White Coat Ceremony!!!

Hey guys!!! :)

As of Sept. 15th, our class of 2013 has now been officially "White Coated" ! Woo hoo! :)
Our ceremony was started at 6PM, but I was still in Optics lab at 5:40PM! It's okay, I came dressed! It was such a milestone! As I watched my classmates walk off the stage with their white coats on, I felt so much closer to becoming an Optometrist! Initially, it was just awkward seeing each other in white coats, but the pride sank in after an hour. A lot of my classmates' family and friends attended the ceremony. My family could not make it, since they are in a different state, but my boyfriend and a couple of our friends were able to come and support me. We had to say the pledge of allegiance before the ceremony began, and at first I could not locate the flag! It was the largest flag, and it was directly in front of me! lol. A lot of my classmates were looking around as well! Wow, I have not recited the pledge since I graduated from undergrad, and that was only a year ago, LOL.

So Here are some photos from our white coat ceremony! Hopefully you guys will get to take part in this momentous occasion!

Weekly Exams, Lab, & Clinic :)

So for your first year at SCCO, they ease you in by giving you 1 exam per week. I think there is one week where we do have two exams, but other than that, it is one exam per week! It is doable, but it's a LOT of material !!!

I just had an eye movements exam on Wednesday, which went pretty well! BUT, I have a Biochem exam this upcoming Monday! Oh dear! So I have been studying for it since Wednesday night, but increasing my intensity as the week moved along. A lot of it is review from undergrad, but the problem is, I took Biochem 2 years ago, so I have to refresh my memory.

Our Biochemistry ( or SCCO calls it Biological Sciences) lecture is once a week; it is a grueling three hour long lecture! Even the professor is tired by the second hour, lol. I don't think the incoming class of 2014 will have to take this course since it is now a required pre-req, lucky!!!
Eye Movements Lab

This was the only lab this week that was not canceled in lieu of Labor Day. It was actually a fun lab this week! My lab partners and I got to run basic tests to observe the different classes of eye movements on each others eyes. My favorite eye movement are the Saccadic ( which are fast twitches/jerks) eye movemnts. Here are some photos of the experiments we did in lab :

Vestibulo-Ocular
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Optokinetic
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Optokinetic
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Fixational
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Clinic

This week in clinic we were able to use 4 different optical instruments instead of shadowing interns. It was fun to "puff" each other's eyes with the NCT ( Non-Contact Tonometer) and take AR readings ( Automatic refraction). We also used the Visual Field FDT and the Optos machine. Those of you who work for optometrists might have used these machines before.

My commute.....so far...

Hey Guys,

I was reading some questions and concerns about commuting on facebook. You are not ALONE! A lot of my classmates commute to SCCO. I know a hand full that commute from Arcadia, Irvine, Corona, Dana Point, and San Gabriel. You don't have to live down the street from school, but if you can find a decent apartment, then you should. Myself, I love it here in Irvine, so I commute from Irvine to Fullerton. By high way it takes 15 minutes without the notorious Orange county traffic! :) I've been checking www.sigalert.com every morning before I leave my apartment, and before I leave school. Luckily, I my route is normally opposing traffic. But lately, since Cal State Fullerton has started school, I have had to take alternate routes. So I would say it takes me about 18-20 minutes to get to school on average.

Don't let commuting stress you about school. But, do consider it in your decision for optometry school. Geographic location is very important, especially on exam days!!!!!! :)

4th week of Optometry school and still alive! :)

Hey guys!

Sorry, it has been awhile! I have been just trying to get used to the schedule at school! We just had our first Optics test last week and eye movements test today!!! I felt more prepared for the eye movements test than the optics test!

So far we have been eased into Optometry school, no joke. Every week the amount of studying seems to increase. It kind of creeps up on you. You don't feel pressured to study, but you KNOW you have to study, because if you don't, then its just not worth being in school! Everyone is so nice at SCCO! If you ever get to tour the campus, you will see for you yourself! Everyone is just really friendly and willing to help you!


So to get y'all caught up.....

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
This would have to be my favorite class so far! I applied to this school mainly because they offered business and ethical classes to help prepare you for private practice and finances. This class is very informative and Dr. Sanders is hilarious! She is very entertaining and is very helpful! I am very motivated to stay on top of my finances!

FIRST DAY OF CLINIC

I had my first day of clinic two weeks ago!!!! I heard mixed reviews from other first year interns' experiences, but mine was awesome!!! Can I get even more motivated for optometry, YES I CAN! LOL.

