Personal statement

In elementary school, I discovered that I had myopia and that was when the world of optometry was introduced to me.  I remember feeling so frustrated at the beginning and feeling so alone. None of my friends could understand and most importantly I didn’t understand at the time what was happening to me and why the world around me was becoming so blurry. After I told my mom about my eyesight, that’s how I was introduced to the optometrist. I remember stepping foot into the office and being so amazed at all the machines and the moment when the doctor put glasses on me. From that moment, my world became clear, and was so grateful to see the world like everybody else. The relief and most importantly the gratitude I felt was a feeling that I would never forget. It was a feeling that I want to pass onto others.

Over the years, I made a trip after trip to Dr. Alturas’ office for my prescription glasses and that allowed me to see and understand how rewarding and pleasant her job was. However, my curiosity in the world of optometry didn’t peak until a few years ago when my mom was struggling with her vision. I found out that she was diagnosed with severe dry eye syndrome and that she didn’t respond well to any of the treatments which eventually lead to her developing blepharospasms. My mother was a hard worker and she always put others ahead of her and because of that, she underestimated her eye issues. Eventually, her condition became so severe that she had to take a leave of absence from work and that’s when we would go see multiple specialists in order to figure out her diagnosis. The doctors she worked with made it seem like they were trying to figure out a puzzle when my mother told them about her symptoms and their curiosity, in turn, caused me to be curious about the field of vision health. After seeing many eye specialists, in time she was able to get better. The idea of being faced with constant challenges and “puzzles” is captivating to me and I look forward to solving whatever issues my future patients may bring me.

I feel the need for more healthcare educators out there to voice how important it is to take care of their vision and seek help early after witnessing the trauma that my mother went through to figure out what her diagnosis was. It was apparent to me that someone who could’ve given an early diagnosis to my mother was an optometrist. Optometrists are easily accessible to patients when it comes to eye care versus an ophthalmologist. Therefore, they can play an important role in the early detection of eye problems and can make a long-lasting impact on a patient’s vision. I want to be the one that can make a long-lasting impact on a patient’s life and potentially save them from future trauma.

From these experiences, I felt the need to explore the field of optometry more. I wanted to experience the inner workings of an optometry clinic. Luckily my mom connected me to a childhood friend that works in a clinic as well at the VA hospital. The time spent with Dr. Le was an eye-opening experience. From working with Dr. Le, I learned that an optometrist can work in a variety of different settings and that the optometry office is just not a place where people come and get their prescriptions. I also learned how to conduct a pre-test for incoming patients as well as how the Optomap machine worked. The most important lesson to me was seeing how much of a positive impact an optometrist can have on a community.  I saw that Dr. Le had such an influence on her patients through her patience, kindness, and overall love for the job. Her patience and kindness created personal bonds with all of her patients which are what I strive to have with my future patients.

Through my experiences gained from working with Dr. Le in the clinical and hospital settings, I feel confident that I am going into a profession that suits me. For my future goals, I want to take the skills I have learned from school and do some humanitarian work as well as open my private practice. I’ll use the knowledge I gained through school as a resource and advocate for the importance of eye health in the community. I’ll strive to provide accessible care to my future patients and I want to be able to continue to help out my community with their vision needs. I look forward to working in a field where my peers are passionate about what they do and the patients who receive our care are satisfied.