What I Need To Know...
Ever since I was five years old I have worn glasses. In the sixth grade i got my first set of contacts. Ever since then i have always gone for my annual check up at Complete Family Eye care. Every time I went in for an appointment I was always intrigued by the machines and pictures my doctor showed me. When the opportunity to join the Honors Mentorship Program came available, I immediately knew where I want to complete my internship.
In the following weeks, I was able to meet with the manager and staff to do some observation and training. I loved it! I got to see behind the scenes and what happened from the time a patient came in to the time they left. It was so much fun to interact with the patients and other staff members. It made me begin to wonder how I could improve their experience. How to make their visit more enjoyable and provide a better diagnoses for the patients. That is how I came up with my essential question: How can the optometry field be improved to provide better patient care and diagnosis?
What I Know or Assume...
In a business, there are certain procedures that need to occur in order to make money. If you aren't making money, what's the point of opening a business? But what about special circumstances? I knew a lot from being a patient for many years, but I had not witnessed it from the perspective of a practicing office.For patients who have certain needs, it may require a different type of patient care. This could could be necessary for a person with special needs, diabetes, or high blood pressure for instance. A patient my be in a wheelchair or may need an interpreter. There is a range of possibilities and optometrists must know how to handle each case and patient presented.
The Search...
I began my search with my essential question being "How can technology be better improved to help patients by the the time I become an optometrist?" An article I found described how to care for patients with glaucoma. They require both structural and functional assessments in determining glaucoma as a diagnosis and how to care for those types of patients. It had been published by the Journal of the College of Optometrist, which is why I thought it would be the perfect to start off my research. It illustrated what needed to be improved with the technology needed to accurately assist patients.
As I continued my search, I discovered that narrowing my essential question to just technology would not be the most beneficial to my overall capstone. That's when I changed my question and began to have a broader search. I read an article talking about how to care for elderly patients. Some were in nursing homes and would need in house treatment plans. Working from Complete Family, I have witnessed many elderly people come into the office, and sometimes they'll need more time for appointments or they have a hard time remembering things and need to have instructions repeated multiple times. You just need to take it slow and have patience.
About halfway through my internship, I interviewed Dr. Krishan Bhima and gained some insight through the eyes of an optometrist. He gave me some good advice on what to expect and work towards. It was valuable to get a different type of source other than just articles for my research. My last piece of research was a journal that involved patients who have diabetes and how it could be diagnosed early from having the proper exam and reviewing the condition of the eye. I have noticed that patients will tend to have lower pressures when conducting IOP pretesting. All of this research put together has been perfect for answering my essential question.
What I discovered...
After conducting my research, I have concluded that in order to provide the best patient care, a doctor needs to have a personality that is patient and friendly while also being encouraging and flexible. Each patient has their own kind of needs and personalities that need to be catered to. Patients who come in with special cases or medical issues need to treated differently than patients who come in for routine eye exams. To run an optometry practice to its full potential, you need to provide the best experience to your patients. Whether its offering coffee to people siting in the waiting room or performing different tests on colorblind patients, there are always ways to improve a patients experience. A few tips I've picked up from being in the office are: when a patient talks to you give them your full attention, some people may not be as familiar with optometry jargon or the tests we conduct so explain everything fully, be able to delegate, and this may seem contradictory but treat everyone the same, be polite and courteous to everyone no matter their abilities or diagnosis.
Ever since I was five years old I have worn glasses. In the sixth grade i got my first set of contacts. Ever since then i have always gone for my annual check up at Complete Family Eye care. Every time I went in for an appointment I was always intrigued by the machines and pictures my doctor showed me. When the opportunity to join the Honors Mentorship Program came available, I immediately knew where I want to complete my internship.
In the following weeks, I was able to meet with the manager and staff to do some observation and training. I loved it! I got to see behind the scenes and what happened from the time a patient came in to the time they left. It was so much fun to interact with the patients and other staff members. It made me begin to wonder how I could improve their experience. How to make their visit more enjoyable and provide a better diagnoses for the patients. That is how I came up with my essential question: How can the optometry field be improved to provide better patient care and diagnosis?
What I Know or Assume...
