Optometry Yay or Nay?

BGCHOPTOM01 — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 01:34:16 +0800

I am currently a 1st-Year Optometry student moving up to my 2nd-Year next year's January. I have some views regarding of this career path if any prospective students are interested in this particular career.

Optometry is a health professional which deals with the primary care of the eyes. Optometrists are not medical doctors, but the knowledge and training we go through throughout the 4-year course are somewhat similar in the sense that in pre-clinical years (Year 1 and Year 2) we learn subjects such as Anatomy, Physiology, Neuroscience, Microbiology, Pharmacology etc. and we also need to undergo clinical postings as a part of our degree. The difference of an Ophthalmologist (Medical Doctor specialisation) and an Optometrist is the licensure to perform surgery and prescribe medication (in the US, Optometrists are allowed to perform LASIK and prescribe drugs in most states but in Malaysia, the MOC has prohibited us to do so).

Although I have noted differences between each profession, the path going through the degree is no walk in the park. Optometry is more than just refractions. As being said learning all of the basic medical sciences in pre-clinical years, we are expected to learn other subjects such as Optics and Visual Science moving up to Binocular Vision, Contact Lenses and Primary Care Clinic. These subjects allow us to do more specialised tasks which are unique only to Optometrists. The one thing I would like to highlight on an Optometry degree is a trained Optometrist is able to use retinoscope and ophthalmoscope in his practice (like Medical Doctors who is able to use a stethoscope in their practice). This particular skill is only viable to an Optometrist, which differentiate us greatly from Opticians and Ophthalmologists.

Career prospects for Optometrists are wide depending on your personality. If you are someone who is very clinical, a hospital optometrist is the one for you. If you are someone who likes meeting different customers and handling sales, a retail or commercial optometrist is a way to go. If you are someone (like me) appreciates knowledge in the field of Optometry and Vision Sciences, a Masters or a PhD then an academic career or R&D might be your liking. If you are someone who wants to be their own boss, then open your own private practice. If you are the type of person who is not very clinical oriented, then you can opt to venture into the optical industry like Bosch&Lomb. You can also go into a non- related Optometry career easily as this degree is highly transferable in any field. In short, the eye care industry is a booming field.

Another side note: Optometrists can also work overseas provided you have passed each country's respective board examinations eg. GOC for the UK's optical board. Of course, this will be a different story in a whole.

Now, the pathway to becoming a qualified optometrist requires at least a Bachelor of Optometry degree which lasts for 4 years. Currently public and private universities do offer them (do check them out!). In order to get into these programmes, a pre-university programme (eg, A-Levels, IB, Foundation in Science, STPM) or a diploma is required. In my opinion, A-Levels and STPM prepare you better for the course due to the depth and difficulty (based on my observations). A foundation in science route is decent and a faster route to graduate (most Foundation programmes lasts for 1 year compared to STPM/A-Levels which is 2 years). In my opinion, there is no 'best' university out there, what really matters is how you shine throughout your university life. My one tip is to get involved in extracurriculars to boost your leadership and management skills, which I believe is a better asset to have in long term.

In a nutshell, I believe Optometry has the potential to create new opportunities. We might not earn as much as what Ophthalmologists (or any other Medical specialities) earn, but the versatility and flexibility allow us to pursue other interests, like sports, which, in a whole makes a better satisfaction in your lifelong career. You might not agree with this, but I feel this depends on how we look things in a different angle. If your satisfaction is wealth, then this profession is not for you (don't get me wrong, it's not a bad thing though HAHA) but it's basically the same for most health professions. If your goal is earning RM10K per month, I'd say go for Actuarial Science

Disclaimer: This article is only a view from a student. Please forgive me if I have written something which misleads the forum. Feel free to post comments and questions about this. TQ.

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Optometry Yay or Nay?