Optometry's Outlook

[PharmDGal]

Hey Im new to SDN and was wondering if I could get some feedback.

Im kinda torn between pharmacy and optometry. I like optometry, but ive spoken to some people and because of new procedures like lasik (sp?) more and more people are going to ophthamologists, and optomology's outlook may slowly be dwindling. is this true? What is the average salary of optometrists?

THANKS!

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[blazenmadison]

Hey Im new to SDN and was wondering if I could get some feedback.

Im kinda torn between pharmacy and optometry. I like optometry, but ive spoken to some people and because of new procedures like lasik (sp?) more and more people are going to ophthamologists, and optomology's outlook may slowly be dwindling. is this true? What is the average salary of optometrists?

THANKS!

Not a lot of people can afford lasik. Some might not even be candidates. Plus optometrists usually do the pre and post op procedures.

There's a lot of potential to advance in optometry versus pharmacy. But pharmacy is very 'hot' right now. There might be an oversupply in the years to come with all the new pharmd schools popping up.

The best suggestion is to shadow both professions and gather a very deep understanding before you choose to take the OAT or PCAT.

 

[L8DYV]

Hey Im new to SDN and was wondering if I could get some feedback.

Im kinda torn between pharmacy and optometry. I like optometry, but ive spoken to some people and because of new procedures like lasik (sp?) more and more people are going to ophthamologists, and optomology's outlook may slowly be dwindling. is this true? What is the average salary of optometrists?

THANKS!

Not only that, but lasik is not forever. I had it done in 2000 and again, i am back to wearing glasses!

 

[lemonhead43]

Hey Im new to SDN and was wondering if I could get some feedback.

Im kinda torn between pharmacy and optometry. I like optometry, but ive spoken to some people and because of new procedures like lasik (sp?) more and more people are going to ophthamologists, and optomology's outlook may slowly be dwindling. is this true? What is the average salary of optometrists?

THANKS!

check out this list from CNN Money. Career wise, the growth of pharmacy is greater then optometry in the next 10 years (forecast). The growth rate for pharmacy is at a higher rate too (ranked 9). Optometry is ranked #22
Rank Career
(click for CNNMoney.com snapshot) Job growth
(10-yr forecast) Average pay
(salary and bonus)
1 Software engineer 46.07% $80,427
2 College professor 31.39% $81,491
3 Financial advisor 25.92% $122,462
4 Human resources manager 23.47% $73,731
5 Physician assistant 49.65% $75,117
6 Market research analyst 20.19% $82,317
7 Computer/IT analyst 36.10% $83,427
8 Real estate appraiser 22.78% $66,216
9 Pharmacist 24.57% $91,998
10 Psychologist 19.14% $66,359
11 Advertising manager 20.34% $107,049
12 Physical therapist 36.74% $54,883
13 Technical writer 23.22% $57,841
14 Chiropractor 22.40% $84,996
15 Medical scientist 34.06% $70,053
16 Physical scientist 12.18% $80,213
17 Engineer 13.38% $76,100
18 Curriculum developer 27.53% $55,793
19 Editor 14.77% $78,242
20 Public relations specialist 22.61% $84,567
21 Sales manager 19.67% $135,903
22 Optometrist 19.73% $93,670
23 Property manager 15.30% $78,375
24 Actuary 23.16% $81,509
25 Writer 17.72% $60,519
26 Social service manager 25.52% $74,584
27 Paralegal 29.75% $61,204
28 Health services manager 22.76% $92,211
29 Advertising sales agent 16.33% $112,683
30 Physician/Surgeon 23.98% $247,536
31 Management analyst 20.12% $63,426
32 Occupational therapist 33.61% $51,973
33 Mental health counselor 27.18% $53,150
34 Landscape architect 19.43% $50,383
35 Biotechnology research scientist 17.05% $66,393
36 Urban planner 15.17% $60,891
37 Lawyer 14.97% $153,923
38 Speech-language pathologist 14.57% $58,329
39 Meeting and convention planner 22.21% $56,072
40 Dietitian/Nutritionist 18.30% $52,244
41 Biological scientist 17.03% $61,317
42 Financial analyst 17.33% $66,203
43 Dentist 13.52% $122,883
44 Accountant 22.43% $62,575
45 Environmental scientist 17.11% $59,027
46 Lab technologist 20.53% $51,502
47 Registered nurse 29.35% $68,872
48 Sales engineer 13.96% $78,875
49 Veterinarian 17.39% $79,923
50 School Administrator 14.55% $73,767

