Today we had our last meeting of the year. A representative from Prevent Blindness Ohio came and trained us to be certified vision screeners. We learned about criteria that would require a referral to an optometrist for an exam. Additionally, we were taught how to use machines that measured visual acuities as an alternative to physical eye charts. Tomorrow, we will be volunteering to give free vision checks in the Ohio Union from 3-5pm!

Today we held elections for our 2017-2018 Executive Board! Thank you to everyone who ran for a position. Remember, if you did not get elected to an executive position, there are still plenty of ways to be involved as a general body member. Here is the The Pre-Optometry Club at Ohio State’s Executive Board of 2017-2018:

President: Jeremy Saxon 

Vice President: Kylie Scott

Secretary: Danny Helin

Treasurer: Michelle Alaimo

Historian: Josh Black

Social Chair: Kara Renner

Fundraising chair: Mackenzie Gershom

For today’s meeting, several students at OSU College of Optometry spoke to our club members about their experiences in optometry school. The students present represented all different years at the college of optometry, and they each had unique experiences and backgrounds they were able to share with our members.  These students gave advice and answered many questions asked by our club members.  Thank you to all the students that participated, your guidance is invaluable!

Today we heard from Ohio State’s very own Shawn Curtner. Shawn talked to our club members about how Ohio State handles clinical experience, and his role in this process. Shawn organizes the 4-hour exams for our second years, as well as the 2-hour exams for our third years. He is a major contributor to the great success of Ohio State’s clinical program. If you or anyone you know is interested in scheduling a 2-hour appointment in the clinic, please email Shawn Curtner at curnter.6@osu.edu. This is a great opportunity for Pre-Optometry students to learn from third years about what they will be doing in the future. Thanks Shawn for the fun presentation!

Welcome back to all of our members! To start the spring semester, Dr. Delgado-Nixon, a professor at The Ohio State College of Optometry, led the club in one of our favorite annual activities, a cow eyeball dissection. Dr. Nixon walked our members through how to perform the dissection and a description of everything that we looked at. Thank you so much Dr. Delgado-Nixon for another great meeting!

Today, we heard Dr. Plaumann talk to us about pursuing her PhD at Ohio State after completing her optometry degree at Southern California College of Optometry. Dr. Paumann talked to our club members about her decision to pursue further education following optometry school and answered several questions from our pre-optometry students. Have a happy New Year, and we will see everyone back in 2017!

Our guest speaker for this meeting was Zachary Levin-Epstein, a representative from the State University of New York College of Optometry (SUNY). Zachary started his presentation by explaining the advantages of going into the field of optometry. We then learned more about the specifics of how to apply to optometry school and the advantages of SUNY. Zachary answered several questions from our club members.

Today, Ryan Hollister spoke to our Pre-Optometry club about the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University.  Ryan talked to our members about PCO’s optometry program and clinical campus. In addition, he also spoke to our club members about the surrounding city, Philadelphia. At the conclusion of his presentation, Ryan answered numerous questions regarding applications and PCO.

Today we were so lucky to have Dr. Davis as our guest speaker. Dr. Davis spoke to our members about her background and experience in optometry, including opening her first optometry practice. Dr. Davis then explained to us all the great work that her and her team do at Lower Lights. We congratulate you on winning the American Optometric Association Educator of the Year award, and we look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting on October 25^th!

Justin Griest, head of admissions at OSU College of Optometry, spoke to the Pre-Opotometry Club today. Justin began by  sharing many facts and data about the field of optometry. He then spoke to us about what Ohio State’s College of Optometry has to offer, and he encouraged all club members to sign-up to attend the Visit Day on October 15th. Justin then explained the application process including OAT prep, Optomcas, and interviewing strategies. Justin then answered numerous question from our club members. Hope to see you all at our next meeting on October 11th!