Optometry

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Optometry Studies
Mikeilla Delacruz
Health 101-001
September 29, 2019

The health service profession I would like to work in is optometry, whether it’s

optometrist or ophthalmologist. The reason why I want to go into this particular profession is

because I always knew that I wanted to go into the medical field I just didn’t know which one

until middle school I realized that going into the optometry office to get my new glasses that

doctor/office was the one that I enjoyed going to. It sparked my interest and I did further research

on optometry in high school and I realized that it was a profession I really wanted to go into.

According to the ‘National Academies of Practice’, mentions “​Doctors of Optometry are

defined as physicians under Medicare, and are an essential part of the national health care

delivery system providing direct patient access to health care” (Benoit 1). The ​role that

optometry plays in health care is that they are “primary health care professional” as well they are

independent by having their own community health organization. They also manage diseases,

examine, and treat disorders of the visual system, the eye.

In the American Optometric Association, it is also mentioned, “​Doctors of Optometry

prescribe medications, low vision rehabilitation, vision therapy, spectacle lenses, contact lenses,

and perform certain surgical procedures.” (2) in other words optometrists work in different

settings but mostly focus on face to face examinations mainly on the eye. In order to become an

optometrist one has to go to either college or university to complete undergraduate education and

after, according to the American Optometric Association, “four years of professional education
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at a college of optometry, leading to the doctor of optometry (O.D.) degree. Some optometrists

complete an optional residency in a specific area of practice.” (4) which leads to a total of 6-8

years to get an O.D. degree.

I am currently not volunteering nor am I an intern in a healthcare setting because of my

current situation of commuting 2-4 hours a day for classes and the time driving consumes out of

my week as well prevents me. But I do have a plan for next year to live near campus so that I can

intern in an optometry office in order to network and getting a further understanding of what the

work environment and how optometry works versus seeing what a patient sees. Some challenges

that I may encounter is my lack of volunteering because of being too shy or time, because I am a

procrastinator and put things off. Another challenge that I may encounter is not finding an

optometry office that is looking for volunteers or interns and that may discourage me but I know

that starting by looking on campus can help me get started.

Medical training in primary care being does not need to be refocused on patient centered

care because I believe that in the medical field everyday is changing new things like medicine

and cures are being discovered and training has to be enforced so that the nurses, doctors, and

students know what they are being faced with and could properly treat their patients. In a

community health organizations, patients are the most important but the treatments that they

receive are equally as important. There are instances where medical training seems to be far

more important than patients and in situations like those it should be refocused on patient

centered care.
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References

About NAP. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2019 from

https://napractice.org/About-NAP/Academies/Optometry.

What is a Doctor of Optometry? (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2019 from

https://www.aoa.org/about-the-aoa/what-is-a-doctor-of-optometry​.