This summer was almost the summer that never was because of taking a full schedule of classes. Thankfully we finished the semester and are on to fall semester. This semester was challenging but it was nice to learn more about the speciality areas of optometry such as neuro-optometry, contact lenses, pediatrics, and binocular vision..

I had my first semester of patient care. It was an intimidating at first to examine people that weren’t my classmates or family and friends. You did not have an idea what conditions were going to sit into your chair. But that’s a part of being a doctor. With the help of my attendings doctors I improved in my efficiency and diagnostic skills over the course of the summer. I saw a wide variety of conditions from unusual refractive error, binocular vision issues, cataracts, and other diseases. For me, it made these various conditions more real and more memorable into my mind. This way I will remember the conditions better when I see them again.

In addition to patient care, when we were not seeing patients we would work on different clinical techniques or known as “orange sheet.” This sheet consisted of not as commonly done but still important clinical tests. We would have to practice these a certain number of times and perform them at least once for an attending. If you did it well, the attending would sign off. We will also get these sheets in the fall and spring with different skills to practice. This semester I will continue in Primary Vision Care in addition will also be seeing patients in the Advanced Ocular Care Clinic. This clinic is where we patients with various ocular conditions such as glaucoma, conjunctivitis, and dry eye.

Once the semester was over, we had another week of Keystone. This was different than the previous week of Keystone we took last year in that we focused on getting the correct diagnosis and treatment for our patients. It was great to see again how far we had come throughout second year and the summer of third year. The potential diagnoses came to us with relative ease and it just became an exercise in making sure we got all of the correct possibilities. It also was a great way to solidify more diseases and concepts.
One truly rewarding and statisfying thing I got to do was to ride in Pelotonia again this year! This event raises money for research at the James Cancer Hospital at Ohio State. Last year I rode for 50 miles and this year I had the privelage to ride 180 miles over the course of 2 days. It was one of the most difficult things I have ever done physically and mentally, especially since I did not train enough for it because of school work. I also served as the team captain this year along with my roommate Derek Metz. The two of us along with three other classmates and our professor Dr. Mutti particpated in the event. The first day ride seemed fairly easy up until mile 62. Then the large hills came and sapped a lot of my energy and that of the other riders. Getting to Kenyon College after 100 miles felt amazing especially since I had a hot meal and a massage waiting for me. The second day was much tougher at first since the route consisted of many steep hills and, because I was not fully recovered from the first day, made the journey slow going. Despite how arduous the journey was, the Ohio countryside was beautiful and worth seeing. Many people also came out in town centers and along country roads with supportive signs, cow bells, and refreshments to help us along. If anything, it made my pain and discomfort melt away, even if it was only for few seconds. It also reminded me why I was doing the ride. It was for all of those have suffered from cancer, especially those I knew. God forbid if I ever had to tell one of my patients they have/might have cancer I want their to be effective treatment available without horrible side effects and high survival rates. This research money will bring that goal closer to reality.  

With 5 semesters down, I am officially halfway through optometry school! Its amazing looking at the current first years starting this week and think that I was in their position only 2 years ago. The amount of knowledge I have accumulate seems astronomical to me. It seems much more tangible that I will be a doctor soon and that I will be prepared to do so. This semester will bring me one more step closer. Lets hope it’s a good one!