Hello from the other side…. Of winter break! It’s been a few months since my last blog post and it’s time for an update. First of all, and probably most exciting, my classmates and I have started seeing our first patients in clinic!!! This semester we work together with a clinic partner to see friends and family in what we call “Opt II exams,” which are comprehensive exams entailing all the exams skills we’ve learned so far. Each pair of students then works with an attending to figure out questions we might have along the way or to develop a treatment plan for our patient. My first patient was one of my very good friends from undergrad who willingly sat for me on her morning off from busy grad school. I was so nervous and excited before the exam but it ended up being such a positive experience. My attending, Dr. Pierce, and my clinic partner were so helpful throughout the exam that it made everything go smoothly. It was also really cool to be able to share with my friend everything I had been learning so far and to assess her vision and the health of her eyes! I am so thankful she was able to be my very first patient ever and helped me to have a great start for all my future exams. I’m so excited now to progress even further in my skills and the flow of the exam when I see more friends and family members later in the semester!
My friend= a happy first patient! (Consent form for photo signed and on record)
Besides seeing our first patients, the second year class has been continuing to learn more advanced techniques in lab like gonioscopy, which we just had our first practical of the semester on last week. Gonioscopy is a procedure where you put a lens with mirrors onto the eye like a contact lens (with anesthetizing drops!) to view the angle where the fluid in the front of the eye drains. It’s an important tool especially when doing glaucoma evaluations or to ensure nothing is blocking or damaging the angle. It was a cool but challenging skill to learn. We’re also learning and practicing different techniques that help us visualize the whole retina, or out into the peripheral retina. These techniques are important for managing many diseases and looking for the beginnings of retinal detachments.
In exciting non-academic news, the annual American Optometric Student Association EyeBall was this weekend! It was at the beautiful Columbus Athenaeum downtown. The EyeBall is a celebration of the entire school where awards are given to deserving students, staff, clinical attendings and faculty.
Classic glasses pic
It’s also so awesome night to be able to dress up (for once!) and forget about studying to enjoy the night with friends. It’s one of my favorite events of the year and I’m so happy I was able to go again! This is turning out to be quite a busy semester but I’m going to try to keep my blog updated on the in’s and out’s of second year as much as I can. Thanks for reading!
Ellen, Dee, Me, Taylor and Jenna at the EyeBall!