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NAAHP News...
From the Executive Director
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Tony Wynne |
Greetings from the
NAAHP National Office! I'm excited to join the staff in Champaign, IL. Over the past month, the staff and I have spent a lot of time reviewing the overall structure of the office (staff, duties, procedures, and policies), and we've identified several areas that will allow us to serve our members better. We are continuing the deep-dive into the inner-workings of the office with a focus on efficiency and customer service. Throughout this process, we've identified some obstacles related to our new membership system that have caused some headaches for all of you regarding membership renewal. We are aware of the issues and are working to remedy these as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience as we iron out the kinks. Of course, the majority of our attention has been on preparations for the
2020 National Conference in New Orleans in June. We are on track with the conference website and will continue to update the site in preparation for registration to open in Mid-January. I, personally, look forward to meeting as many of you as possible in New Orleans! I have an open-door policy, so please do not hesitate to reach out to me with thoughts, comments, ideas, or to say hello! Our thanks to Optometry for content for this edition. Please enjoy this issue of NAAHP-Net!
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NAAHP News...
Resources You Can Use
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Ann Trail |
It feels like fall semester has only just begun, but already students are asking about summer programs, and I am putting together presentations. This is a great time to explore the Student Resources tab on our NAAHP Website. The "Summer Opportunities" link has an extensive range of programs, with thumbnail description and link to the programs' websites. The side bar allows readers to submit information on their own programs, providing a venue for constant update. Another boon is the "Funding Opportunities" link. It is currently limited to funding for graduate programs, but as with the Summer Opportunities link, there is a place to submit information about other opportunities. Finally, the "Links of Interest for Students" tab provides information for connecting to the professional associations' student pages. Lots of informative material here to put in the hands of your students!
All the best,
Ann
Ann Trail
Villanova University
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NAAHP News...
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By Dr. Tammy Welchert, PhD
Director for Student Affairs & Academic Advising
Associate Teaching Professor
University of Missouri-Kansas City
The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) hosts approximately 11,300 undergraduate students and sits less than a mile from the Missouri-Kansas state line. Our Office of Student Involvement works with students to sponsor more than 400 student organizations. At the heart of the hustle and bustle lays a treasure box, a small organization of less than 10 students who are making a big difference for themselves and for our Kansas City Community.
As you can imagine, with such a small group of students, our Pre-Optometry Society has waxed and waned through the years. In 2016 however, Alisha Musau, now an alumni and professional student at the University of Missouri-Saint Louis (UMSL), decided that she wanted to try again to revive the organization. We planned an introductory meeting and posted flyers around campus to spread the word. A group of 4-5 students started coming together once a month and the momentum started to pick up. During the 2016-2017 academic year, we invited Birju Solanki, another of our alumni and co-founder and Executive Director for Kansas City Free Eye Clinic (KCFEC) to speak to our budding pre-optometry students.
The Kansas City Free Eye Clinic started in 2008 and allows uninsured and homeless patients access to vision services extending beyond standard vision screening including free cataract removal surgeries and follow up. The Clinic annually serves more than 250 patients a year and distributes between 250 and 300 pairs of eyeglasses annually. Learning about the services of Kansas City Free Eye Clinic sparked ideas and within a few short months our first eyeglass drive was launched.
As with any new plan, you start with a small, manageable project. The students designated a spot in the Undergraduate Programs Office as the collection space and left a decorated box for students and faculty in the School of Biological Sciences to deposit their spare eyeglasses. Within two months they collected 56 pairs of eyeglasses and 39 cases, all to be donated to the Kansas City Free Eye Clinic. This was terrific but wait........if we collected this many from our own academic unit, can you imagine how many we would collect if we opened the drive to the entire university?
In October 2018, the UMKC Pre-Optometry Society, a group of now 7 students planned and executed a university wide eyeglass drive. The drive was advertised in newsletters, with flyers, and request were sent to each academic unit to spread the word to their faculty. Collection boxes were decorated and deposited in key locations across campus including the library, recreation center, union, and residence halls. In the end, 134 pairs of glasses and 107 cases were collected. The UMKC News ran a story and a few more pairs of glasses were received by alumni who has seen the story and wanted to contribute.
The Pre-optometry Society has grown to include 10 students who are committed to each other, to our university and to the Kansas City community. In the spring, they will be partnering with several other pre-health student organizations to host a campus wide three-day eyeglass and blood drive. As the Faculty advisor for the Pre-Optometry Society I couldn't be prouder of these students and the difference they are committed to making. It has been such a pleasure to watch them grow and accomplish their goals. I can't wait to see where the future takes them!
