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Focus on Optometry
Keep Your Eye on This Worthy Profession
Ophthalmology, optometry, opticians. Most people don't know the difference. Dr. Barry Barresi, president of New England Eye Institute, wants to set the record straight.
Ophthalmologists are medical doctors (MDs) who specialize in performing surgery on diseased eyes. Optometrists (ODs) mainly deal with healthy eyes, prescribing glasses and contact lenses. Opticians dispense glasses and contact lenses, fitting and measuring optics.
The job outlook is good for all three "Os," but optometry, in particular, offers generous compensation. Optometrists on average can earn as much as ophthalmologists, without the protracted medical education, says Barresi. Training is much shorter, 8 years versus 12, and the hours are usually saner.
So what does it take to become an optometrist? Taline Farra, director of admissions at the New England College of Optometry (NECO), says the prerequisites there are three years of undergraduate work, a strong science and math background, and good communication skills. The only school of optometry in New England, NECO, which has educated 70 percent of the region's optometrists, admits one out of six applicants.
One of them is Matthew Bauer, 26, of Apple Valley, Minn. A second-year student, Bauer is enjoying the clinically based curriculum that provides the opportunity to work with patients as early as the first week of classes. "This is a very rewarding, oneon- one profession that involves quite a bit of time interacting with patients, and that's something that really appeals to me," says Bauer, who considered medical school but decided that optometry was a quicker and more direct path to a satisfying career in health care.
In order to practice, Bauer, like all other prospective optometrists, must earn a state license, which will give him access to a variety of work settings, from private, hospital, or commercial-based practice to researching or teaching in academia.
According to the Association of Schools and Optometry website, "Patient interaction can range from evaluating a child who is not performing well in school, managing the care of contact lens patients, prescribing medication for glaucoma, providing follow-up care after refractive surgery, and fitting a legally blind patient with a magnifying device." The average net income for optometrists was $148,923, according to the 2005 American Optometric Association Economic Survey.
"I think it's a wonderful profession," says NECO's Farra, who is also an optometrist and associate professor at the school. "It combines the health sciences with math, and unlike other professions, patients get immediate gratification for their problems. They come in and can't see; we measure their vision, they put on a pair of glasses, and they can see. That is very satisfying for us as practitioners."
