Optometric Studies
Understanding Optometric Studies
In the United States, over 150 million citizens wear eyeglasses and contact lenses – equivalent to 75 percent of the entire adult population in the U.S. Meaning, 75% of American adults have seen an optometrist at one time or another, making it a viable career option. If you are interested in optometry as a career, you must look into the optometric studies you need to take to be able to practice optometry.
In most states, optometric studies usually take three to four years of post-graduate studies. Some states (such as Arkansas) even subsidize a student’s optometric studies to encourage residents to take this course.
The first and second year of optometric studies usually concentrate on basic health sciences such as physiology, pharmacology, anatomy, pathology, public health and biochemistry. Students are also taught optics and vision science. In the third year of optometric studies, the students divide their time between the classroom and in an actual clinic examining patients. In the fourth year of optometric studies, students mostly spend their time on clinical training. Some schools even include off-campus clinical externship rotations as part of the optometric studies. This could be in other states or even in another country, and may include different settings such as public health service hospitals and military facilities. The external rotation usually takes from eight to sixteen weeks, and is helpful in the optometric studies of a student. Upon graduation from their optometric studies, they receive an OD (Doctor of Optometry) degree.
Graduates must pass the board of optometry and obtain their licenses to be able to practice their careers. The licensing exam measures how much the student has learned in their optometric studies, and whether they can apply this to real life situations. However, getting the professional license should not be the end of a person’s optometric studies, as optometrists are encouraged to continue learning about new techniques.
