Many of you may have heard of the quote, “It’s a beautiful day to save lives.” The quote comes to us from the extremely popular television series, Grey’s Anatomy, spoken by the neurosurgeon on the show, Dr. Derek Shepherd.
I like to change that phrase to, “It’s a beautiful day to save *vision” because that’s exactly what optometry is all about. It’s about saving vision, patient care, and being a lifelong learner.
It’s hard to believe we’re already into the fall semester of 3rd year. The years are flying by, to be quite honest. We’re third years– on a journey this year to see a multitude of patients, put our clinical skills to the test, use all of the knowledge we’ve acquired over the past couple of years, and be the best clinicians possible.
When I first said the words “I’m a third year” aloud, a smile came across my face. It feels like the dream of becoming an optometrist is finally coming to fruition. I know the semesters will still be challenging, and we still have boards to take, and more exams to pass, but we are as some people call it “half a doctor.”
So what does 3rd year have to offer? For us, 3rd year began this summer. A packed schedule of various classes, clinics, and to top it all off at the end – keystone. The summer semester was certainly rigorous, but we definitely made time for sunshine and adventure. I truly believe each year gets “easier” as they say here at OSU optometry. Each year is never “easy,” but the path twists and turns less, and the dream feels more attainable.
During summer semester, the university seems to breathe a sigh of relief as the undergrads leave campus and fewer students are around. It’s actually quite nice in terms of traffic, using facilities such as the gym, study spots, etc. The summer was filled with many challenges, especially in the form of 7:30AM classes, getting our exams in clinic more efficient and “cutting our time down,” and balancing seeing family and friends – not to mention those family vacations some of us had to miss due to exams or clinic schedules. We definitely make a lot of sacrifices here in optometry school, but I like to think they’re all very well worth it.
Then came along fall semester of 3rd year. It certainly hit us fast- we’re still 3rd years, we still have clinic, but now it’s time to register for part 1 of boards AND rank each of our extern sites. What a whirlwind. I think that’s a common theme for optometry school- life passes by in a whirlwind. So don’t forget to blink. Savor each moment. And remember- “it’s a beautiful day to save *vision…” and be a 3rd year.