Optometry or DO? Decision time,opinions

[jjmcentee@hotma]

I am a 35 yr old optician, whom decided to go back to school and graduate my skills. I applied to DO schools and Optometry schools. I have been accepted into both and I have to make a decision. Opinions would be great.

Optometry- less time (4yrs), I know the basics already and I know the business end, gaurenteed a job when I get out. Fear- I may get bored and I'm not crazy about moveing to a big city for my education.

DO- Small town (erie, pa) close to home, I can become an ophthamologist, school cost is the same but cost of living is less for those four years, I can help the underpriviledged with more impact. Higher pay. More challenging. Fear- I won't have time to have children experience life.

Kids are a factor, we want to have children.

Every OD and Ophthamologist I have taked to (as well as other MD's) say go to DO school.

any feedback would be appreciated. I really am a mess on this, both are very good options.

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[jjmcentee@hotma]

Andrew Doan,

I just found my previous post on the Optometry page, and read your feedback, I had almost forgot I made that post. Your advise was excellent and the list part was almost comical. Thanks.

I guess I have been recompelled to post the question again because my deposit is due this week for Optomtery. So a bit of self doubt is creeping in.

REading your posts as well as others from my optometry page thread has helped calm my nerves, and feel comportable with my decision again. I have put the deposit down at LECOM erie a few weeks ago and I look forward to my adventure.

Thanks everyone.

 

[DrMom]

Good luck! One of the opthalmologists where I live started out as an OD and then went to DO school...it can definitely be done.

As to kids, you just have to make decisions that help you spend more time with them. As a medical student with a 9 year old, I can tell you that it can be done without a big negative impact on kids.

 

[jjmcentee@hotma]

Good luck! One of the opthalmologists where I live started out as an OD and then went to DO school...it can definitely be done.

As to kids, you just have to make decisions that help you spend more time with them. As a medical student with a 9 year old, I can tell you that it can be done without a big negative impact on kids.

I've been looking for you here and there, you cought my attention with an earlier post last month. I respect your insight. again, makes me feel a little less concerned with the road ahead.
and another story to share,
At my interview at PCOM, a second year came in with an infant in her arms, she went on to explain that she had her baby her 3 months ago, and everything has worked out just fine. She has done well in her classes, her professors were supportive and it's not ideal, but its' ok and it's hasn't stopped her from climbing the mountain. I guess that's just another dynamic of the education.
jim

 

[Mirror Form]

This question depends on a lot of things. How hard do you want to work? How long do you want to be in school? How invasive do you want to be? I'd recommend that you go to medical school (although as a medical student, I'm a little biased). However, be warned that you'll have to work hard and do well to get into ophthalmology. There aren't many DO ophtho residency slots available. So if you're not a competitive applicant when it comes time to apply to residency, ophthalmology might not even be an option.

 

[bustbones26]

Hey, ifyou have any questions about LECOM, PM me

 

[speyeder]

This question depends on a lot of things. How hard do you want to work? How long do you want to be in school? How invasive do you want to be? I'd recommend that you go to medical school (although as a medical student, I'm a little biased). However, be warned that you'll have to work hard and do well to get into ophthalmology. There aren't many DO ophtho residency slots available. So if you're not a competitive applicant when it comes time to apply to residency, ophthalmology might not even be an option.

I agree with a lot of the sentiments expressed above. Some things to consider:

-Length of education. By going the D.O. route you'd have to dedicate at least 8 years of your life, if not more. 4 for med school, 1 yr. of internship, 3 years of residency and then possibly 1-2 more years if you decide to do a fellowship. That's 8-10 years. You'd be 43-45 before you start practicing.

-Education costs: Although both optometry and D.O. school might cost about the same, med school is more costly because if you take out loans, you can start paying them off right away after optometry school whereas you might not be able to with a resident's salary after med school.

-You have to bust your butt in med school to get into ophthalmology. This means finishing near the top of your class, acing your boards, getting good letters, doing well in your clinical rotations, etc. Plus it is much more difficult to get in as a D.O. vs. an M.D. And even if you do all of this, there's no guarantee that you'll get into ophtho. Nobody is. If you don't, are you prepared to go into any other field of medicine besides ophtho? This is an important consideration. Once you enter med school you are not guaranteed a specialty. At least with optometry, you know that you can provide eye care after you graduate. There is no such guarantee with going the med school route.

