A Life-Changing Experience

I expected my residency to help me become a better clinician. What I did not expect was that the experience would change my life.

WHY PURSUE A RESIDENCY?

During my fourth year of optometry school at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Science near Boston, I thought long and hard about whether to pursue a residency. Although I understood that the experience would be valuable, my worries about student loan repayment made the idea of starting my career appealing.

Then, during my second rotation at an OD-MD practice, I began to enjoy working alongside ophthalmologists and being more involved in the management of ocular diseases. That is when I decided to pursue a residency and have another year of hands-on training. Using the Optometric Residency Match website, I was able to search for residency programs that fit my needs and assess all of my options. I found the information that the website provided about each residency helpful, but it was no substitute for in-person interviews. I set up interviews at my top four choices and met with the optometrists and residency directors. The keys, I found, were to remember that I was interviewing them as well and to consider whether I could thrive in each environment.

MY EXPERIENCE

Six months ago, I became the optometry resident specializing in ocular disease and comanagement of refractive and ocular surgery at Vance Thompson Vision in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The clinic specializes in anterior segment surgical care, including cataract, corneal diseases, glaucoma, and refractive surgery.

Every day, I have the privilege to work with a great group of three ophthalmologists and five optometrists. From the start, they respected me as a fully trained optometrist instead of treating me like a student intern. Knowing that I had just recently graduated, they integrated me into the practice by slowly increasing my responsibilities as I became more confident.

Patient encounters consisting of cataract evaluations, refractive surgery consultations, specialty contact lens fittings, and glaucoma workups became my new normal. I quickly learned that managing a full schedule, including complex cases, is challenging. With the support of my fellow doctors, I have learned to diagnose and manage the most difficult cases, including rare conditions that I may never encounter again during my career.

Every residency program is affiliated with an optometry school and requires additional work, such as paper and poster presentations, research, public speaking, and case reports. For me, this education is complemented by opportunities I have at Vance Thompson Vision. Research studies are constantly in progress here, and I am a clinical investigator on several of them. This role has helped me appreciate the work it takes to advance the fields of optometry and ophthalmology. I have been exposed to some of the newest and most innovative technologies on the market, including microinvasive glaucoma surgery and recently approved IOLs.

OPTOMETRIC RESIDENCY: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I would encourage any optometry student to pursue a residency. My real-life experiences in the clinic and the mentorship I have received have been invaluable, and my residency has only just begun.