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs/top50/index.html

 

[aphistis]

Oh no, optometry is only ranked in the top 25! The horror!

 

[mph2pharm]

Not only that, but lasik is not forever. I had it done in 2000 and again, i am back to wearing glasses!

My optometrist also warned me that Lasik isn't a permanent fix. I have decided not to go forward with the procedure.

Regarding the original post, yes pharmacy appears to be as someone else said "hot" right now, but I also think that opportunities for optometrist will continue to be strong as well. You start off your post talking about how you like optometry so why not list all of the reasons why you like optometry and all the reasons why you like pharmacy and compare the two lists. Pharmacy and Optometry are quite different so hopefully it will be clear to you as to which is the best fit for you. Also as someone else suggested, try shadowing both. Again, I believe that the decision will be much easier once you do this.

Good luck!

 

[qwopty99]

very few (as a percentage) of people do LASIK. even if those patients never came back to see you, the patients lost to LASIK wouldn't have the slightest affect on your bottom line.

 

[ChihiroSen]

Hey Im new to SDN and was wondering if I could get some feedback.

Im kinda torn between pharmacy and optometry. I like optometry, but ive spoken to some people and because of new procedures like lasik (sp?) more and more people are going to ophthamologists, and optomology's outlook may slowly be dwindling. is this true? What is the average salary of optometrists?

THANKS!

I'm in the same situation as you..but I'm considering pharmacy when my top choice was optometry. Look at it this way:

All optometry schools need to take the OAT exam- which a lot of students here already said, is not that bad at all.

Depending on which pharm school u go to, you dont need to take the PCATS at all, however you do need to take extra pre-requisite courses such as Economics (again, depending on where you want to go)

I talked to a health care professional and he told me that Pharmacists have more freedom and flexibility than Optometrists because they're not "tied" to their profession. His words were "There will always be someone to cover a Pharmacist if u work at a pharmacy, but you can't always do that with Optometrists" I've also spoken to friends and people who USED to want to become pharmacists but after working as assistants and techs, decided not to because they said and i quote "..no one talks to each other in the pharmacy..it's really quiet and there's not much interaction". But i guess that was his experience.

I was REALLy torn between both of these professions, but after reading A LOT of posts in the Optometry and Pharmacy forums, i'm confident that Optometry will always have a good future.

I also have some general questions as well: would anybody know when and where in California are Opticians exams given? What material is it tested on? and are there any study guides that you can recommend, if any?

Thank you very much to everyone and I hope my post helped. Can you post up what your decision will be? Thanks and good luck!

 

[iiiimonica]

good for you for training to be an optician! it's a great way to learn about optometry, and get paid for it there is only a national exam that is held 2x a year here is a link for the exam, including desribtions of the exam:
http://www.abo-ncle.org/

and here is a link for study materials, they have a good study guide here:
http://www.nao.org/


good luck to you, just study and you should be fine

 

[Trenty]

Im kinda torn between pharmacy and optometry. I like optometry, but ive spoken to some people and because of new procedures like lasik (sp?) more and more people are going to ophthamologists, and optomology's outlook may slowly be dwindling. is this true? What is the average salary of optometrists?

THANKS![/QUOTE]

i'm torn also, i'm also in the same shoes as you...have you decided on which route to take?--pharmD or OD?

will there be less chemistry involved in optometry courses?
someone let me know...thx

 

[iiiimonica]

you betcha!

