Hey y'all! (It's already rubbed off on me ;))
I'm sorry for the delay in my post. It's been long overdue! As you may have seen on my previous post, I felt like time had flown prior to entering optometry school. However, I was oblivious to how quickly time would fly once first year began. As first years, we have already completed two midterm weeks, as well as two lab practicals. There is only one more finals week left and one more lab practical to go before the semester comes to a close.
I should start by telling you that I am amazed at how much information I have learned in such a short amount of time and how amazing it is that I'm actually able to retain most of it. Yes, it really is A LOT of information but what's wonderful is that our classwork tends to overlap among our classes so it makes it easier to learn and understand the material. In addition, basically everything we learn is relatable to our future career and that alone makes it much more interesting to pay attention to.
Like I said, it's amazing how much my classmates and I have learned in such a short amount of time. As stated before, we have already completed two lab practicals. Our lab practicals consist of skills we will need to learn for boards and our future careers as optometrists. Our first lab practical actually consisted of retinoscopy, which in my opinion, is the hardest skill we have had to learn, so far. I am not kidding when I tell you I genuinely thought I would never be able to conquer retinoscopy. However, even the tasks that seem most impossible in optometry school eventually become possible. I don't know how that is but it really is true. One of the most exciting parts about this first semester is that, within the last few weeks, we have officially gotten our hands on the phoropter and have learned how to complete a manifest refraction. That's actually what our final lab practical will cover, as well as a few other skills with the phoropter.
One thing that I find unique here at SCO is our midterm weeks. They are full weeks of exams rather than exams randomly scattered throughout the semester. I was a little worried about that before optometry school began but now I have realized that I actually prefer it this way. We still have quizzes and other assignments that keep us accountable for the material prior to exam week but it's nice to study really hard, get them all done around the same time and then have some time to relax when the exam week is over.
Thus far, the journey through optometry school has been so rewarding, exciting and fulfilling. I cannot wait to keep you all updated with my future endeavors at SCO.
Talk to you soon!