Optometry
I Chose Series
My second externship rotation was at The Eye Institute (TEI) in its Pediatrics and Binocular Vision Service. TEI is the Pennsylvania College of Optometry’s clinical site where all students, first through fourth year, spend time seeing patients alongside the clinical faculty. During our final year, all students spend three months at TEI in a specialty service of their choice. The different specialties include Pediatrics, Low Vision, Contact Lens/Primary Care, and Neuro-Ophthalmic disease. I chose to spend my time in the Pediatrics department because I really enjoy working with kids, and I thought I would really benefit from working on lens rack retinoscopy, cover test, and many of the other skills commonly utilized in the service.
As my time at TEI comes to an end, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on my past three months here. My favorite part about this rotation has by far been the children and patients that I get to work with. I haven’t had a lot of exposure with pediatric patients prior to this rotation; the primary care services at TEI and my other rotations were primarily occupied by adults. I have found it so fun and refreshing to work with the kids on a regular basis. Most kids start out a little shy and nervous at the beginning of the exam, but they warm up quickly and really show their personalities. I remember one sweet little girl specifically that absolutely loved calling out all the letters and shapes that she saw when we were testing her vision: she would yell “T!” at the top of her lungs so confidently with the biggest smile on her face. Even though the letter was most definitely not a “T,” it still brightened my day.
The most difficult part of the pediatrics service was the dreaded eye drops. Understandably so, most children really did not like having eye drops put in their eyes. It usually took a lot of stickers and hand holding from moms and dads to get the drops in, but I was really amazed at how brave the children were. Most tears would only last a few minutes, and then they would be rewarded with even more stickers and hugs from mom and dad. I’m sure it’s difficult to understand at such a young age why the dilation eye drops are necessary, especially when they sting a little, but I was really surprised at how well the majority of kids handled them.
Other than the patients, I also really enjoyed working on my technical skills. I have gotten a lot better at retinoscopy, cover test, dilated fundus exams, and patient education during my time at TEI. It’s a really great environment for learning and improving. Many of the other externship sites only have one preceptor and one student extern, but at TEI we are surrounded by countless other students and so many amazing faculty members. It’s very helpful to be able to ask one of your fellow externs for help during an exam or check in with your preceptor whenever you need.
One of the unique characteristics of the Pediatrics and Binocular Vision service is that you get to be involved with Vision Therapy, which is a very different experience than just a regular eye exam. I’ve had the opportunity to work with my vision therapy patients weekly for the past three months, so I have gotten to know them very well and watched them improve greatly. Vision therapy is also for patients of all ages: my oldest patient was 60 years old, and my youngest was seven. We help patients learn how to use their eyes together properly to help alleviate symptoms of eye strain, double vision, post-concussion syndrome, and much more. I have learned a lot from my vision therapy patients, and I hope to be able to incorporate it into my future practice.
It’s bittersweet knowing that my time at TEI is coming to an end, but I will take with me the many friendships and great experiences that I have had along the way. I look forward to my next rotations and eventual graduation from PCO!
- Madison is third-year Accelerated Scholars Optometry student