 

[Trenty]

tell me about some of the classes in optometry?
thx

 

[iiiimonica]

tell me about some of the classes in optometry?
thx

http://optometry.berkeley.edu/programs/curriculum.html

every school is a little different, some schoold do make you take biochem. look up the courses on your possible schools website. it is about 18-22 units of upper level science classes for 2 years. the third year is half class/half clinics and the 4th year is rotations.

but you should look up the different programs

 

[crossjb]

The "Lasik will replace optometry" line is equivalent to the "robots will replace pharmacist" one.

God, how I hate technological advances...

 

[Trenty]

can someone tell me what kind of opportunities there are for working abroad/ internationaly for someone who studied here? thx

 

[ttran01]

hey im deciding between pharmacy and optometry too! to become an ophthamologist dont you have to go through med school?

 

[drsax]

hey im deciding between pharmacy and optometry too! to become an ophthamologist dont you have to go through med school?

Hi, yes you do have to go to med school to become an ophthalmologist.

 

[Trenty]

hey im deciding between pharmacy and optometry too! to become an ophthamologist dont you have to go through med school?

but for optometrist, u don't have to go to med school...
its 4 yrs to become an optometrist..

 

[xmattODx]

can someone tell me what kind of opportunities there are for working abroad/ internationaly for someone who studied here? thx

Can you please expand on this question. What are you hoping to do and where are you hoping to do it?

 

[Trenty]

Can you please expand on this question. What are you hoping to do and where are you hoping to do it?

i was wondering what kind of opportunities there was for optometrists in europe/elsewhere if you studied in the states..thx

 

[DrSpontaneouz83]

About the LASIK question, I don't see it as a threat to optometry. As someone else noted earlier, Lasik does not last forever. I work for an ophthalmologist and we have patients come in all the time who have had LASIK surgery and a year later they are right back in glasses. Also, if your Lasik procedure corrects for distance, then you will eventually need glasses to correct for reading vision and vice-versa. So....stop worrying people!!! Also optometrists help in the pre and post operative care in Lasik procedures.

 

[cookyncreame]

also, I think optometrists are pushing for legalization of LASIK surgery, since the procedure seems to be fairly simple. The most complicated part is preparing for it. From what I've heard (though I don't know much myself), it seems like a reasonable possibilty.

 

[prettygreeneyes]

also, I think optometrists are pushing for legalization of LASIK surgery, since the procedure seems to be fairly simple. The most complicated part is preparing for it. From what I've heard (though I don't know much myself), it seems like a reasonable possibilty.

I may become unpopular, but I don't think that optometrists should be doing LASIK. It may SEEM simple, but it is in fact, a surgical procedure. While optometry school is great and wonderful, it is not medical school. We lack the extensive systemic knowledge that I believe you can only get in a medical school. If anyone as a pre-optometry student has a strong interest in doing surgery... GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL! It is much easier to take that route, even with the extensive residency, than to become an optometrist and fight the uphill battle to gain surgical rights, which I believe is a useless battle! Fight for things like uniform scope of practice and license mobility... and if you want to do surgery... be a surgeon!

 

[Hines302]

I may become unpopular, but I don't think that optometrists should be doing LASIK. It may SEEM simple, but it is in fact, a surgical procedure. While optometry school is great and wonderful, it is not medical school. We lack the extensive systemic knowledge that I believe you can only get in a medical school. If anyone as a pre-optometry student has a strong interest in doing surgery... GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL! It is much easier to take that route, even with the extensive residency, than to become an optometrist and fight the uphill battle to gain surgical rights, which I believe is a useless battle! Fight for things like uniform scope of practice and license mobility... and if you want to do surgery... be a surgeon!

Agreed

 

[iiiimonica]

Agreed

me too, and probably most practicing optometrists agree with this. there are a few who want these rights, but the battle will be long and in the end, not succesful.

