Why I do what I do

So after successfully, surviving one week of research, I told my manager that I would work in the optometry office on Saturday. My experience this past Saturday reminded me why I want to become and optometrist, and why I enjoy it.

After very little person to person interaction in the research/lab setting, I was seeing patients come into the office and signing them in and dispensing glasses or contacts to them. I didn't run as many pre-tests that day for some reason, but it was just really rewarding and enjoyable just to be helping patients and seeing people that I saw the first time they came into the office. They remembered me, and I remember them. I found myself more welcoming and friendlier, when they came in and left the office to enjoy the weekend.

Two patients who really got me excited was one who was returning for the 2nd time, and picking up glasses. She is a video game tester at EA games (awesome!). She tests the Sims games, and recently worked on the Sims 3. So not only was it exciting to see her back at the office, but just to talk about her job and what she's been doing was just fun for me. Next was a walk-in patient looking to get glasses made. Turns out she works at Pixar, and was working on the movie Up for the past 5 years. Honestly, when I meet patients who are in career fields, that are art related make me excited to ask questions and learn more about what they do. So it was exciting chatting it up with her and what it is like working at Pixar.

So another incident that happened that day was the daughter of a patient came in requesting that we make glasses for her mother. The pair of glasses had broken, and legally without a recent eye exam, and a valid perscription, we cannot get glasses made. The situation was that the mother is in a nursing home, and it would be difficult for her to come out for an eye exam, and impractical for the O.D. to go there and conduct and eye exam. I am not sure if the empathy is a result of the recent passing of my employer's mother, or something else. But the O.D. said that we could make glasses for the patient without an exam, and taking the prescription from the broken glasses that were brought in.

This scenario reminded me of why I wanted to be an optometrist, and how sometimes you need to break the rules to do what is right, and what is best for the patient. It is technically illegal, but it's ethical in that you're helping the patient. We're helping more than causing harm. It is not just our ability to sympathesize or empathesize with our patients, but as Christians we need to show love to others because God first showed us love. Interacting with patients is not only a joy, but it is an expression of the love that God had for us. It's no where on the same level as God's agape love, but it's one form of expression that we, as humans, can best try to imitate Him.

Day 3

So, a conclusion from Day 2 is that I don't like research cause a lot of the time you're doing work by yourself. I'm sure if there were more patients involved in certain studies, then that would improve the interaction, but I found myself working with not chatting-companions.

At the office I work at, despite the hectic nature of the patient flow, it's always comforting to be able to chat with co-workers, patients, and employers. I found myself staring at the computer a lot the past couple days, whether it was compiling and organizing corneal topographic maps, or reading journal articles.

I do like what I'm researching though. I'm learning a lot, and I'm able to connect what I learned this past year to things that I'm being introduced to now, and seeing the big picture. That's how I like to learn. So, it's not that I don't like research; it's more that the work environment is not my cup of coffee (I prefer coffee over tea :D)

But I did get to meet with my mentor for the first time. My impression is that a lot of effort is expected from me, but the reward and results from that effort is already envisioned, so the motivation is there. It's going to be tough, but rewarding in the end. I'm not one to back away from a challenge, and when I commit to something, it means I give a lot up for it. It also helps that my research area is very applicable. The focus is on contact lenses, in general the approach is why is there a constant drop-out rate of contact lens wearers despite the various improvements, in design and cleaning solutions?

The approach to address that issue is whether certain measurements that are advertised as being important for maintaining the moisture of a contact lens in the eye, is really indicative of maintaining the tear film in eyes. In addition, does the measurement imply anything about patients who experience dry eyes all the time.

The can of worms is open, and I'm still reading the label on the can....here we go!

Hello testing the connection to my blog from my iPhone. Hope this works.

Day 1 done

So I survived Day 1, it was mainly completing a online education course about human rights while conducting research.  It was a rehash of a lot that I covered in ethics at SCCO, such as confidentiality, informed consent, research design on human subjects, and conflicts of interest.

I met one of the O.D. that I will be working with for the first month, and learned that I'll get some training and familiarity with some corneal topography equipment (front surface of the eye), and learn a bit about orthokeratology (reshaping the front of you eye with contact lenses).  I'm excited.  I was just drained from looking at the computer monitor all day, and I work in the basement of the optometry building, so there are no windows...bummer.

Day 2...here I come.

Research Begins

In approximately 10 hours or less, I'll be starting my summer research program at U.C. Berkeley.  I'll be conducting research under Dr. Lin in the Contact Lens Research Center in Minor Hall.  I'm actually pretty nervous, even though she is a mentor, and there are weekly seminars I feel the pressure to be self-motivated to get whatever research is done completed.

The nervousness stems from my prior research experience in undergrad (U.C. Davis), where it actually didn't pan out to what I expected.  I expected more teaching and "hand-holding" throughout the process, and they expected me to pick up things right away and do them on my own.  So going into the whole thing tomorrow, I need to be more proactive about the whole thing.

Research isn't my forte, and isn't exactly why I went into optometry.  It is essential to optometry, as it is in any field to build the credibility and improve a career.  I'm excited in a way because I don't know what to expect, but my concern is if I can't meet my expectations or my mentors.  However, it's these situation in which I think I excel.  

My assistant coach indirectly put pressure on me to be a certain way at basketball practice today.  I think I showed up to play, and let my game do all the talking.  Of course, my stamina wasn't up to par, and made some mistakes, but the intensity I displayed at practice, hopefully, showed my teammates that I was committed.  Another example of excelling under pressure was when I started working after I graduated.  I was entering an optometry office, where I knew there weren't that many current or former male employees.  The ones that did work through that office were now optometrists, and I felt the pressure to be just as good if not better than those before me.

As far as I'm concerned, summer is just about to begin tomorrow.  Time to get busy :D