Optometrist

Myra Collier

Mr. Alburger

English III

January 25, 2018

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Myra Collier

Mr. Alburger

English III

January 25, 2018

Optometrist

When a child comes up to tell a parent that they cannot see the leaves on the trees, many

parents first think that their child unable to see due to sun. Then, a parent realize they start

complaining about their trouble making out letters in a book, or lack of depth perception. Parents

or guardians think “Maybe it has something to do with cancer” or “My child could have trouble

seeing.” Most automatically assume the worst possible scenario given the brain’s natural

tendencies. Although parents or guardians do not want to put a child through the tests or make

them work with big machines that may scare the child, an appointment with an optometrist will

often diagnose the problem​. ​ After years of training, optometrist learn about how the eye works

and the education, money, and overall aspects of working on the eye.

When someone's goes to an optometrist, they generally diagnose the problem from

running many tests and checking the eyes of the patient. “ 20/40 vision is usable, and our brains

will function well at that level of vision. You essentially don’t know what you’re missing.

However, 20/20 vision is much more efficient and enjoyable.” (Lafone) Optometrists start out

by checking the basic functions of the eye and making sure that everything looks in check and

the eyes seem in working condition. Optometrist may first start out by making the patient look

into a machine called an tonometer which it detects if the patient have glaucoma which in the

future can cause blindness. The patient tests each eye on its own when the patient looks into the
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machine it sends a puff of air onto your eye and the puff of air gets sent to your cornea and the

air flattens your cornea and the machine detects if your cornea gets flattened or if it stays in its

same shape. When the puff of air attempts to flatten your cornea the machine detects the pressure

that comes from your eye when doing that and from there a optometrist will know if the patient

has glaucoma or not. “ Glaucoma, for example, is almost impossible to detect by a victim until

very late in the process, once significant vision is lost permanently.” (Lafone) The best thing of

taking this test ensures that if the patient has glaucoma the doctor can help make a plan to help

with getting glaucoma under control along with a strategy on how to reduce the risk of going

blind. Another machine an optometrist may suggest, called a Retinal Camera, takes a picture of

the back of your eye known as the retina. Taking a picture of the back of your eye can also help

with diagnosing diseases, like retinol neoplasms, diabetic rhentipoy, and choroid disturbances.

The next step may to just cover on eye at a time and read off a list of letters and numbers to test

how much your eyes can see the nurse will perform the test most of the time. When the

optometrist comes back to talk with the patient he or she will use an autorefractor a machine that

uses light to measure how the retina changes when the light enters the eye. Along with the

autorefractor it can help with diagnosing astigmatism a irregular curvature of the retina. The

curvature can affect how the eye focuses on the light. A perk of all these process provides

painless and no strenuous work takes place when getting these test done. “Technology has made

its way into eye care for many years now, but none more so than the last decade. The 70’s and

80’s brought newer and better ways to check eye pressure and photography images inside the

eye.” (Lafone) The machines become an advantage because it gives the optometrist a very
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distinct idea of the prescription that will work for the patient. Instead of going through trial and

error and going through multiple prescriptions until the right prescription pops up.

A successful stride for optometrist comes about in the making of the contact lense. When

contact lense first came out it represented a great stride for people who wore glasses because

they can now get rid of the bulky and weird looking glasses. People now can go around without

everyone knowing that they had vision problems. Contact lenses took a long time to make due to

various roadblocks in the process of making the lenses. When Leonardo da Vinci first came up

with the idea in the 16th century it never got put into effect until a English astronomer suggested

that making a mold of the eye would help in the production. The first contact lense covered the

whole eye and the first people to test them out thought it felt very irritating. More thought and

design went into the contact lense and then later in the 16th century the English astronomer came

up with a more permeable lense that sat more on the cornea rather than on the whole eye. More

people liked the permeable contact lense and the production of contact lenses skyrocketed along

with more improvements came along. With more improvements they came up with an idea of a

contact lense a person could wear overnight and to allow for more oxygen to get to your eye

which allowed for your eyes to breathe and it also helped greatly with comfort levels. Now in

modern days custom contact lenses made out of silicone-hydrogel help with astigmatism they

can also have some downfalls. The biggest downfall to wearing glasses contributes to the

majority of your life along with wearing them for the most part of the day it could affect how

someone would see when they get older. When wearing contacts it could affect your depth of

field since contacts sit right on top of your eye they affect your depth of field. People will see

that when they get older and take there contacts out at night they have trouble judging where
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furniture appliances and basic necessities are. People will say they either overestimate and reach

for something and turn out totally off. The biggest thing that's challenging would consist of

walking up or down the stairs.They have trouble judging where the stair exists or how far up or

down to take there foot and place it on the next stair. “ If we have a cornea suffering for oxygen,

as you can imagine, bad things happen. What’s worse, is that many bacteria that would love

nothing more than to eat your cornea thrive in a low-oxygen environment.” (Lafone) Through

those observations optometrist take into consideration of letting patients know that wearing

contacts that much could affect their depth of field in the long run. Contact lenses every day

come with new additions and cool aspects to help the eye and the patient.

