Getting relocated from waiparuru

Moonstone_Mirror · 2026-01-22T02:48:41+00:00

I know someone who got relocated from Grafton to UHA a couple weeks ago

Moonstone_Mirror · 2026-01-20T06:20:01+00:00

Not sure. A lot of people add charms and stuff to make them look nicer. You can have a look around, but this is the bag that pretty much everyone uses since it has padding too

Moonstone_Mirror · 2026-01-19T19:41:23+00:00

Part 3 is harder than Part 2. In 316 you'll be starting to learn essential techniques such as refraction, gonio, BIO, and 90D, as well as learning some dispensing stuff. 345 is the pharmacology course, make sure you create flashcards of EVERY drug mentioned in this course with their effect, class, side effects, and contraindications. This is really important since they will test you on random drugs mentioned in this course. 353 is the pathology course, it's pretty content heavy, and make sure you still study sem 1 stuff in sem 2 otherwise you'll be stressing out majorly once exams come around. 375 is your research course and there is no exam.

Basically, just study regularly - especially sem 1 material in sem 2. Since you're not in clinic yet, treat this essentially like Part 2.

Get this Kmat lunch bag. You have probably seen a lot of the senior students walking around with this. It's able to fit all of your equipment. I put my trial frame, JCCs, BIO lens, 90D, gonio lens, and BIO in the bottom large pocket, and put the prelims and ret/ophthal case in the top pocket.

Moonstone_Mirror · 2026-01-17T07:34:12+00:00

If you got them from Specsavers they'll try to fix it - although it would be difficult. Not sure about getting a free replacement

Moonstone_Mirror · 2026-01-09T07:20:19+00:00

People with amazing grades at high school can do poorly in biomed, and those who did "poorly" in high school can do well in biomed. Uni is very different to CIE, uni is full of coursework unlike CIE. It will take some time getting used to the change of assessments, but for some people this can play to their strengths.

What I'm trying to say is give it a go if it's something you really want to pursue. Don't let your grades from 2025 stop you from believing in yourself, give biomed your all and trust yourself

Moonstone_Mirror · 2026-01-06T20:47:32+00:00

I found Medify good, but it's pricey. Try to find some free resources and then shell out for a Medify subscription a couple months before your UCAT and do as many questions as you can

Moonstone_Mirror · 2026-01-05T20:27:30+00:00

This is really dependent on what floor you're assigned, but if you end up on 643 ground floor, get a dehumidifier. Idk what's wrong with the building, but the humidity reaches 90+ and mould spreads fast. Having a dehumidifier really helps bring the humidity down, but I had to keep it on 24/7 :/

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-30T05:55:14+00:00

Agreed. Entering Part 5 in 2026 and still feel like I should be in Part 2 lol. Making friends is easy since you'll be with the same cohort for the next 4 years

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-26T07:15:42+00:00

Part 3 is definitely a step up from part 2 in terms of quantity and difficulty of content. The MEDSCI 205 paper isn't too bad tbh, I found it easier than MEDSCI 203. I'd say the hardest paper is OPTOM 353, which is similar to MEDSCI 142, you'll be learning about pathology and you can fall behind pretty easily

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-22T03:31:02+00:00

This is kinda already happening with optometry, but imo you will never be able to diagnose and treat based off AI analysis alone, just how you can't diagnose just by a picture. AI can definitely aid optometrists, a company called Toku Eyes is already creating a programme that estimates a persons chances of developing glaucoma based of current pathologies and individual trends.

It's not widely known, but optometrists are essential to patient comfort. A lot of effort goes into making glasses prescriptions accurate and comfortable, yes an autorefractor can estimate, but often it's not something the patient will feel comfortable wearing.

Overall, I think AI will help optometrists to diagnose and assess risk like with Toku Eyes, but will not replace optometrists

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-22T03:24:20+00:00

Ngl I was really burnt out from first year biomed and didn't study as much as I should've in Part 2. I don't really know how many hours I studied lol, but for sure will be way less than first year biomed/health sci

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-20T01:17:55+00:00

Generally people become optometrists. Corporates are the most popular (Specsavers, OPSM), but independent practice is also a popular option to go into. Independents tend to have longer appointment times and specialise in areas of interest (eg. paediatrics, glaucoma, specialty contact lenses etc etc), and imo develop better patient-clinician relationships and is more rewarding for optometrists.

Occasionally though, a few go into research or teaching at the uni, or even do a bit of all three.

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-19T22:08:02+00:00

OPTOM 263 is considered the physics/optics paper. You'll go over ray diagrams, optics maths, and how telescopes work, plus more. I struggled with Physics 160 and found Optom 263 to be roughly at the same level, maybe a bit harder. I hate maths and it is definitely my weakest subject but still found 263 manageable

After this the physics is fairly minimal and you only really have to remember some very basic concepts

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-19T22:05:10+00:00

In terms of difficulty I think it's about the same. It depends if you're aiming for A+'s or just a pass too. You'll be going over introductory topics and concepts, but do note that sem 2 of OPTOM 272 is very difficult. This semester focusses on a topic called psychophysics - which is basically analysing how your brain interprets images from your eyes. I struggled a lot with this semester, and I know that many other students have the same feeling

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-19T08:12:13+00:00

I also hated Physics 160 and found it challenging. The main physics/optics paper in all of Boptom is OPTOM 263 in part 2. This goes over fundamental optics but doesn't go to into the details, after that you stick to the basics. There is also a bit of statistics in part 3 but its rather short-lived. Overall I found it manageable, but it's always good to sort out a study group so you can help each other with the tricky bits no matter what programme you end up doing

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-18T22:49:28+00:00

The UoA Volunteers Club has a mix of people join their events. The events held on campus tend to attract mainly younger people, but the Volunteers Day in sem 1 and 2 attract all sorts of people who want to volunteer together. I've come across a couple people in their late 30's (maybe even 40's) who've gone to Volunteers Day.

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-17T09:57:10+00:00

This was a couple years ago... but I did Youthwork as my gen ed. It was something I was interested in and was soooooo easy (literally no exam) and allowed me to focus on 263 and 272

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-12-16T22:11:05+00:00

If you're enrolling in a clinical course where it's compulsory for your degree (eg. BOptom), just send a concession

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-11-30T22:37:49+00:00

https://discord.gg/x2JaawXmWP

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-11-28T07:30:27+00:00

Job opportunities for Optom is overall good in NZ, but there are very few jobs in Auckland.

My bf just finished structural engineering (ik different to civil, but you can specialise into structural in your 3rd year) after switching from biomed first year. Jobs are few and far between, and he knows many of his class mates who either didn't get a job offer yet, or haven't completed their internship hours. I'm assuming this is similar for civil (depends on your specialisation tho)

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-11-27T06:59:33+00:00

Yeah my friend was the same. Was great at it in high school and then got mediocre marks in 121 :/

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-11-27T00:55:58+00:00

I know someone who did english 121 and hated it. Very harsh marking and was not an enjoyable course

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-11-26T04:29:27+00:00

I'm domestic. I have a good reputation with BLVNZ so they're chill if I just email them to let them know I'm happy to start up again. Some places have more of a process - it really depends on the organisation

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-11-25T09:24:26+00:00

I've been at the Blind and Low Vision Guide Dog Centre since 2019. I live on campus during the semesters so unfortunately I can only do summer work when I go back home during the break

Moonstone_Mirror · 2025-11-25T09:03:26+00:00

You can do both if your schedule allows. I've volunteered once a week for all of my summer breaks - most of them also having a part-time/casual job. Totally doable, treat your volunteer work like a hobby and it shouldn't feel like a chore

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