 

[cpw]

I may become unpopular, but I don't think that optometrists should be doing LASIK. It may SEEM simple, but it is in fact, a surgical procedure. While optometry school is great and wonderful, it is not medical school. We lack the extensive systemic knowledge that I believe you can only get in a medical school. If anyone as a pre-optometry student has a strong interest in doing surgery... GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL! It is much easier to take that route, even with the extensive residency, than to become an optometrist and fight the uphill battle to gain surgical rights, which I believe is a useless battle! Fight for things like uniform scope of practice and license mobility... and if you want to do surgery... be a surgeon!

I think MOST optometrists fully support this statement. I love being an optometrist and wouldn't do anything else. But, I'd love to see uniform scope of practice. Florida is WAY behind the ball. I can treat glaucoma, but can't write for oral meds ???

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Eek! Where are you guys who agree with me on surgery when I'm getting a verbal tongue lashing on ODWire? Hello? Anybody?

 

[still_confused]

Eek! Where are you guys who agree with me on surgery when I'm getting a verbal tongue lashing on ODWire? Hello? Anybody?

hehe sorry about that, but ODWire is pretty scary. i keep up on the posts there but lets say the feeling i get is that the practicing optometrists there are less then friendly towards students. Im guessing any posts by students will result in "you dont know any better," "dont go commercial you sell out" "stop contributing to the OD oversupply problem," or "start cold! thats how i did you can too! what you have student loans? i did too!"


compare to this forum which has some that hate optometry, ODWire makes the profession look like its from hell. Oh and the scary part is , the bashing is WITHOUT opthamologists! isnt there enough OD on OD crime as it is>>

 

[Hines302]

hehe sorry about that, but ODWire is pretty scary. i keep up on the posts there but lets say the feeling i get is that the practicing optometrists there are less then friendly towards students. Im guessing any posts by students will result in "you dont know any better," "dont go commercial you sell out" "stop contributing to the OD oversupply problem," or "start cold! thats how i did you can too! what you have student loans? i did too!"


compare to this forum which has some that hate optometry, ODWire makes the profession look like its from hell. Oh and the scary part is , the bashing is WITHOUT opthamologists! isnt there enough OD on OD crime as it is>>

HAHAH. this is so true... the website paints a really bad picture of the profession and almost every post from a student is met with criticism. I finally got the guts to start posting on odwire.org (maybe some of you follow some of my post). It can be pretty intimidating. I was told just the other day in a post that if I knew what was good for me... I would drop out of OD school before I even start.

On the up side I do get some private messages from positive doctors that are actually really encouraging. They are out there lurking on that site I guess, even though they don’t post.

Prettygreeneyes... I didn't know that you were the student posting on the thread about surgical rights. Keep it up.. I enjoy reading your post. Don't let them intimidate you.

 

[Hines302]

Just on a side note... I am curious of those who are currently in optometry school if your professors have mentioned an oversupply issue, and what their take is on it. Thanks

 

[blazenmadison]

Just on a side note... I am curious of those who are currently in optometry school if your professors have mentioned an oversupply issue, and what their take is on it. Thanks

ODwire people will say...
1)the academic ODs obviously couldn't find any jobs in the private sector and now are teaching for lower pay, therefore there is an oversupply
2)academic ODs have no idea about the real life of an OD...
3)academic ODs will of course say there is no oversupply, otherwise they will alienate all potential students

I stopped posting/reading from odwire. They are not student-friendly. They also want you to join POPs and pay 50 bucks a year as a student to get quality expert advice for private practice. Also don't forget wolfscience, it's the best company and they offer the best contact lens.
I did sign the odwire petition and passed it along to my classmates. Odwire can be useful for some things.

 

[KHE]

ODwire people will say...
1)the academic ODs obviously couldn't find any jobs in the private sector and now are teaching for lower pay, therefore there is an oversupply
2)academic ODs have no idea about the real life of an OD...
3)academic ODs will of course say there is no oversupply, otherwise they will alienate all potential students

I stopped posting/reading from odwire. They are not student-friendly. They also want you to join POPs and pay 50 bucks a year as a student to get quality expert advice for private practice. Also don't forget wolfscience, it's the best company and they offer the best contact lens.
I did sign the odwire petition and passed it along to my classmates. Odwire can be useful for some things.

