Tag: optometry school

So You’re Taking The Time To Participate In An Optometric Residency/Fellowship?

MissBerbieLeave a comment

This list is tailored to optometric residents but if you benefit from it, cheers! Also don’t limit yourself to certain ones based on residency type. I participated in most of the things listed here.

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel! Work smarter and not harder by taking advantage of all the abundant resources available. Why not make the most of it?

Discounts on the Pursuit of Excellence

  1. American Board of Optometry’s Board Certification
    1. Free exam registration and exam fee ($900+ value)!
    2. Recommend scheduling in July or August after residency is over so you will have time to review if needed.
    3. https://americanboardofoptometry.org/become-certified/certification-process/
  1. Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry
    1. Waived One Time Candidate Application Fee: $60*
    2. SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR 2023 OD GRADUATES:
      1. Apply as a Candidate for Fellowship before December 31, 2023, and pay no dues or fees until January 2025!
      2. They might offer this promotion annually for each graduating class.
    3. https://aaopt.org/membership/candidates-fellows/become-a-fellow/#cfig
  1. The ASCO Future Faculty Program
    1. A 3 month virtual program that educates on faculty career topics to optometry residents and students who are enrolled in a research master’s/PhD program. 
    2. Free and meets EOW
    3. https://optometriceducation.org/for-faculty-administrators/faculty-development/future-faculty-program/

Opportunities for Case Report/Poster Submission

(Check for deadline dates for the current Year)

  1. SECO Multimedia Poster Program
    1. https://secouniversity.com/posters-seco-2023/
  2. AOA Optometry’s Meeting
    1. https://www.optometrysmeeting.org/education/call-for-courses?sso=y
  3.  American Academy of Optometry annual meeting
    1. https://aaopt.org/meetings/annual-meeting/
  4. COVD annual meeting
    1. https://www.covd.org/page/Future_Meetings

Pediatric or Vision Rehabilitation/Therapy Focused Residents

  1. Optometric Extension Program (OEP)
    1. Offers free membership during residency year along with huge discounts on curriculum courses that count towards certification. 
    2. Also offers FREE educational seminars on various topics year round.
    3. https://www.oepf.org/
  2. College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD)
    1. Free membership for students and residents
    2. Residents get to take MCE fellowship exam for Free ($700 value)!
    3. https://www.covd.org/
  3. NaturalVue Myopia Certification
    1. https://vtivision.com/practitioner/get-certified/
  4. MiSight Myopia Control Certification
    1. https://web.cvent.com/event/c49706eb-9bc1-41cc-853d-faa8d48ff136/summary
  1. Bausch and Lomb
    1. This was hands down the best conference between Coopervison’s and Alcon’s contact lens student weekend events.
    2. Invitations are usually sent to coordinators. May occur during Fall/Spring. 

Freebies Samples

  1. Allergan® OPTOMETRY JUMPSTART®
    1. “a program specifically designed for newly graduated optometrists practicing in the United States. Members gain access to many exciting resources through a dedicated Allergan® sales representative. We invite current optometry students and recent graduates (up to five years post-graduation) to register for the program.”
    2. https://www.allerganeyecare.com/ecp
  1. AbbVie products
    1. https://www.abbvieaccess.com/

CE/Resources for Improved Patient Care

  1. ODs on Finance
    1. Available to anyone, not specifically residents, however, learn to take advantage of all the free learning opportunities offered by this group. They are serious about financial wealth for the OD. 
    2. https://odsonfinance.com/
    3. They also partnered with EyeDock to provide an advance clinical reference for ODs: https://www.eyedock.com/
  1. Eyes on Eyecare
    1. Available to anyone, not specifically residents. I truly love what they have provided! Great quick clinical guides and summits about various major optometry topics.
    2. https://eyesoneyecare.com/resources/?utm_campaign=desktop_sticky_dropdown
  1. Multilingual resources
    1. UIW RSO – the optometry school that sponsored my residency ♡
      1. Brackenridge Optometry Library: Spanish Language Resources
        1. https://libguides.uiwtx.edu/optometry/spanishresources
  1. Glaucoma Australia
    1. Glaucoma Information – in many language translations
    2. https://glaucoma.org.au/i-have-glaucoma/resources-and-tools/foreign-languages-2

12 YEARS A STUDENT: THE OFFICE

Aside MissBerbieLeave a comment

Coworkers can become like family when you spend most of your time at work. You experience life’s ups and downs, frustrations, disappointments, and celebrations together. From Fall 2011 to Spring 2016, the ECA communication center team was so many things to me. They were my teachers, cheerleaders, and sometimes a shoulder to exhale on. We […]

12 YEARS A STUDENT: DIVINE INTERVENTION

MissBerbieLeave a comment

On a cool evening in November of 2010, I stood outside of South-Central Church of Christ doors. Silently refusing to enter as I battled with feelings of melancholy. I remember so many uncertainties about the direction of my life racing through my mind. Somehow a seemingly productive young adult has ended up jobless, disenrolled from college, and reluctantly returned to reside with her parents. Needless to say, that was the worse year of my life (even post COVID times). I wasn’t myself. The “myself” that I knew who was always optimistic and motivated. Most of my friends and colleagues appeared to have it all figured out by now as they have graduated college.

I contemplated some more on whether to go in or go home when a young man approached me. I had only met him once earlier during a young adult gathering at the minister’s house. He and his wife were friendly and hard-working professionals. I don’t remember much of what we discussed that evening; however, I do remember having a sense of hopefulness. He gave me his business card because he thought I would make a good optical consult for his office. I applied and rather quickly was hired by Eye Care Associates (ECA) but not as an optical consult. I started training on Dec 10th for my call center job in the home office. Opportunity.

Reflections during this period:

Sometimes you must show up even when you don’t feel like it. It is necessary to evaluate the consequences and benefits of our actions. Thank you to my church family for being a community of love and support throughout the years.

This series is titled 12 Years a Student. I will share my journey to becoming an optometrist throughout several posts. Subscribe to get notifications for the new posts. Graduation gifts are unnecessary but always appreciated. If you would like to send something, then my Cashapp is $missBERbie or PayPal at paypal.me/missberladyTTC.