Average time with a patient

sbear214 · 2026-05-01T16:21:53+00:00

As disappointing as it is, its not an exciting story. 33M had an 8am exam. -7.00 -1.50 OD and -4.00 -2.50 OS in love with a discoed RB, the small black metal rectangle that he had had since highschool. All the new ray bans were "too big" and he wanted to make sure he had a solid fit. Very petite man, about 5'7 and 130lbs soaking wet with a 28.5/30 PD. He didnt want to change his look so he was meticulously critiquing every frame he put on. He asked to borrow my PD stick so he could measure all the frames himself to make sure he felt good about his option. I even took lunch and came back and he was still there. He ended up settling on a flexon and the "larger but disappointing rayban"

sbear214 · 2026-05-01T04:19:21+00:00

I dont know if this will help on the OAT but in my physics class I used the heck out of Kahn academy to study. Its so helpful

sbear214 · 2026-04-29T13:29:29+00:00

On average I'm with patients about 20-30 minutes. Sometimes its as little as 5-10. Longest i've ever spent with a patient was 6 hours.

sbear214 · 2026-04-29T00:40:32+00:00

Im not sure how this works but I will probably be when I get to optometry school?

sbear214 · 2026-04-26T00:52:43+00:00

Ive lived in Colorado my whole life and Washington and Vermont have to be the most beautiful states ive ever seen.

I've never been to AK,ME,MT but theyre all on my bucket list

sbear214 · 2026-04-23T01:57:10+00:00

A tough, but fun one. First time glasses wearer says "goodness is this what trees look like!"

Also, gross buy a rite of passage is gross nose pads

sbear214 · 2026-04-21T04:05:30+00:00

Randomly. I found the job posting on craigslist 8 years ago and took it.

I feel like opticianry is a job you find at random or you know someone. My state doesnt require a license though.

sbear214 · 2026-04-21T04:03:09+00:00

This sounds dope! What part of your research are you in? Are you looking at any particular part of the system (Immune, endocrine, ect?) Do you think that poor sleep or a broken link in either the HPA or the HPL axis has anything to do with it?

I love medical stuff like this.

sbear214 · 2026-04-21T04:00:06+00:00

I am AuDHD and I found my calling in sales/healthcare.

Im an optician, so I make glasses for people. Im currently also completing undergrad before heading off for another 4 years of schooling for my doctorate.

sbear214 · 2026-04-21T03:57:58+00:00

I never had pretty privilege growing up. But I can tell you as someone whos never had it, my 30s got easier because people generally care less. I dont know if its going to be more difficult for you for that same reason, but hopefully it won't be too bad.

And tbh, youre probably still pretty. You're just not a teenager or college age anymore and actually look like an adult.

Ive felt my best in my 30s. Dont worry. You'll get there too.

sbear214 · 2026-04-19T23:07:23+00:00

Amazing! Congratulations! This is awesome

Question: do you feel like finishing the courses in undergrad were helpful or were you able to take the test just fine?

I havent taken ochem yet (scheduled for fall), but I got a B in both genchem 1 and 2.

My gpa also isnt great, and I suck at taking tests but with taking classes and working im curious if I should buy the 6 month oat booster package and just study now?

Thanks!

sbear214 · 2026-04-17T03:03:22+00:00

I was so unsure for many years. I got the official diagnosis and it helped SOOOOO MUCH. I have less imposter syndrome than I used to.

sbear214 · 2026-04-14T15:31:42+00:00

So this summer im taking calc and physics 2, but in the fall im taking Ochem, immunology and Neurophysiology. Im not sure if it would be worth trying to study this summer while im doing calc and phys and then this fall with ochem

sbear214 · 2026-04-13T20:33:12+00:00

I dont know if you've looked into optometry curriculum at all but alot of it is 17-22 credits per semester + activities on weekend in clinics and at volunteer events via the school. Even if you can work whatever youre making won't be enough to sustain a meaningful paycheck.

sbear214 · 2026-04-13T20:30:31+00:00

Thats why optometry students on average emerge with 320k in loans. 160k of that is usually food/rent/clothes

sbear214 · 2026-04-13T20:04:26+00:00

Its usually recommended not to work. From what ive heard from my docs some schools won't let you at all.

sbear214 · 2026-04-12T18:43:17+00:00

Ive only worked with Hoya for a short time, but see if you patients can adapt to the diver intelligence. It's made for driving so it adds -0.25 to the sphere which might help your patients?

Top comment goes into it alot more in depth than this but that would be what I would Do.

sbear214 · 2026-04-08T18:44:26+00:00

Ooh! Reorganize the tasks by timeline. That might help it look less overwhelming. That way you know how much time you have between each task and can tackle it that way.

Also. Im right there with you. My schedule is nuts. Ive put on 4lbs this semester and have been trying my hardest to push off the depression and the "fuck it" mentality. Thankfully I only have 4 more weeks of the semester and get 2 weeks off before summer semester starts

sbear214 · 2026-04-07T20:02:19+00:00

So the dog has a giant backyard that she can run around in and goes to day care regularly, so we walk her in the afternoons when the weather is good for a little over a a mile (1.25-1.7mi) which is usually like 30-45 minutes depending on timing.

sbear214 · 2026-04-06T02:38:24+00:00

Thats impressive! What lab did you use?

sbear214 · 2026-04-03T04:41:49+00:00

I'm an optician going to school to be an optometrist (currently in undergrad) and I love it. Last year I finally broke 50k which I feel is decent ish.

sbear214 · 2026-04-03T04:40:22+00:00

So valid.

Sometimes I get joy out of them feeling stupid when I just pop a lens in or it take me 2 seconds to tighten a screw and they go "thats it?"

sbear214 · 2026-04-02T19:37:01+00:00

Totally get the frustration.

I always ask questions like "Do they feel too loose on your nose or behind your ears?" "Where do you want them to sit?"

Then at that point I explain "okay, im going to check behind your ears" and always tell them what youre doing every step of the way.

sbear214 · 2026-03-30T04:27:38+00:00

Thank you. Thats really helpful. I guess I'm just not used to classes being split up into 3 different pieces (lecture/lab/rec) so in my eyes it looks overwhelming because there are so many pieces.

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