Young OD
UPDATE
By Dr. Vicky Wong
One of my goals this year has been to establish a more altruistic relationship between the students interested in returning to Maryland or new grads that are in the area and our ODs that are looking for new associates so that we can involve them in the MOA. These newer grads and students are also key to our scope expansion battle; they’re an example of how we as optometrists are trained and taught to the highest level of practice no matter what state we end up in practice. Remember, this includes minor surgical procedures, laser, oral privileges and injections.
To get a “baseline reading” on where most of our new grads are coming from, I started to plan a visit to most of the schools on the east coast. I was proud to represent the MOA with Dr. Gogerdchi at our first State Day visit at Southern College of Optometry (SCO). Their student leaders plan an AOA and PAC event with as many state associations as they can invite each year. We gained insight from AOA Trustee Barb Horn and also secured much needed scope support via expert testimony by two SCO faculty that have testified in multiple other states that achieved scope expansion. Our scheduled meetings resulted in new student members and regained a previous MOA member who is a parent of a current student, welcome back Dr. Bev Chado! There's my 3 for 1!
Next up was a trip down to my Alma mater at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). We had 18 interested students and residents come out for the evening of casual questions and networking. We also realized that since Maryland doesn't have an optometry school, networking and finding interviews is harder for these students wishing to come back to the state. Offering travel grants to our State Association meetings has now become a topic of research for the Young OD committee. Not only was I able to offer to keep in touch with the graduating students and residents, but I was able to bring current job opportunities to their attention (like
a matchmaker!). An added bonus was a combined trip to Orlando to help Dr. Fran Burgos recruit some well known speakers on Sclerals and Ocular Disease for our Annual Convention in December 2016 at the Inner Harbor Baltimore. There's another 2 for 1!
While at Vision Expo East (VEE) with my office team, I was able to set up a meeting with a few SUNY College of Optometry students and leave them with a way to contact the MOA for any assistance they need. This targeted a smaller group of students due to the hustle and bustle of VEE. The ODs on Facebook party was also a great casual way for some of these students to chat with the Maryland ODs that were around. In addition, I attended the North Eastern Optometric associations forum with Drs. Kevin Johnson and Dean Gogerdchi to gain insight on how other state associations incorporate Young OD programs. That's the last 2 for 1 I've got so far! New England College of Optometry (NECO) will be up next since the AOA convention will be in Boston this year, after our annual trip to Salus (PCO) in Philadelphia.
Up next, Dr. Brian Woolf and I hope to revive the mentor/mentored program within the MOA. Please mark your calendars for June 5th for our first group gathering for those interested in giving back some sage advice to our newer members. The MOA and Dr. Woolf will be hosting a delicious BBQ and Dr. Woolf has graciously offered up his house for an enlightening summer afternoon! Details and directions will be posted up on the community calendar soon, and the students and new grads are very excited about this opportunity!
As always, for any questions please feel free to reach me at [email protected]!
Hello everyone! I feel like I know most of my MOA family by now that I can confess something to you… I’m a couponer. Ok, not an extreme couponer by any means; but, like a save 50% on most regular grocery trips type of couponer. (I’m best at detergents and diapers!) Why am I telling you? Well, to update you on what’s been going on with the Young OD committee I needed you to know how much I like getting deals like two for one or even better, 3-fers! Hey, I like being efficient!