Optometrist act as physicians who help in diagnosing and treating vision problems. They

do that through extensive schooling and training. First the student needs to have a high school

diploma. When in high school it would benefit the student to take classes in biology, anatomy,

and physiology. This will help in knowing the basic knowledge of the body and will help in

going into college it allows the student to have a background in knowing basic words and

functions. Anatomy occupies a major course that a student should take it will help in the long run

of pursuing a optometrist degree. Some colleges in becoming an optometrist the student needs at

least a bachelor degree. Along with that completing a Optometry Admission Test that the

College of Optometry gives. Becoming qualified to take that test the student needs to have taken

and completed courses in laboratory science, calculus, biology, chemistry, and physiology. After

the student completed the bachelor degree along with a Optometry Admission Test the student

will start with a Doctor of Optometry degree program. The Doctor of Optometry degree will

focus on human anatomy along with ocular anatomy, basic vision science and neuroanatomy.
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The other stage of the degree involves laboratory work and clinical studies. The final part of this

degree involves clinical trials along with internships alongside other optometrist. The basic steps

of becoming an optometrist involve: High School Diploma, Optics, vision science and ocular

history/anatomy, advanced human physiology, community health, optics labs, medical

procedures, and then primary optometry. All of these courses will help a person in pursuing a life

of becoming an optometrist.

When pursuing a life of becoming an optometrist the person would have to consider that

after college and completing some internships the student needs to consider if they want to work

alongside a practice or continue on your own path and open up your own doctors office for

optometry. “ A popular practice modality these days is to work in Corporate Optometry. This

means you work at a corporation like Walmart, Target, Lenscrafters, etc.” (Lafone) This first

consideration takes place where the student would like to use their degree. Would the person

want to work in a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or work in big city community

and have many patients and see them once a year when their yearly eye check comes around.

Once the person has figured out the next big question they need to ask themselves how they

would support themselves? The money aspect always pops up. When pursuing a career and

opening your own practice could cost you. The biggest thing to consider consists of how the

optometrist would get there own patients. Along with continue to have a steady number of

patients to keep your business up and running. A major factor to consider when you're almost

done with your college education. The safest decision right out of college consists of studying

alongside a practice that has multiple optometrist working in the facility. While working

alongside other optometrist think about how to ask them for a job working alongside them.
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Already working alongside them could show that as yourself your a great worker and becoming

an optometrist appears very important. “The salary for an optometrist that has their own practice

comes to $140,812. The salary for an optometrist that works in a practice comes to $129,948.”

(Murphy 2) Even though net income salaries based on self-employed optometrist and then

optometrist who work with a practice shows that becoming self-employed turns out better. When

considering going the self-employed or working with a practice route. Keep in mind that the

student once they get out of college they need to remember paying off student loans and working

on supporting yourself. Working alongside a practice would help save money along with getting

some experience and an insight on how the student would like to run their own practice

someday.

When working with eyes for many years optometrist start to see the effects of what the

Sun’s powerful UV Radiation does to a person's eyes. “An Optometrist Association Australia

study of 1200 people revealed more than 70 percent do not bother to protect eyes when doing

routine tasks.” (Post) Most people hear and understand that the sun’s rays appear harmful and

they take action preventing damage with sunscreen. Not staying outside for hours on end along

with wearing proper clothing. But most people don’t take the same action when it comes down to

the eyes. “A 2013 Vision Council observational study revealed that 40% of adults don’t wear

sunglasses while outside.” (Bazan 1) A major stride when teaching students about the eye

contributes to that the sun can harm your eyes in the long run and the person will need to start

thinking about wearing sunglasses when doing outside activities. UV Radiation affects every part

of the eye. “Ultraviolet light is responsible for not only sunburns, but also increasing the risk of

cataracts.” (Lafone) A slit lamp examination looks at the UV Radiation to the eye.When letting a
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patient know that the sun damages their eyes as an optometrist describe to them what you’re

looking for. Second try and show them that you’ve found whether it’s around the eye or on the

eyeball. Third explain to them why it’s happening. Fourth encourage them to take action. Fifth

make sure the patient understands and ask them if they want to take action. Just remember that

when taking care of any patient stress to them the importance of keeping your eyes safe from the

sun and UV Rays. “Ultraviolet light is around us all the time, regardless of whether it’s sunny,

cloudy, summer or winter. When it comes to UV protection, believe it or not you can get

excellent protection in a cheap $9.99 pair of glasses.” (Lafone) Although getting someone to pick

a pair of glasses presents a challenge even when a child appears involved. Distributing children’s

eyewear can present a challenge of its own. Some of the considerations to take into consideration

when dispensing glasses to younger children, first that they need to know that they won’t look

like an outcast from anyone else and they will still look like the same kid as they were before.

