Pupillary Pathways

As your 3rd year begins to wrap up, you are probably starting to get prepared for your first rotation as a 4th year optometry student. This time is very exciting and represents a huge transition in your path to becoming a doctor. You will no longer be taking classes, midterms, and finals at school; you’ll be out working in a clinic (likely 8 hours a day, 5 days per week), seeing patients and absorbing all the information you can to help prepare you for the “real world.” 

When I was an optometry student our NBEO exams were still presented as an old-fashioned paper booklet with scorecard. The testing centers were usually just a conference room of a local hotel where everyone sat in the same room at long tables.

Everyone knows what to expect with paper tests, as I’m sure you’ve all been tested in this fashion more times than you can even count. But what happens during computer-based tests? What are the testing locations like? What must you bring with you and what is already provided for you at the center?

These are all things that you should familiarize yourself with so that you feel more comfortable with the examination procedure that the NBEO now utilizes.

The Apgar score is the very first test given to a newborn. It occurs in the delivery or birthing room right after the baby's birth, and then is repeated 5 minutes later. The test was designed to quickly evaluate a newborn's physical condition and to see if there's an immediate need for extra medical or emergency care.

Medical practitioners combine the score for each of the five factors for the total Apgar score. This will be between 10 and 0, with 10 being the highest score possible (but is rarely obtained).

This month's Optometrist spotlight is on Dr. Erin Swift, O.D., F.A.A.O who hails from San Diego and works for a VA Hospital. We got to ask her questions on her career path, a typical day, why she chose this practice and more more.

High-paying jobs tend to come with a great deal of stress. It’s a trade-off: If you want to make a lot of money, you have to be willing to work long hours and put up with incredibly stressful career paths. 

What if I told you that not only is the field of Optometry a fullfilling job if you have the passion for it, but the LEAST stressed job ranked recently AND you get paid very well.  Would you believe me?

Which of the following topical drops has the strongest cycloplegia effect?? Take our latest optometry quiz.

Be sure to check out our other quizzes!

Ranking optometry residency programs can be an extremely stressful decision! The residency program that you end up participating in will help mold your future as an optometrist, so there is a lot to consider before the final submission of your rank order list. We’ve put together a few tips for you to seriously think about before you press that submit button!