highly recommended to any future students.
But spring break ended far too soon, and the road trip back to Memphis was made. Besides exams in every class, the professors are really starting to step up the practical game. Last week, we had a practical on direct ophthalmoscopy. We had a third year as our patient to perform direct on, and then we had to pick their fundus photo out of a line up of six fundus photos. Talk about nerve wracking! This week we had our manifest refraction practical where we took visual acuities and performed keratometry, retinoscopy, and manifest refraction all in under 15 minutes. If you would have told me in September how much I would be able to perform in such a short amount of time, I wouldn’t have believed you. I feel so prepared and ready to start using the slit lamp this summer!
The incoming first years will be here this weekend for the housing fair! I can’t believe it has been a year since I was in their shoes. Before I know it, I will be taking boards as a third year and preparing for my externships. Where does the time go?