ODwire has its faults, to be sure. I have always been uneasy about the amount of shilling that goes on for POP and wolfbioscience.

But it is a fairly decent site in the sense that it outlines the REAL problems facing the profession of optometry, and I strongly urge student participation. THey have a post anonymously feature which you can take advantage of if you feel the need.

Lord knows that I have taken some positions that are not agreed with. And while the discussion sometimes gets heated, I have found that I have been treated with respect 99.99% of the time. For those reasons, I again encourage student participation.

 

[still_confused]

if im guessing KHE's identification right on ODwire....while KHE seems to give off a negative view of optometry here, KHE is the sole defender of students on ODwire! Has the world gone mad??? But in all seriousness, all students should thank KHE for being one of the few that stands up for students against all the crazy practicing optometrists ODwire has.

there is no doubt of the wealth of knowledge on ODwire, especially paul and hom. but the others incessant calling of new grads as sellouts for trying to pay off thier student loans and not working for less at private practices really has me and maybe others running the other way about posting.

some of them dont even practice what they preach, one example is one guy yelling at new grads going to private practice and saying he would gladly hire a new grad, but then he posts how a tries to hire a new grad and then decides not to.

i sense most but not all of those people on ODwire are venting and like most people out there, we complain alot and but we wont do anything about it

 

[iiiimonica]

i must admit that i was surprised to read your encouragment about od wire. here is my problem with od wire, they od's are angry! they are angry that some of us have the nerve to go to optometry school, they are angry that thier lives did not go accourding to plan, they are angry that some od's dare go corporate, they are angry because they might have to pay a new grad what they are worth and the get really pissed when a student dares express an opionion.

i once defended new grads and boy did they get hot! i couldn't believe the rancor of the responses. it turned me off to posting on od wire. but i do dr hom's clinical tips.

 

[dandyspange]

I have lived in New Orleans for the past 6 1/2 years. Before that, I lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma for 28 years. Now, I am almost 35 and sick of being a social worker/counselor. I have my M.S. degree specializing in Community Counseling & the thought of making between 28K to 40K per year for the rest of my life is downright disturbing. I am not married & have no children. I want to go to optometry school or pharmacy school so that I can finally quit eating mac & cheese while renting high priced crappy apartments one day. I WANT A REAL LIVEABLE WAGE! I cannot decide which school to go to & would love feedback from both professions. I love New Orleans and plan to go to Xavier for pharmacy school. However, optometry school does not exist in New Orleans. I have researched NSU in Tahlequah, Oklahoma & it appears to be a wonderful optometry school. In the past, I have worked as an optometric tech for over 4 years & I saw the salary that OD's made. Very attractive! However, if I get the opportunity to get accepted to NSU, I will have to live in the country in Oklahoma & leave New Orleans. What would you do if you were in my position: stay in New Orleans and attend Xavier for pharmD school or go to Countryville, Oklahoma & become an optometrist. I will miss New Orleans so much, but optometry school seems to fit my personality better. A friend recommended Xavier for pharmD school b/c: same amount of years as opt school, similar salary as opt school, and would allow me to stay in NOLA. Signed, drowning with this decision in the post Katrina world.

 

[KHE]

My outlook on optometry is still negative in the sense that I think optometry is still doomed to end up like pharmacy. It is my belief that in 20 years, the vast majority of ODs will essentially be pharmacy. Working retail hours in retail locations. Will you starve as an OD? No. Will you default on your student loans? No. Will you end up eating out of a dumpster? No.

However, I hate to see students and new graduates run down. I hate to hear people moan and groan that new graduates aren't willing to work hard or sacrifice or expect things to be handing to them because I believe that the vast majority are.

I also hate the hypocrasy of many private practitioners who piss and moan about commercial practice when their "private" practice is just as commercial, if not more so than any commercial location out there.

