What do you do when shadowing an OD?

[hopeful_opt]

Hi everyone! so i'm guessing that most of you have shadowed optometrists... I was wondering what is it that you do? Do you spend the whole 8 hours watching the OD do exams, or do you help out with the office duties (filing/booking appointments)? I don't know any other pre-optometry students, so I'm not sure if there is something that you guys have done that you think i should ask the OD i'm shadowing to show or teach me?

Thanks in advance!!

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[blysssful]

Hi everyone! so i'm guessing that most of you have shadowed optometrists... I was wondering what is it that you do? Do you spend the whole 8 hours watching the OD do exams, or do you help out with the office duties (filing/booking appointments)? I don't know any other pre-optometry students, so I'm not sure if there is something that you guys have done that you think i should ask the OD i'm shadowing to show or teach me?

Thanks in advance!!

When I shadowed, at first I was pretty much just sitting in on exams while my OD explained the various things he was doing, letting me see things from his view, and answering my questions (after the exams). After I had sat in on many exams, he encouraged me to also see what the tech does, and a little bit of how the office was organized. Other people probably have had different experiences, but my shadowing experience pretty much encompassed the entirety of his practice.

 

[KHE]

Hi everyone! so i'm guessing that most of you have shadowed optometrists... I was wondering what is it that you do? Do you spend the whole 8 hours watching the OD do exams, or do you help out with the office duties (filing/booking appointments)? I don't know any other pre-optometry students, so I'm not sure if there is something that you guys have done that you think i should ask the OD i'm shadowing to show or teach me?

Thanks in advance!!

When people shadow me, I prefer them to do the following:

SIT DOWN AND SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!

Seriously, just watch....take a few notes on what you saw and don't be afraid to ask questions in between patients. Most ODs will be more than happy to open up. It's human nature to like to talk about yourself or your work.

 

[Absolute Vision]

I would ask questions about the profession, working relationships with OMDs, legislative issues, scope of practice, their optometry school experience, latest technology, business aspects of optometry, advice on setting up practice if you're shadowing a private practice OD, benefits of having certain optometric equipment, the pros and cons of HMO, working conditions/environment, etc. The purpose of your shadowing experience will be to learn about the profession through the eyes of that particular OD, and then determine where you might fit in the profession...you're not there to learn specific optometric procedures. Also, make sure to shadow different subspecialties of optometry if you can.

 

[hopeful_opt]

hey thanks for the replies! I've actually been working at an optometry clinic for a few months, so I've been able to talk to the ODs about their schooling/career, but PUCO wants 30 hours of unpaid shadowing, so I watched the exams and did some of my regular job (opto tech and other office duties) unpaid of course!. so i thought maybe there was something else that the school was requiring since 30 hours seems a lot, especially if you've worked for an OD. so any more feedback would be appreciated!!

 

[zyg0te]

hey thanks for the replies! I've actually been working at an optometry clinic for a few months, so I've been able to talk to the ODs about their schooling/career, but PUCO wants 30 hours of unpaid shadowing, so I watched the exams and did some of my regular job (opto tech and other office duties) unpaid of course!. so i thought maybe there was something else that the school was requiring since 30 hours seems a lot, especially if you've worked for an OD. so any more feedback would be appreciated!!

I did not know any schools require specific UNPAID time.