Optometry's Outlook

[KHE]

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?

I have always recommend optometry to students and potential students with caution. As I mentioned recently in another posting, if you know what you are getting into, are comfortable with that, and you are practicing in an area where access to medical insurance plans is not an issue then I believe that optometry can still be a rewarding career.

However, with 3 and possibly 4 new schools coming online to already exacerbate the current oversupply problem which the AOAs OWN STUDIES admit we have, I believe that that the outlook for optometry has dimmed and will continue to do so.

I still believe that optometry is rapidly heading down the same road that pharmacy went down many years ago. The overwhelming majority of ODs are going to end up employed by large corporations working in retail setting and working retail hours. The number of independent ODs is going to be very small, much like the number of independent pharmacists. That is not to say you won't make a good living. You will make an above average salary. You will not starve. You will not default on your loans. But I think that the goal of independent private practice is going to rapidly fade. I seriously hope I'm wrong about that.

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[IndianaOD]

For 8 or 9 years (with residency) of post high school education and huge loans I have a very hard time recommending optometry to undergrads. The new schools are a HUGE problem for the profession.

Unless things change I recommend dentristy, podiatry, and med school over optometry. Optometry is a good profession, just not the best job as far as security goes.

 

[qwopty99]

You can get jobs at the teaching institutions.

 

[JeffChou]

I recently met a US-trained dentist who practices full time in Viet-Nam in a private clinic. I'm sure their dental training is not as thorough as a dental program in the US and I don't think their licensing requires as much. It was interesting to find that his clientèle average much higher incomes than people in the US. His business is built on ex-pats and businessmen who are looking for US-trained dentists for their dental work. This allows him to make wages comparable in the US while living in Viet-Nam.

I know that this situation is a little different than ODs abroad since most countries have dentists while not as many have ODs but may have ophthalmologists. What do you guys think about building a practice/network abroad that targets those looking for exceptional service and North American training? I guess exceptional service and eyecare is what many optometrists should and do strive for in the US, but abroad, depending on the area, there may be a niche for this kind of optometry. What do you guys think? It's definitely possible, but what kinds of things should an optometrist in that position consider?

 

[qwopty99]

It's a bit hard to develop a "niche" in countries with no regulated optometry.

 

[trah23]

for podiatry, do u still take the mcat and go to med school or is their a specific college and entrance exam like in pharmacy and optometry???

 

[prettygreeneyes]

for podiatry, do u still take the mcat and go to med school or is their a specific college and entrance exam like in pharmacy and optometry???

I believe you still take the MCAT - and you go to podiatry school. The experts on that topic would be located in the Podiatry forum.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=152

 

[Icareforeyecare]

We are keeping up with industry trends and the needs for our future OD care. The OD professionals are critical.

My co. is completely based on networking through the eye care community and talking with private practices, teaching institutions, and more for eye care professionals. The needs and the pays are increasing. We get more and more requests for OD's. I will be meeting with the SC and GA practices next week. Key notes for all society meetings are about how everyone can find the available talent pool and how we can encourage more folks to complete the edu for this area. The societies feek the crunch for new recruits.

I guess the main reason for commenting is that OD's are needed desperately. The industry itself continues to grow with additional tools and research. Specialty MD practices are clearly defining the roles internally and combining talents to capture the available clients. It is an exciting world.

I just want to encourage you to join in this profession. I could write stat's and more...but the main message is that the future is quite bright with exceptional earnings.

LocalEyeSite.com
an online community for all eye care professionals....
Let's network!

 

[OptDropout08]

We are keeping up with industry trends and the needs for our future OD care. The OD professionals are critical.

My co. is completely based on networking through the eye care community and talking with private practices, teaching institutions, and more for eye care professionals. The needs and the pays are increasing. We get more and more requests for OD's. I will be meeting with the SC and GA practices next week. Key notes for all society meetings are about how everyone can find the available talent pool and how we can encourage more folks to complete the edu for this area. The societies feek the crunch for new recruits.

I guess the main reason for commenting is that OD's are needed desperately. The industry itself continues to grow with additional tools and research. Specialty MD practices are clearly defining the roles internally and combining talents to capture the available clients. It is an exciting world.

I just want to encourage you to join in this profession. I could write stat's and more...but the main message is that the future is quite bright with exceptional earnings.

LocalEyeSite.com
an online community for all eye care professionals....
Let's network!

So, you want to encourage people to go into this profession huh? Are you speaking from the perspective of an O.D. or a "recruiter"? For some reason, I think you're a recruiter. I would love to see those stats...

I know a few people who are interested in practicing in GA; Atlanta and it's surrounding cities ARE saturated with optometrists. What part of GA demands this high need for optometrists? Also, what's your definition of "exceptional" earning? The going rate of 70K-75K/yr for a recent grad?

 

[hamlinbeach]

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[prettygreeneyes]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=284170

podiatrists learn much, much more than a set of feet. why do you think we are able to perform the complex foot and ankle reconstructions that we do?

Really, there is no need to rush in and defend podiatry in this forum. I have absolute respect for what you guys do, and the education you receive. I wrote that more than two years ago. Much like most other health professionals have little idea what sort of training optometrist receive, we probably have little idea what training podiatrists receive. I had even less of an idea back then.

 

[hamlinbeach]

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[prettygreeneyes]

really, there is no rush to disregard what i said. i was replying mainly to the posts from last month, i figured i would put the post directly on here so more could see it. sorry for quoting your other post, i had no idea that that is somehow against the rules or disrespectful to do that, i'm new to the forums.

I wasn't disregarding your post. I was pointing out that two years is a long time, and back then I wasn't as familiar with the training of other health professionals. You didn't do anything disrespectful or against the rules, so there is no need to apologize. You quoted my post - I responded. No big deal. Keep on spreading the podiatry love throughout the forums.

 

[hoosier1]

What you should do is shadow or volunteer for some pharms and optometrists and see if you like it. Don't compare the salary because that will come later. I think taking action and immersing yourself in that field to see what peaks your interest is the best way to go in your case.

 

[gochi]

What about socialized medicare ? that will probably effect optometry, but just not sure if it will be drastic.