Issue Management Management Issue - Illinois College of Optometry

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E Y E O N S T U D E N T S
Inside Story
ICO STUDENTS START PRACTICE IN THEIR THIRD YEAR
It’s a rite of passage no optometrist ever forgets – the first day in clinic. For ICO graduates, that happens at least three times: in the third
year, the fourth year and after graduation.
Students begin clinical rotations as early as their individual program allows; for most that’s in the third year. This means they “go to work”
at the Illinois Eye Institute two days a week, seeing patients solo for the first time. Attending physicians oversee their exams and supervise
visits, but students are on their own when it comes to patient interaction and diagnostic procedures.
I T C A N B E H A R R O W I N G .
Third-year student Melissa Zarn’s first
patient required a test she’d never given.
“I was like, oh my god, I’m terrified,” she
now says.
Still, by the time ICO students enter clinic
full time in their fourth year, they have seen
nearly 100 patients, and they feel almost
ready to enter practice. “I’m almost on my
way to being a doctor,” says third-year
Casey Bartz, who has been in clinic since
last May. “Not that I’m completely ready as
of yet, but I see it as being obtainable.”
Then the first day of clinic after graduation
is still another ballgame – there’s nothing
like the beginning of professional practice.
Nevertheless, students at ICO gain valuable
insight and diverse experience through the
clinical exposure they gain in the program.
Bartz’s first day in clinic was a Wednesday
in the afternoon. On Tuesday night, he had a
good meal, did some last minute reviewing,
“trying to be ready,” and went to bed early.
“I was able to sleep,” he recalls, “But once
I got up in the morning and the time got closer
to my clinic slot, I got nervous and anxious.”
Bartz kept remembering other students’ stories.
Not horror stories, he says, but pathologies.
And he wondered what kind of person
his first patient would be: old, young, male,
female … he had no clue what he’d see.
“It could have been anything,” he says. “But
once the time came, I took a deep breath
and knew there was no turning back.”
Bartz’s first patient was nothing unusual.
Nothing unusual except trying to get the case
history. The patient was a 10-year-old boy.
“The child didn’t bring up things his parents
brought up,” Bartz says. “He presents as
11 / ICO MATTERS SPRING 2008
nothing wrong going on. But I asked his parents
and they said otherwise. I learned kids
may not tell the whole story.”
The learning aspect of being in clinic is one
of the best parts for Bartz. “I think I will
always be a perpetual learner,” he says.
Same for Zarn. “The best part about clinical
is you’re learning new things all the time,”
she says. “But how prepared am I going to
feel when I get a patient and I don’t know
what’s going on?”
She’ll feel like running to the library. “It hits
me both ways,” Zarn says. “It’s exciting to
know I’ll always be learning. It’s scary to
think I’ll never know everything.”
That isn’t scary for Bartz. “I’ve realized it’s
OK not to know everything,” he says. “You
have resources to see you through. You have
plenty of access to information. There’s no
reason to feel uncomfortable.”
Bartz’s problem is the paper work. “I hate
paper charts,” he says. “I want to type
things in. I get bogged down with the
practice management aspects.”
And the white coat. “I’ll never wear a white
coat,” he says. “They’re hot, they’re intimidating.
I don’t need the coat to present the
persona.”
At this point, Bartz is living the persona.
“Now I’m in the final stretch,” he says.
“Victory is soon here. I don’t feel stress at
this point.”
In this area, Zarn cannot entirely concur.
“I started to feel comfortable about a month
or two into clinic.” she says. “Then my
attending doctor changed. I had gotten into
a routine, had a working relationship with
him and then there was someone new. That
made me nervous again. By the end of the
summer, I was comfortable again. Then we
took time off for boards and to finish
summer term. We didn’t get back in clinic