I also hate to see students get hosed over by old docs. This was one of the biggest shocks to me when I graduated. While there are sharks in every field, I had a misguided notion that optometry was more like a fraternity where the competition would be relatively "friendly" and mentoring and scholarly exchange amongst professionals would be relatively easy to find. What I found was a cut throat profession where so many doctors distrust other doctors and take the opportunity to run each other down at just about any opportunity and always seem to be questioning peoples motives.

Your point about the person not practicing what they preach is legitimate but I also notice that no one has taken advantage of the thread I started where I ask students or recent graduates to list what they want from prospective employers. Even with the post anonymously feature, that thread is not being used. Perhaps someone should start that thread on here.

In any event, I thank you for your kind words. I have said before that a rewarding career in optometry remains a possibility if you properly plan for it. I do however think it is going to become exponentially harder to achieve as the years go by for a variety of reasons and as such, I stand by my recommendation that people not pursue careers in optometry at this point in time.

if im guessing KHE's identification right on ODwire....while KHE seems to give off a negative view of optometry here, KHE is the sole defender of students on ODwire! Has the world gone mad??? But in all seriousness, all students should thank KHE for being one of the few that stands up for students against all the crazy practicing optometrists ODwire has.

there is no doubt of the wealth of knowledge on ODwire, especially paul and hom. but the others incessant calling of new grads as sellouts for trying to pay off thier student loans and not working for less at private practices really has me and maybe others running the other way about posting.

some of them dont even practice what they preach, one example is one guy yelling at new grads going to private practice and saying he would gladly hire a new grad, but then he posts how a tries to hire a new grad and then decides not to.

i sense most but not all of those people on ODwire are venting and like most people out there, we complain alot and but we wont do anything about it

 

[KHE]

i must admit that i was surprised to read your encouragment about od wire. here is my problem with od wire, they od's are angry! they are angry that some of us have the nerve to go to optometry school, they are angry that thier lives did not go accourding to plan, they are angry that some od's dare go corporate, they are angry because they might have to pay a new grad what they are worth and the get really pissed when a student dares express an opionion.
.

For some unknown reason, ODwire does sometimes take on a tone of an old man wagging his finger at young whipper-snappers. I think that that is regretable.

I would suggest that you try to wade through that BS because some of the discussions on ODwire do highlight the problems facing optometry very very well.


PS: You're welcome. I guess.

 

[orangezero]

As a poster and reader on ODwire, it would be unfortunate to apply and spend money on optometry school without reading that site frequently.

I would still consider myself a new grad, and have some issues with older ODs, but for the most part I think they do want what best for the profession. Whats best for the profession is to be independent and not be controlled by huge corporations that don't have your interests in mind. That could mean spectera, VSP, eyemed, walmart, luxotica, whatever.

The optical industry is not a wonderful place to be right now. There are places where you can be successful, but a lot depends on what type of vision insurance the majority of your townspeople have.

Some of it is that new ODs ready to impress everyone are beginning to blur the distinction between the private OD that has high fees and the "lowly" walmart doc. A lot of times the newer commercial guys are doing punctal plugs, crt, and other advanced procedures that some privates aren't. This is good for walmart, the patient, but not the Doc.

Its also a problem of size. Its hard to compete as a small business, which is what a private OD office is. There is a reason mom and pop hardware stores are no longer in most of the midwest, walmart. The struggle to put service over lowest prices is a hard sell for a lot of people. Those ODs I was talking about above do a great deal to harm this situation even further.

Who knows what will happen in the future. Being a great doc and having everyone like you doesn't mean you can't have a poorly performing practice and extremely low income.

Loans are important to pay back, but I hate that its on the top of my mind when i decide on a career path.

This is not your daddy's optometry... and it will continue to change. I hope KHE is wrong... hopefully.

 

[gsinccom]

I may become unpopular, but I don't think that optometrists should be doing LASIK. It may SEEM simple, but it is in fact, a surgical procedure. While optometry school is great and wonderful, it is not medical school. We lack the extensive systemic knowledge that I believe you can only get in a medical school. If anyone as a pre-optometry student has a strong interest in doing surgery... GO TO MEDICAL SCHOOL! It is much easier to take that route, even with the extensive residency, than to become an optometrist and fight the uphill battle to gain surgical rights, which I believe is a useless battle! Fight for things like uniform scope of practice and license mobility... and if you want to do surgery... be a surgeon!