Our clinic here at SCCO is so modern and up to date with technology. There were machines in the clinic that I have never used or seen when I had worked as an optometric technician!

I shadowed a 4th year intern. She was in the middle of an exam when I came to the clinic. Her first patient was very interesting! The patient had a lot of ocular health issues and so I got to see my 4th year intern run numerous tests on her patient. She was already with this patient for about an hour and a half now; most of the exams at the clinic are long because they just transitioned over to all electronic medical records.

After, the first patient, I still had about 1 hour left before I was finished for the day. Luckily, I was able to sit in on a second exam with my intern before I left! The next patient was rather interesting as well; diabetic retinopathy follow-up! I have a very strong interest in ocular diseases so I get very excited to shadow these types of exams!

FIRST EYE MOVEMENTS LAB
I find eye movements, which you will take your first quarter here at SCCO, a very interesting class. We learn in depth about the simplest movements your eyes make. Here are some photos from our first lab. We had to construct an eye model out of a light bulb. It may look easy, but calculating the muscle insertions and origins takes up time!


So, now I have another test coming up on Monday (biological sciences), which I must start studying for today! Get used to being tested every week!!! Not fun, but I guess it helps you learn to prioritize your time!


Well I will try to keep y'all updated as weekly as possible. Please comment or ask me any questions or topics you would like posted! :)

First week @ SCCO!

Hello!

What an eventful week here for a first year student. I was not able to attend all of the events but I did manage to go to a couple like the Family and Friends BBQ and Mentor/Mentee Dinner. The first week has been relaxed and easy; mainly introductions to the school, course, professors, etc. There are SO many student activities to be involved with on campus! I think even more so than undergrad! I am going to gauge how well the course work load is this quarter before I join more than 2 clubs! I am still meeting classmates! 100 classmates may seem like a small number, but there are actually a lot of people! I have started to study a little here and there towards the end of the week into the weekend. I am so afraid of falling behind! SCCO eases you into the work load, but I always like to stay prepared!

I am so excited about my Practice Management Course! I think SCCO is one of the only school's to include it into all four years of the program, which I found a very strong attribute to my optometric foundation.

Orientation Day @ SCCO

Orientation day started at 7:30AM-5:00PM. Since I do not live in Fullerton, I had to commute. My commute is not very far and there was no traffic at all this morning, so I arrived there in 15 minutes! I wish everyday could be like that! At first when I got to the school, there were a lot of other students just standing around in the court yard. I just signed in and stood against the wall. I never had the chance to go to any of the "meet and greets" so I had no idea who anyone was. I recognized a lot of faces from Facebook, but it was still awkward to finally see everyone in person. Eventually, I was able to talk to a few other classmates and introduce myself. Breakfast was served buffet style, which was nice. It consisted of muffins, pastries, coffee, fruit, and juice. I had a blueberry muffin myself, but I don't think it sufficed! My stomach kept growling during the speeches, :(. So after some morning mingling took place, we all stood in line to take our student ID photos. The photos we took will last through our whole 4 years at SCCO! So you want to make sure you look sharp. You don't have to be so formal; business casual was more appropriate.
After photos, we migrated to the A building, which is the main lecture hall, to listen to speeches given by the president of SCCO, the V.P. of Student Affairs, and the V.P./Dean. They all gave very motivational speeches. The one thing I love about SCCO is that they can never stop talking about how much the love their school and the optometric profession. I am already convinced and motivated as is about optometry, but they just take it to a completely higher level! After a few speeches, we broke into smaller groups lead by faculty members and student leaders from the class of 2012, followed by a hosted lunch. After a lunch, we all migrated back to the lecture hall and listened to our Financial Aid Advisor go over our financial aid packets.
This was the last speech given before all of the students were dispersed into four groups to finish up the orientation day. There were four different stations set up for the groups to rotate with. The first station was for ordering our WHITE COATS ( our doctor coats, lol), the second station was to pick up our financial aid checks , the third station was to pick up our books at the student bookstore, and the final station was to pick up our student id badges!!! My picture turned out okay; it's not the best, but its now with me for 4 years!!!

Moving!!!

So I have officially moved out and I have about 2 weeks left until school starts!!! Apparently at SCCO, every first year student is assigned a mentor ( which is a second year student) to help your throughout the year. I found this so exciting!!! Being a first year student, I know I will get confused from time to time transitioning into this program, so it is comforting to know I can go to a peer if I need any help!!!

So for the past two weeks I have been moving and working at the same time! It has been a bit stressful, but well worth it!

Orientation day is just around the corner and I cannot wait!!!