In a business, there are certain procedures that need to occur in order to make money. If you aren't making money, what's the point of opening a business? But what about special circumstances? I knew a lot from being a patient for many years, but I had not witnessed it from the perspective of a practicing office.For patients who have certain needs, it may require a different type of patient care. This could could be necessary for a person with special needs, diabetes, or high blood pressure for instance. A patient my be in a wheelchair or may need an interpreter. There is a range of possibilities and optometrists must know how to handle each case and patient presented.
The Search...
I began my search with my essential question being "How can technology be better improved to help patients by the the time I become an optometrist?" An article I found described how to care for patients with glaucoma. They require both structural and functional assessments in determining glaucoma as a diagnosis and how to care for those types of patients. It had been published by the Journal of the College of Optometrist, which is why I thought it would be the perfect to start off my research. It illustrated what needed to be improved with the technology needed to accurately assist patients.
As I continued my search, I discovered that narrowing my essential question to just technology would not be the most beneficial to my overall capstone. That's when I changed my question and began to have a broader search. I read an article talking about how to care for elderly patients. Some were in nursing homes and would need in house treatment plans. Working from Complete Family, I have witnessed many elderly people come into the office, and sometimes they'll need more time for appointments or they have a hard time remembering things and need to have instructions repeated multiple times. You just need to take it slow and have patience.
About halfway through my internship, I interviewed Dr. Krishan Bhima and gained some insight through the eyes of an optometrist. He gave me some good advice on what to expect and work towards. It was valuable to get a different type of source other than just articles for my research. My last piece of research was a journal that involved patients who have diabetes and how it could be diagnosed early from having the proper exam and reviewing the condition of the eye. I have noticed that patients will tend to have lower pressures when conducting IOP pretesting. All of this research put together has been perfect for answering my essential question.
What I discovered...
After conducting my research, I have concluded that in order to provide the best patient care, a doctor needs to have a personality that is patient and friendly while also being encouraging and flexible. Each patient has their own kind of needs and personalities that need to be catered to. Patients who come in with special cases or medical issues need to treated differently than patients who come in for routine eye exams. To run an optometry practice to its full potential, you need to provide the best experience to your patients. Whether its offering coffee to people siting in the waiting room or performing different tests on colorblind patients, there are always ways to improve a patients experience. A few tips I've picked up from being in the office are: when a patient talks to you give them your full attention, some people may not be as familiar with optometry jargon or the tests we conduct so explain everything fully, be able to delegate, and this may seem contradictory but treat everyone the same, be polite and courteous to everyone no matter their abilities or diagnosis.
Interview:
Bold: Questions asked by me
Black:Answers provided by Dr. Krishan Bhima
Blue: Reflections and responses
What attributes does someone need to have to be successful in this position?
You have to be a people person as you have to communicate well to others. Willing to learn, keep up to date with new research. Be a great team leader and team player.
All of these items combined can lead to a great career path in any field chosen. The communicating with others part is one that I think relates the most, because you have to be able to properly educate the patients and work with the other staff members.
How is working here different than anywhere else you've worked?
When working here at CFE, it's a team effort. Everyone has the same goal in mind, and everyone helps out each other to accomplish that. Other places I worked I had to make sure I hit a certain goal pretty much on my own.
Within being there in just these few months, I have seen the teamwork and effort everyone has put in first hand. It's an amazing workplace!
What attracted you to this company?
What attracted me to this company was that it was a private practice -- always wanted to be in private practice, was a well established practice with good patient reviews, Dr. Baylard is a friendly, easy going guy, staff worked well together, and it offered partnership into the practice after a certain number of years.
All of these factors are a good draw to the business. By picking a place that is already established and has a good patient clientele, it is a smart move to start at the beginning of your career.
What are the advantages and disadvantages to this job?
Advantages are helping people see and working hours (no on-call/after hours.) Disadvantages are that some people expect to see how they did 20 years prior.
Being able to make your own hours is a major benefit, but it is understandable that some people believe in their old vision as a still possible option.
How did optometry school not prepare you for working in an official practice?
When I was in optometry school, they did not prepare us for the business side of optometry.
I think it would be very beneficial to take additional marketing classes or business development training to help out later on the career path.
What is the biggest obstacle you’ve faced getting to the position you are in now?
Getting my first job and proving that I am cut out for the optometry world -- most people want to hire someone with experience, so finding a job fresh out of school was difficult.
