From Acceptance to Impact: What Awaits You at PCO

We’re excited to share a special welcome from Josephine Ibironke, OD ’03, Resident ’04, MPH, FAAO, dean of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO). In this message, she offers congratulations to accepted students, insight into the student journey, and an inspiring look at what it means to have the #PCODNA as you begin your optometric education - here at PCO.

Dear students:

Congratulations on being accepted to become a student here at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Drexel University.

I am so happy to welcome you because you will now embody what we call the PCO DNA. You are poised for success, you are going to be part of our legacy and I can’t wait to see you and see how you evolve through the program.

Here at PCO, we pride ourselves in advancing health care through discovery, patient care and professional leadership. That’s what you will now become part of as a student at PCO.

First-year spring semester is when our students go into clinic (The Eye Institute) and in clinic, it’s almost as if they are shadowing. They are observing is what they are doing at that point.

In the second year (of the Doctor of Optometry program), they also pair up with a third-year student and they start to see patients that way. By the time they’re done with their second year and into third year, they now become independent and they start to see patients on their own.

All of this while they are being supervised by a Doctor of Optometry, the very wonderful faculty members here at PCO.

The foundation that you get here at PCO is second to none. The fact that you start clinic so early gives you that advantage. You get to be in front of the patients, take care of patients sooner than any other school in the country. That’s one of the elements of PCO DNA.

Not only that, but we have a broad alumni base that is proud be part of PCO’s legacy. You will be joining that legacy as a student who is now coming to PCO.

We are a unique profession in that we get to have a huge impact on the patients we see. The opportunities are almost endless in optometry because you get to do different things. You can be in academia, you can be in a hospital, you can be in private practice, you car work in a corporate setting. The sky is almost the limit with the amount of opportunities we have in optometry.

Not only that, we also have a great work-life integration where you’re able to balance what you’re doing in your daily life with your profession as well.

When you graduate from here, you will be ready for practice. You will be so confident in going into whatever you decided to go into because you do carry the PCO DNA.

We are looking forward to seeing you soon on our beautiful Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus.