Here is yet another semester for the books! I have officially completed my 6th semester of Optometry School and have only 1 more semester of classes and clinic before we enter our 4th Year Clinical Externships.
In today’s post picture I have featured my dedicated and furry study buddy, Macula laying on top of most of my notes from this semester. Yes his name is Macula (Mac for short) which if you don’t know yet, you will learn sometime soon if you’re going to Optometry school, Macula is a major part inside of your eye. Today, when I came home after my final, to my room scattered full of notes, highlighters and pens, underneath it all was Mac excited to greet me after my final. I adopted Mac while I was in undergrad and he has been by my side through every late night study session and early morning review for each and every test of Optometry School. While I study he is either in my lap or right next to me with one eye open making sure that I am ok. But after yet another week of straight studying and very little sleep, I am not sure who is more excited to take a nap, me or him. So I am very thankful to have such a good dog by my side who provides the best stress relief and companionship through these long weeks and I know that I am not alone in this feeling from the many snap chats of OPT I, II, and III’s pets this week by their side too.
This semester has flown by way too quickly once again, but has been an exciting one full of great patient experiences and learning opportunities. This was our second semester in clinic seeing real patients and it is amazing to think how much I have improved on my skills, patient communication, and case reasoning. These advancements are all thanks to some pretty great Attendings (Doctors who check in on your exams and check over our measurements) who have challenged, encouraged, and critiqued my exams to only make me better. I am very thankful for the time and knowledge that they share with us all, and am excited to continue to learn and improve from them. I have had a slightly lighter clinical schedule this semester compared to this past summer with only having Primary Vision Clinic twice a week, meaning that I go into clinic on Monday and Thursday afternoons and usually see 2 patients in an afternoon. While not in clinic we usually have had class or I have some time to study and catch up on things.
The biggest event from this semester was that one week ago we all got some of the most exciting news that we get as Third years in that we found out where we be heading for our 4th year out of house Clinical Rotations. Beginning in May of which we will be called 4th years, half of us will be leaving the College of Optometry for 6 months and then we will switch in November. We will be spending 3 months in an Advanced Practice Site and 3 months at a Disease Focused site which is usually a Hospital of Veteran’s Affairs, and then 6 months back in Columbus at the College or other local learning sites. I am very excited to say that I will be here in Columbus for the first six months, will be at the Chillicothe (Ohio) VA Hospital from November- February and at Family Eye Care in Sandusky (Ohio) for my final 3 months of Optometry School. There are sites all over the country and we ranked all of our top choices of where we would like to go. I preferred to stay closer to home in Ohio so I am very excited to be staying here while some of friends chose to go farther and are excited to go to cities like Las Cruces, NM, Athens, GA, White River Junction, VT, or Tucson, AZ.
As I sit here to reflect on this past week and past several months I am thankful to have completed yet another semester and am blown away by how much I have learned and grown over such. Although we are on break and do not have class, I will still be at the school for my clinical rotations over the next few weeks but will still have plenty of time to relax and catch up with friends and family before classes start back up again in January. So until then I hope that everyone has a Happy Holidays!