Assure the child along with the parents that glasses look like the new fashion statement and

neither the parent or child need to worry. Assure the child that the glasses will help in the long

run of correcting and helping their vision problems. Speak to the child in a calm and

understanding voice to make them feel like someone acknowledges them on their level and

understands there feelings. When starting to fit frames the patient needs to start out with a choice

that will fit there face along with the stage of development the child appears at. When trying on

new frames look at the child from the straight and level position of them and make sure the

frames look wide enough to allow approximately straight path from the temples of the ear. Along

with adjusting the bow which connect to the arms of the glasses will improve the fitting. Making

sure that the glasses don’t have excessively wide or narrow frames keeps the glasses from
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moving out of shape. Giving the child oversized frames will prove a challenge as the child starts

to grow into them as they may start making the child feel uncomfortable. The most important

part about fitting new glasses displays the bridge fitting these in layman's terms make or break a

good pair of glasses. Most importantly paying attention to the nose pads and making sure they

don’t touch the brows or cheek bones. The weight of the glasses should disperse evenly over the

nasal region creating less discomfort and pressure. Along with using larger pads they help with

distributing the weight of the glasses. The whole frame of the glasses should provide more

support at the bottom of the nose pad along with the bridge should support more of the surface

and help them to feel more comfortable. When considering frames keep in mind some children

play rough so glasses made durable can in turn conclude the best options for the child. Invest in

flexible and lightweight plastic materials such as silicone. Consider metal and plastic materials as

better options for active children. Glasses that have memory metal and Flexon design help with

tension in the glasses. Metal and plastic materials look great in reducing the risk for breaks along

with scratches. Keep into consideration the type of activities the child does in making sure

decision of what type of materials the parent chooses when considering the whole structure of

the glasses.

When looking to pursue a career in becoming an optometrist. That fitting someone with

glasses isn't the only important thing optometrist do. It’s making them feel worthy of wearing

glasses or contacts. Learning how to fit someone with the perfect pair of glasses that will stay

with them forever. Along with giving them advice on how to keep their eyes in tip top shape.

Figuring out plans and strategies involved with someone with a eye disease. Keeping the

community informed of the importance of getting there eyes check yearly represents the job of
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an optometrist. Helping the community in opening their eyes to new possibilities present

rewarding outcomes. Helping a child to see and becoming the best they can turns out most

rewarding in the long run. Keep in mind that getting into optometry school isn’t easy. Going

through many college courses and programs along with a internship. If the student works toward

their goal and keeps there eye on the prize they will succeed. The career of becoming an

optometrist could exist in the future.

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Works Cited

Bates, Sally and Sarah Parry. "Dispensing Children's Eyewear." ​Optometry Today,​ vol. 56, no. 6,

June 2016, pp. 75-78. EBSCO​host​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=117786746&site=eds-live&

scope=site.

Bazan, Justin. "Prescribe Sunwear from Your Chair." ​Review of Optometry​, vol. 150, no. 9, 15

Sept. 2013, pp. 42-48. EBSCO​host​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=90538813&site=eds-live&s

cope=site.

Becker, Aliza. "Contact Lenses: A Perfect Fit for Optometry: Though Its Origins May Stem from

Ophthalmology, the Contact Lens Was Mastered and Perfected in the Hands of

Optometrists." ​Review of Optometry​, no. 7, 2016, p. 44. EBSCO​host​,

<​http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.46037391

1&site=eds-live&scope=site​>

Bowling, Ernie. "How Tear Proteomics Can Help Optometry: Optometrists Undervalue

In-Office Ocular Point-Of-Care Tear Testing." ​Optometry Times,​ July 2017, pp. 33-37.

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"Check up." ​Cairns Post, the​, n.d. EBSCO​host,​

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=eds-live&scope=site.

Fanelli, James L. "Glaucoma through Time: Through Educational, Legal and Technological

Barriers, Optometrists Have Been Managing Glaucoma for Decades." ​Review of

Optometry,​ no. 7, 2016, p. 58. EBSCO​host,​

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Iannucci, Michael. "2017 Income Survey: A MIXED BAG: Optometry Made some Major

Strides in 2016, but How Did the Field Fare in 2017?." ​Review of Optometry​, vol. 154,

no. 12, 15 Dec. 2017, pp. 68-71. EBSCO​host​,

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Lafone, Kevin. Personal Interview. 2/13/18.

Murphy, John. "Can You See Where the Dollars Are? Our Latest Income Survey Finds That

Most Optometrists Are Satisfied with Their Salaries. Still, They Have Lots of Ideas for

Making More Money without Working More Hours." ​Review of Optometry​, no. 9, 2007,

p. 29. EBSCO​host,​

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9&site=eds-live&scope=site​>

Weissman, Barry A., PhD. "Optometry." ​Magill’s Medical Guide (Online Edition)​, 2013.

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Yorke, Andy. "Rise of the Machines." ​Optician,​ vol. 246, no. 6419, 13 Sept. 2013, p. 14.

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