Month: February 2024

A Message from the Acting Dean

The path to success is paved with perseverance. The work you put in now won’t just pay off when you take boards; it will continue to produce positive outcomes throughout your entire career. It is important to construct a strong foundation upon which you can build. You spent the first two years of optometry school creating that strong foundation, and now you begin to build the structure within which you will shape your career. There will undoubtedly be moments of doubt and fatigue as you prepare. Don’t let those moments negatively affect your journey. Instead, write down the cause of your stress, take a break, then return to tackle the problem. You will probably find that the mountain you thought you had to climb was actually more of a hill, and you were better able to tackle it when you could concentrate on the task at hand. Set your goals for each day, and when you accomplish them, give yourself a break. In the long run, you will find that accomplishing goals each day and allowing some time to relax will better enable you to sustain the energy necessary to cross the finish line.

You are more capable than you realize. Approach one topic at a time, and when you feel ready, advance to the next. In the end, remember that it isn’t about being perfect, it is about doing your best. Stay positive and embrace the challenge with determination. We wish you strength and clarity throughout your journey.
-Dr. Walline

Stay Healthy In the Home Stretch

Here are a few easy wellness tips that can help you stay healthy and reduce stress in the days leading up to the exam.

Take a break: Breaks help you study! Psychology Today explains the physical and mental benefits of taking breaks as well as ideas for how to take a break.

Focus on breathing: Check out the JustBreathe campaign for information on different breathing techniques to help manage stress.

Eat and snack: Don’t forget to stop and eat real meals. Spoon University offers healthy snacking ideas.

Drink water: Need a reminder to drink water? There’s an app for that.

Exercise: If you exercise regularly, now is not the time to stop. If you are not into regular exercise, even small amounts of movement can help increase focus and relieve stress. The American Heart Association suggests seven easy ways to move more.

Sleep is your friend: The Sleep Foundation offers a few tips for good sleep hygiene.

Talk to someone: Conversations with friends, family, faculty, and staff can help you feel better! You can make an appointment with our embedded counselor Dr. Shawn Levstek, or feel free to contact Jen Bennett.

Tips for the Days Before, Day Of and Day After Your Exam

We’ve been collecting Part I prep tips from students since 2019! Those who have come before you shared the following tips for the days before, day-of and days after your exam.

  • Pack your lunch the night before.
  • In the days before the exam, take a field trip to the exam site, note how long it takes you to get there, plan where you will park, then treat yourself with ice cream!
  • Call ahead and learn if your sites provide white paper or a white board to use during the exam.
  • Let the only unexpected thing on the day of the exam be the questions on the exam.
  • Don’t feel guilty to use the weekends to take a break from studying! It’s definitely manageable to do all your studying on the weekdays and have the weekends off to recoup. Also, I took the day before boards to do only fun, relaxing things that made me happy–no studying at all–to calm my nerves.
  • Do what feels right for you in the last days of studying. If that means taking a five-day break or casually reviewing your notes the night before the exam, then do it! Don’t feel guilty for doing or not doing whatever your classmates are doing. Just make sure you leave time to sleep!
  • Hang up sticky notes with random facts around your apartment. It helps you remember better if you can locate them in your mind (Oh yeah, I remember the answer to this question is on my fridge!).
  • Even if you’re using KMK, consult your class notes! Especially if they’re trying to teach it a different way. I feel I saved time by refreshing on class notes and relearning things the way I’d originally learned them.
  • The week or two before the test, my roommate and I found it really helpful to study verbally together – helps with the nerves but also makes it productive! Make sure to treat yourself the day after the test!
  • Practice going to bed early and waking up early the week before the exam.
  • Compile a list of “takeaways” (important things that you tend to forget), no more than a page long and study that only the day before the exam. Then, go see a movie or another activity that clears your mind. Don’t over study the day before!
  • On the day of exam, leave early and account for traffic and parking time.
  • During exam breaks, sit in the car by yourself and call a friend.
  • Plan to be nervous when you sit down to start the test. That way when it happens, you can be like “Oh, I expected this feeling” instead of panicking. Then take a few deep breaths before settling into the questions.
  • After the test was finished, I expected to feel the happiest I have ever felt. Instead, myself and many of my classmates just felt tired and kind of down. Like emotionally depleted. So if you feel that way, you are not alone, just give it a few days to adjust to how great life is post boards.
  • After the exam, it is totally normal to NOT feel like a weight is lifted right away as would be expected. Just keep your head up, you all are doing the best you can, and don’t forget that you go to Ohio State!
  • Breathe. It’s just a test.