Hey Josh! Thanks for reaching out. My residency has opened up a number of doors for speaking and consulting opportunities. Plus, since it was at the school with the largest optometry alumni in the country, it expanded my network. All that aside, the biggest thing I gained from it was an amazing experience and a huge boost in clinical confidence out of the gate.
I'm a Pre-Optometry student and I was wondering what your schedule looked like during residency? Is it similar to a 9-5 or is it more/less flexible? What about the weekends? How were you able to schedule time for a second job?
Hi Tania. Thanks for reaching out. My schedule varied. Some days it was 8-5, others 10-7 or 8-7. Also, sometimes I was on call. I will say that all residency schedules are a little different. A lot of us did weekend fill in work but it was definitely PRN.
One thing I struggle with is the ROI question-- if it doesn't translate into higher salary, should you do a residency? Other docs have told me that the first year of working in a high-medical, multidoc practice is basically your residency, except you're getting paid 3-5x the residency salary. Do I need a year of residency to fast forward into 3 years of clinical experience? For contact lenses? For ocular disease? Then should I do a residency because I want the FAAO, diplomate designations down the line? But the financial opportunity cost is significant, while bearing a debt load... Hard to wrap my mind around this.
These are all valid concerns. Personally, I did a residency because my mentors convinced me that it would open more doors for my optometric career - and it has. With that being said, it’s quite possible those doors would have opened regardless. I also LOVED spending a year in an intense clinical setting with 9 other residents. I’m completely sensitive of the growing debt load and understanding not every OD can afford to do one. If your circumstances allow you to, I’d say you go for it!
@@RyanReflects thank you v much. I will continue to think hard about all the sage advice you've shared here, on this vid, in your series, on the channel, and in the other podcasts I've consumed where you're featured. I've also continued to think and act on the advice you shared with me via email about a month ago-- I've felt badly having not written back to thank you for it yet. Part of it was that I wanted some evidence to show that I've followed your advice as part of my reply back to you. But thank you very much for your hugely helpful, thoughtful advice.
What questions do you have about optometry residency? Let me know in the comments below!
How have your connections from that experience helped you?
Hey Josh! Thanks for reaching out. My residency has opened up a number of doors for speaking and consulting opportunities. Plus, since it was at the school with the largest optometry alumni in the country, it expanded my network. All that aside, the biggest thing I gained from it was an amazing experience and a huge boost in clinical confidence out of the gate.
I'm a Pre-Optometry student and I was wondering what your schedule looked like during residency? Is it similar to a 9-5 or is it more/less flexible? What about the weekends? How were you able to schedule time for a second job?
Hi Tania. Thanks for reaching out. My schedule varied. Some days it was 8-5, others 10-7 or 8-7. Also, sometimes I was on call. I will say that all residency schedules are a little different. A lot of us did weekend fill in work but it was definitely PRN.
One thing I struggle with is the ROI question-- if it doesn't translate into higher salary, should you do a residency?
Other docs have told me that the first year of working in a high-medical, multidoc practice is basically your residency, except you're getting paid 3-5x the residency salary.
Do I need a year of residency to fast forward into 3 years of clinical experience? For contact lenses? For ocular disease?
Then should I do a residency because I want the FAAO, diplomate designations down the line?
But the financial opportunity cost is significant, while bearing a debt load...
Hard to wrap my mind around this.
These are all valid concerns. Personally, I did a residency because my mentors convinced me that it would open more doors for my optometric career - and it has.
With that being said, it’s quite possible those doors would have opened regardless. I also LOVED spending a year in an intense clinical setting with 9 other residents. I’m completely sensitive of the growing debt load and understanding not every OD can afford to do one. If your circumstances allow you to, I’d say you go for it!
@@RyanReflects thank you v much. I will continue to think hard about all the sage advice you've shared here, on this vid, in your series, on the channel, and in the other podcasts I've consumed where you're featured.
I've also continued to think and act on the advice you shared with me via email about a month ago-- I've felt badly having not written back to thank you for it yet. Part of it was that I wanted some evidence to show that I've followed your advice as part of my reply back to you. But thank you very much for your hugely helpful, thoughtful advice.