Your argument is lacking. Dentists peform surgery and they don't attend medical school. Podiatrists perform surgery and they don't attend medical school. Going to medical school does not make someone the be all know all. It is just the way our society has the "system" set up for anyone who wants legally to perform surgery on human beings that isn't dental or podiatry related surgery. In other words, had the system evolved differently it could of been that today Optometry was more like Dentistry and only the more invasive/complex eye surgeries (such as Oral Surgery residencies for Dentists) would require training coordinated with the medical schools (these could have been ocular surgical residencies for ODs at the Med school). One other note: Optometrists do perform minor surgical procedures.

Don't get me wrong. I too think that the OD community should not push for surgical rights that currently lie solely in the MD/Optho domain. I do agree with you and believe that the priority of the AOA should be uniform scope of practice, (and billing rights) etc. I think too that we should focus on establishing working relationships with the Opthalmologist community and maybe Opticians too.

 

[prettygreeneyes]

Your argument is lacking. Dentists peform surgery and they don't attend medical school. Podiatrists perform surgery and they don't attend medical school. Going to medical school does not make someone the be all know all. It is just the way our society has the "system" set up for anyone who wants legally to perform surgery on human beings that isn't dental or podiatry related surgery. In other words, had the system evolved differently it could of been that today Optometry was more like Dentistry and only the more invasive/complex eye surgeries (such as Oral Surgery residencies for Dentists) would require training coordinated with the medical schools (these could have been ocular surgical residencies for ODs at the Med school). One other note: Optometrists do perform minor surgical procedures.

Don't get me wrong. I too think that the OD community should not push for surgical rights that currently lie solely in the MD/Optho domain. I do agree with you and believe that the priority of the AOA should be uniform scope of practice, (and billing rights) etc. I think too that we should focus on establishing working relationships with the Opthalmologist community and maybe Opticians too.

gsinccom,

I haven't seen you around these parts in awhile... I see that you've come back swinging though...

I appreciate your response but in my defense, my "argument" wasn't really an argument. I was responding to the person before me who mentioned that there was a push to allow optometrists to do LASIK because "the procedure seems to be fairly simple". I posted my response because if at the pre-optometry stage of a person's career, when they are still CONSIDERING the profession, I believe it is unwise to wishfully think that our scope will expand dramatically enough to satisfy their intellectual curiousity to do surgery. In other words, I don't want people to get their hopes up... If you know before you ever step foot inside of an optometry school that you want to do surgery, the easier road is to become an ophthalmologist than to become an optometrist and fight for surgical rights. Become an optometrist because you love the profession as is, not because you love what the profession could be.

Also, I never said that optometrists don't perform minor surgical procedures, nor did I say I believe they shouldn't. You mentioned that medical school does not make someone the "be all, know all", but I argue that it does... when it comes to systemic knowledge. There is currently no other method to gain the extensive systemic knowledge that comes from 4 years of medical school. Dentists don't have it, and neither do podiatrists. Patients aren't just a set of eyes, or teeth, or feet. There is a whole body beyond the surgical target. Now, I'm NOT saying that optometrists shouldn't have prescribing privileges, nor am I saying that they shouldn't be doing some procedures like foreign body removal or lash epilation. But, I believe there is a substantial difference between those procedures and something like cataract surgery or LASIK. If you disagree, fine. In the end, the group with the stronger lobby generally wins!

 

[gsinccom]

Prettygreeneyes,

yeah, I am back to the forum, for a while anyway then I have to get back to studying .

I don't disagree with what you said at all and I think you make very good points. All I am saying is I can see why some ODs are pushing for surgical rights. However, as has been said previously and I know you agree, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. The AOA's time and efforts should be more wisely spent on endeavors that help the profession and part of helping the profession is to not constantly burning bridges between ourselves and our closest co-workers (the Eye Surgeon/MD). One other note: also, it is important that as ODs(or future ODs) we can unite on common goals. If we just keep fighting OD vs. OD then that isn't fruitful either.

