Meeting Minutes 02/16/2021

Today we heard from Melissa with Salus/PCO! We also concluded our Valentine’s Day Fundraiser Competition against the Pre-Dentistry Club, in which we both were competing to see who could raise the most money in a week for Remote Area Medical. We were able to raise $353 and win the competition! Together we were able to raise over $600 for RAM, which is amazing!

Here are the meeting minutes:

Salus

  • Latin for Health and Wellbeing
  • Only graduate classes
  • Founded in 1919 as PCO, 2008 as Salus
  • Interdisciplinary approach
  • Early clinical experience (first week of first year)
  • 5 externship rotations starting in 3rd year
  • Advanced Studies
    • Anterior Seg
    • CLs
    • Binocular Vision
    • VT
    • Neuro-Opth. Disease
  • Dual Degree Options
    • Low Vision Rehab (MS)
    • Biomedicine (MSc/PhD)
  • Curriculum reflecting an evolving profession
  • Early Clinical Training
    • Clinical Problem Solving in second year
    • 70 hr clerkship during summer between first and second years
    • Community Vision Screenings
  • Externship Programs
    • 5 years
    • One rotation during third year- Primary Care
    • Four 4th year quarters
      • Ocular disease
      • CL
      • Hospital
      • Collaborative care
      • One must be at TEI (The Eye Institute)
    • 400 Active Sites
      • 100 in PA
      • 3 in Canada
      • Military international
    • The Eye Institute (TEI)
      • Philly
      • Satellite locations
    • Research Opportunities
      • Peds
      • Binocular vision
      • DM and Retina
      • Brain Injury
    • Admissions
      • 836 apply
      • Class size 150
      • GPA: 3.3
      • OAT: 304 (AA), 291 (TS)
        • Will take highest score from each section
      • Rolling Admissions
      • Prereq grades of C or higher
      • 3 letters of rec
      • 25 hours of shadowing
      • Do accept GRE
      • CASPer test: non-cognitive attributes (empathy and ethics)
    • Accelerated Scholars Program
      • Indicate interest on OptomCAS
      • OAT: 330+
      • Require bachelors degree
      • Same pre-req
      • GPA of 3.5
      • 100 hours of experience
      • MMI interview: Multiple Mini Interview (give you different scenarios to respond to)
      • July start date
      • 3 year program
    • Pre-Reqs
      • Bio 1 year w lab
      • Chem 1 year w lab
      • OChem 1 year w lab
      • Physics 1 year w lab
      • Microbio .5 year w lab
      • English 1 year
      • Math 1 year
      • Psych .5 year
      • Stats .5 year
      • RECOMMEND:
        • Biohem
        • Anatomy and Phys
        • Neurology
        • Cell Bio
        • Genetics
        • Histology
      • Eval
        • Academics
        • Personal
        • Interview
      • Tuition:
        • $42,150 for traditional
        • $115,000 in scholarships
      • Student Orgs
        • National Honor Societies
        • SVOSH
        • Student Council
        • IM sports
      • No on campus housing
        • Cost for 1 bedroom $900-1000
      • Most go on to private practice
      • OLE: Optometry Learning Experience
        • 2-3 day event to experience Salus
      • Summer Enrichment Program
        • Aimed towards underrepresented populations
        • Introduce participants to PCO
      • Admissions Contact:
        • admissions@salus.edu

Meeting Minutes 02/02/2021

Attached are the minutes from our first meeting of the semester! We had the chance to hear from Jen Walker, and her experience with being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa. She now runs the Columbus chapter of Foundation Fighting Blindness, which you can learn more about here.

“Retinitis Pigmentosa

  • Couldn’t see well at night and tripped a lot
  • Aged 14 diagnosed
  • Started noticing more symptoms after birth of daughter at age 26
    • Lost periphery
    • Started using a cane “turned in license and got the cane the same day”

Foundation Fighting Blindness

  • For inherited retinal diseases
  • Runs Cbus chapter
  • Funds lots of clinical trials
  • 41 chapters
  • Dining in the dark
    • Host dinner where people wear blindfolds and eat dinner
  • Vision walk
  • Have guide puppies at all events
  • Database of people with retinal diseases
  • Fund lots of grants
  • Legislation

Enjoyed going to the optometrist the most vs. retinal specialist (for example) because she was able to form a relationship with the optometrist and it felt like talking to a real person.”