Dr. Deanna Pedroza graduates optometry school in Fullerton, CA in 2009. She would go on to move back to Thornton, CO and open Vista Eye Care with Dr. Brian Abert, O.D., FAAO.
We have had a variety of aspiring students interested in optometry careers, and we thought it would be nice to talk a little about our profession. An optometrist is an eye doctor that measures and treats a variety of eye disorders including vision problems, ocular health issues, and management of eye-related systemic disease (including
hypertension and diabetes). If a patient needs diabetic eye care, they will see us. If a patient needs a glasses exam, they will see us. If a patient needs contact lenses, they will see us. If a patient needs their InfantSEE or pediatric eye exam, they will see us. In summary, optometrists serve a wide variety of patients! An optometrist must hold a bachelor’s degree before entering optometry school, and optometry school is 4 years long with an optional one year residency in a specific area of focus.
Dr. Abert and Dr. Pedroza both attended the Southern California College of Optometry where they met. This was the closest college of optometry for Dr. Pedroza (a life-long Colorado resident) until a college opened in Arizona just a few years ago. The optometry
curriculum is jam-packed with a variety of vision science and clinical science classes. The curriculum has changed a little bit since Dr. Abert and Dr. Pedroza graduated, but you can see a list of coursework at SCCO here. Classes include optics, practice management, ethics, systemic anatomy, ocular anatomy, public health, clinical medicine,
physiology, pharmacology, binocular vision, contact lenses, pediatrics, geriatrics, and low vision courses. Classes are year-round, and include both lecture hall courses and clinical classes, where students see patients in a variety of departments at the school’s Eye Care Center.
Externships take up most of the fourth year of optometry school. Dr. Abert had an externship at the school (in Orange County, California), Kaiser Permanente in Southern California, an Indian Health Services externship in New Mexico, and an externship at the West Los Angeles VA Healthcare Center. Dr. Pedroza had externships at the optometry
school, Indian Health Services in New Mexico, the Las Vegas VA Healthcare Center, and the Center for the Partially Sighted in Los Angeles.
Optometry school is a full-time commitment and very few students are able to work during optometry school. Most quarters have 15-20 credit hours of coursework, and lengthy hours in clinical assignments which leave little room for activities outside school. Still, optometry school was fun, and the information was really interesting. Probably the highlight for Dr. Abert was the professors. “The professors at SCCO were great. These people were highly knowledgeable on all things eye-related.” Experts in many aspects of optometry are based at the school including professors of contact lenses, ocular disease,
pediatrics, vision therapy, and special testing.
Prerequisites to get into optometry school generally are met by a biology or anatomy degree. That said, Dr. Abert had two English majors in his graduating optometry class, though both had to spend a few extra years meeting the science prerequisites. Optometry schools vary in their requirements, but for SCCO’s full list of prerequisites
you can click here.
It is always nice to have some optometry experience under your belt before you apply to optometry school. This will almost certainly give you a competitive edge over someone without that same experience. Optometry is a really people-person profession. Unless you go on to be a research optometrist, you will probably be interacting with patients all day, and experience in an optometry office is always nice to put on your application. We have had aspiring optometry students work for us before, and I think their experience here in Thornton, Colorado was a unique one. They will learn the basics of billing, scheduling, measuring eyeglasses, working with contact lenses, and patient interaction. These skills will make it easier for them when they are in school, and will probably also help them get into school in the first place. If you are interested in shadowing Dr. Abert or Dr. Pedroza, feel free to give us a call and come hang out for the day. As a business owner, Dr. Abert has unique insight not just with optometry, but also in the day to day requirement of running a small business.