Having good connections and building relationships with others already involved in optometry will give a good head start into the field.
What made you become interested in this career?
Both my parents had LASIK done, and I became interested as to how they were able to not wear glasses anymore. Also, my father had cataract surgery done at a young age, so my curiosity of the way the eye functions grew more.
I think it's great how his family was the reason he chose optometry. By having a personal connection to what you are doing, I think it can be make you more passionate and motivated about your career.
Where would you like to be professionally in ten years?
In ten years, I would like to be an owner of a multi location practice.
Would this include franchising? That would be a great way to encourage more people to get their eyes checked.
How did you prepare for your first job interview?
I was lucky enough to have friends that were already optometrist, so I did mock interviews with them.
That is fantastic practice. By working with some one already in the field, it would give you an advantage of what to expect when prepping for a future interview.
If you could give advice to someone who was interested in this field, what would it be?
Make sure you love to explain things to people and can repeat yourself without getting frustrated; keep an open mind about how much patients may or may not know about eyes; be willing to work on weekends; at first optometry school may feel like you are not learning anything about the eyes, but it will all make sense in the end.
Thank you for all the advice! It is a great way to start out my hopeful future of optometry.
Bold: Questions asked by me
Black:Answers provided by Dr. Krishan Bhima
Blue: Reflections and responses
What attributes does someone need to have to be successful in this position?
You have to be a people person as you have to communicate well to others. Willing to learn, keep up to date with new research. Be a great team leader and team player.
All of these items combined can lead to a great career path in any field chosen. The communicating with others part is one that I think relates the most, because you have to be able to properly educate the patients and work with the other staff members.
How is working here different than anywhere else you've worked?
When working here at CFE, it's a team effort. Everyone has the same goal in mind, and everyone helps out each other to accomplish that. Other places I worked I had to make sure I hit a certain goal pretty much on my own.
Within being there in just these few months, I have seen the teamwork and effort everyone has put in first hand. It's an amazing workplace!
What attracted you to this company?
What attracted me to this company was that it was a private practice -- always wanted to be in private practice, was a well established practice with good patient reviews, Dr. Baylard is a friendly, easy going guy, staff worked well together, and it offered partnership into the practice after a certain number of years.
All of these factors are a good draw to the business. By picking a place that is already established and has a good patient clientele, it is a smart move to start at the beginning of your career.
What are the advantages and disadvantages to this job?
Advantages are helping people see and working hours (no on-call/after hours.) Disadvantages are that some people expect to see how they did 20 years prior.
Being able to make your own hours is a major benefit, but it is understandable that some people believe in their old vision as a still possible option.
How did optometry school not prepare you for working in an official practice?
When I was in optometry school, they did not prepare us for the business side of optometry.
I think it would be very beneficial to take additional marketing classes or business development training to help out later on the career path.
What is the biggest obstacle you’ve faced getting to the position you are in now?
Getting my first job and proving that I am cut out for the optometry world -- most people want to hire someone with experience, so finding a job fresh out of school was difficult.
Having good connections and building relationships with others already involved in optometry will give a good head start into the field.
What made you become interested in this career?
Both my parents had LASIK done, and I became interested as to how they were able to not wear glasses anymore. Also, my father had cataract surgery done at a young age, so my curiosity of the way the eye functions grew more.
I think it's great how his family was the reason he chose optometry. By having a personal connection to what you are doing, I think it can be make you more passionate and motivated about your career.
Where would you like to be professionally in ten years?
In ten years, I would like to be an owner of a multi location practice.
Would this include franchising? That would be a great way to encourage more people to get their eyes checked.
How did you prepare for your first job interview?
I was lucky enough to have friends that were already optometrist, so I did mock interviews with them.
That is fantastic practice. By working with some one already in the field, it would give you an advantage of what to expect when prepping for a future interview.
If you could give advice to someone who was interested in this field, what would it be?
Make sure you love to explain things to people and can repeat yourself without getting frustrated; keep an open mind about how much patients may or may not know about eyes; be willing to work on weekends; at first optometry school may feel like you are not learning anything about the eyes, but it will all make sense in the end.
Thank you for all the advice! It is a great way to start out my hopeful future of optometry.