 

[molobettyboop]

so im stuck in the exact same situation. i've just recently been interested in pharmacy but thought i was set on optometry. which major is harder? or takes longer? i'm really confused on both. do i have to go to optometry school to become an optometrist or can i just go to a regular university and get my masters. i'm looking at working as in optometrist at a costco or a walmart. do i need to go to optometry school for that?
and what about pharmacy i want to work at a CVS or a grocery store as a pharmacist do i still need to go to a pharmacy school?

 

[Habitual Rx]

so im stuck in the exact same situation. i've just recently been interested in pharmacy but thought i was set on optometry. which major is harder? or takes longer? i'm really confused on both. do i have to go to optometry school to become an optometrist or can i just go to a regular university and get my masters. i'm looking at working as in optometrist at a costco or a walmart. do i need to go to optometry school for that?
and what about pharmacy i want to work at a CVS or a grocery store as a pharmacist do i still need to go to a pharmacy school?

just go get a BA and forget health care all together... thanks.

 

[molobettyboop]

that really doesnt help me in any way

 

[eyestrain]

so im stuck in the exact same situation. i've just recently been interested in pharmacy but thought i was set on optometry. which major is harder? or takes longer? i'm really confused on both. do i have to go to optometry school to become an optometrist or can i just go to a regular university and get my masters. i'm looking at working as in optometrist at a costco or a walmart. do i need to go to optometry school for that?
and what about pharmacy i want to work at a CVS or a grocery store as a pharmacist do i still need to go to a pharmacy school?

Huh?

1st, this thread is over 2 years old.

2nd, yes, you have to go to optometry school, even if you only want to be a doc in a box.

3rd, yes, you have to go to pharmacy school if you want to be a pharmacist.

Were those serious questions?

 

[KHE]

so im stuck in the exact same situation. i've just recently been interested in pharmacy but thought i was set on optometry. which major is harder? or takes longer? i'm really confused on both. do i have to go to optometry school to become an optometrist or can i just go to a regular university and get my masters. i'm looking at working as in optometrist at a costco or a walmart. do i need to go to optometry school for that?
and what about pharmacy i want to work at a CVS or a grocery store as a pharmacist do i still need to go to a pharmacy school?

Hmmm....joins in July 2008, thought they were set on optometry but has no idea if they have to go to optometry school or not or whether optometry is longer than pharmacy, and wants to work at Walmart.

What a feeble attempt at mixing up the pot......

 

[prettygreeneyes]

so im stuck in the exact same situation. i've just recently been interested in pharmacy but thought i was set on optometry. which major is harder? or takes longer? i'm really confused on both. do i have to go to optometry school to become an optometrist or can i just go to a regular university and get my masters. i'm looking at working as in optometrist at a costco or a walmart. do i need to go to optometry school for that?
and what about pharmacy i want to work at a CVS or a grocery store as a pharmacist do i still need to go to a pharmacy school?

KHE called it first... and I agree.

:troll: <-- needs to be bigger!!!

 

[molobettyboop]

OK! thanks!

 

[eyepoker]

Dr. Ken,

Do you still stand by your words of not recommending students to start a path in optometry? two years isn't a very long time, I am just curious if your opinion has changed?

 

[eyepoker]

Also, can anyone expand on the idea of having an OD degree here and work in Europe or Asia? maybe a job in areas of developing new CL lens or any other business that can expand internationally. Of course, practice would also be nice, but I would think there would be much trouble since a lot of the countries don't recognize OD degrees, some of them only have opticians and Ophthalmologists, and they have no idea where ODs stand and ODs capability.

The new AAA Oaysis lens is developed by a lady OD from England (she was trained in England and got her equivalent of OD degree there) and she is also the one that travels around to promote the new lens-->just an example I can think of. Anybody has more ideas?