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Thank you to Paige Pence for contributing the entries for the focus on Optometry! Ms. Pence is the Director, Student and Residency Affairs, for the
Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) and has spent over 20 years working in higher education. Prior to her position with ASCO, she was at AAVMC and before that at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. She enjoys watching sports and spending time with family and friends.
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The Optometry Gives Me Life campaign features three young and successful Doctors of Optometry. These Doctors of Optometry and their stories are shown through the lively and vibrant website,
www.futureeyedoc.org
, as well as through other related marketing materials.
Optometry Gives Me Life is reaching college-aged students pursuing STEM degrees who have expressed an interest in a health profession, but may not yet be considering optometry. Implementation is through specialized and targeted social media outreach, publications, ancillary promotional materials, emails, direct mail, and the campaign's landing page at
www.futureeyedoc.org
.
Campaign materials, which include brochures and posters, show what a wonderful career optometry is: how it offers an enviable work/life balance, an excellent salary and quality of life, the various settings one can practice optometry in, the many ways Doctors of Optometry can give back to their community and positively affect the lives of others, and so much more.
The metrics and outreach of the campaign, in little over six months have been extremely promising. For instance, the paid ads have been seen by more than 33 million people. The benchmark for click to open rates of these types of ads is 0.1 % and the campaign is showing open rates of .18% - much higher than average.
To request Optometry Gives Me Life brochures and posters, please contact Paige Pence, Director of Student and Residency Affairs at
ppence@opted.org
.
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Pre-optometry clubs are an excellent way for prospective optometry students to learn more about the optometry field and develop their interests. Pre-optometry clubs can help undergraduate students in their application processes as well as help them gain mentors who share their same passions. Often, pre-optometry clubs can provide opportunities for students to make lasting impacts on their campus, in their local communities, or in communities around the globe. Many pre-optometry clubs will visit optometry schools in their area and they even have an alumni database for current members to reach out to alumni. In addition, many clubs will connect its members to local optometrists, which is how many pre-optometry students gain shadowing experience or optometric work experience.
When club members are not advancing themselves professionally or attending club social events, such as bowling or hiking, they are volunteering their time in the community. They often volunteer at local vision screenings, and they partner with local service clubs like Lion's Club or Rotaract. Students volunteer their time at clinics and perform activities such as giving out glasses, checking patients' eyes, and performing vision therapy to those who need it.
Many pre-optometry students find clubs extremely helpful in guiding them in the right direction towards optometry school by going over OAT questions, hosting optometrists as speakers, and discussing next steps.
If you would like to start a pre-optometry club at your institution, please find out how on the ASCO Pre-Optometry Club
website.
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 The Doctor of Optometry degree is a ticket to a rewarding, well-compensated, flexible career, and combining it with another graduate degree, such as a master's or PhD, opens even more doors of opportunity. Many schools and colleges of optometry offer dual-degree programs, which are structured in various ways. Some are campus-based while others are at least partially online, and the degree tracks may be completed concurrently or consecutively. What the programs have in common are the benefits they can provide for students, which include the ability to branch out from solely clinical optometry into research and to receive two degrees in less time and for less money than it would typically take.
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Stephanie Adams, OD, PhD, recently graduated from the New England College of Optometry as the first recipient of its OD/PhD degree, a joint program with Boston University. As an undergrad she enjoyed her molecular biology courses and working in research labs and knew she wanted to pursue a PhD, with some clear goals in mind. "I explored the various health professions and was most interested in optometry and the ocular connection to systemic disease. I also wanted to be able to stretch my knowledge outside the realm of vision research and be qualified to join any science department and teach basic science courses at universities. In addition, with a PhD, I am a more competitive applicant for NIH grants to fund potential research projects."
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The dual OD/Master of Public Health degree was one of the things that attracted Kelly Morgese, OD, MPH, to the MCPHS University School of Optometry. "My interest in public health blossomed during my time as an undergraduate working with vulnerable populations in New Mexico and taking medical sociology classes," she says. "I am passionate about people and health care, and there is so much public health-related work to be done in optometry. It relates to everything from amblyopia prevention through pediatric vision screenings to educating communities about how dilated eye exams save lives by revealing systemic diseases, and the importance of compliant use of contact lenses and glaucoma medications."
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 The Ohio State University College of Optometry is among the optometric institutions that offer a dual OD/MS degree. Jeffrey J. Walline, OD, PhD, Associate Dean for Research, describes its appeal: "The OD/MS degree provides students with more options when they graduate. Completing the program gives them research experience that is important to industry partners who need to test their products. The program also makes students better consumers of science so they can practice evidence-based optometry. "
Click here for a list of dual degree programs in optometry.
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New Community College Members
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