-Finally the time constraints imposed upon you during med school/residency are not to be underestimated. They are tremendous. You almost have to devote your entire life to school or training during this period. If you are keen on having a family or doing things outside of medicine, you need to carefully consider this before you make a decision.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[PACtoDOC]

I agree with a lot of the sentiments expressed above. Some things to consider:

-Length of education. By going the D.O. route you'd have to dedicate at least 8 years of your life, if not more. 4 for med school, 1 yr. of internship, 3 years of residency and then possibly 1-2 more years if you decide to do a fellowship. That's 8-10 years. You'd be 43-45 before you start practicing.

-Education costs: Although both optometry and D.O. school might cost about the same, med school is more costly because if you take out loans, you can start paying them off right away after optometry school whereas you might not be able to with a resident's salary after med school.

-You have to bust your butt in med school to get into ophthalmology. This means finishing near the top of your class, acing your boards, getting good letters, doing well in your clinical rotations, etc. Plus it is much more difficult to get in as a D.O. vs. an M.D. And even if you do all of this, there's no guarantee that you'll get into ophtho. Nobody is. If you don't, are you prepared to go into any other field of medicine besides ophtho? This is an important consideration. Once you enter med school you are not guaranteed a specialty. At least with optometry, you know that you can provide eye care after you graduate. There is no such guarantee with going the med school route.

-Finally the time constraints imposed upon you during med school/residency are not to be underestimated. They are tremendous. You almost have to devote your entire life to school or training during this period. If you are keen on having a family or doing things outside of medicine, you need to carefully consider this before you make a decision.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

You do not have to devote your entire life to school...period! I have devoted about 25% of my life to school.

Next, as DO, you have the potential to make as much during your residency as an OD would during those same years. This is because the resident DO can moonlight and make in the 80's easily. Even OD's don't all make 80K I promise you.

Next, having your experience and connections, my guess is that you could actually be one of those exceptions to the "top of the class" rule. I know PT's who have got into ortho residencies with meager USMLE scores, but they had an inside advantage like you. You sound like you want to be a physician. The hardest part of medical school is the first 2 years. Its all downhill after that, and time flies.

See you at the AOA conference JJMcentee DO

 

[Mirror Form]

You do not have to devote your entire life to school...period! I have devoted about 25% of my life to school.

I agree for the most part, assuming that one is not going for a competitive specialty. However, it will be very difficult to match into ophtho w/o the grades. And in order to get the grades, then you have to devote a lot more of your life to med school.

Next, having your experience and connections, my guess is that you could actually be one of those exceptions to the "top of the class" rule. I know PT's who have got into ortho residencies with meager USMLE scores, but they had an inside advantage like you.

There is no doubt that his experience will give him an edge. But unless the DO ophtho programs are grossly different from the allopathic ones, then having experience as an optician won't make up for average numbers. The people we hear about matching into competitive fields w/ low numbers are the exceptions. Yes it can be done, but we have to be realistic about how likely it is, and what the backup plan would be if he doesn't match into ophtho.

 

[SLO]

Another factor you might want to think about - your interest(s) might change with time and increasing knowledge and exposure. I've worked in vision research/ophthalmology for almost a decade and have published, written grants, worked with and know all the big cheeses, blah blah blah, etc... and entering medical school as an older MD/PhD student I thought ophthalmology was all I'd ever want to do. But you know what? I've really enjoyed my surgery/plastics/orthopaedics rotations and might consider a career in one of those fields instead.

The same just might happen to you - the DO route might allow for more opportunities if you find (stumble onto, like me?) something else that grabs your interest. For example, as an optician you might enjoy optics and physics - you might just enjoy the engineering and physics behind imaging and theories of radiology.

Go DO - keep your options open. And from what my older MD/PhD resident friends tell me - after your first year out if you're not in a tough surgery program you have time for a life and it feels more like a normal job (with below normal pay!). You can do normal things, normal working people do. Those are my ophthalmology resident friends tho...

 

[jjmcentee@hotma]

Thanks you everyone for taking the time and heloing through this decisive moment in my life.

My wife and I have decided to go DO, and see what adventures that lie ahead.

Jim DO

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Thanks you everyone for taking the time and heloing through this decisive moment in my life.

My wife and I have decided to go DO, and see what adventures that lie ahead.

Jim DO

Good luck!