Blog 7 - Second Interview Preparation

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?  If their workplace does not reflect their expertise, what makes them an expert?

My mentor is Donald H. Spaulding.He graduated from the Southern California College of Optometry in 1979 and since 1980, he has been practicing Optometry in the city of Upland. 

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

1.  Why did you choose to become an Optometrist, what inspired you?
2. When did you open your office? What was it like at first?
3. What is your favorite part about being an optometrist?
4. Do you have any special techniques for working with a patient? 
5. What are some tips you can give me when working with a patient?
6. Do you have any people you would recommend I talk to for future references?

Blog 6 - Advisory Prep

1. What has worked well for you concerning senior project this year? What has made it a positive experience for you? 

Well, what has worked well for me is the fact that my Aunt is an optician and has connections to many people in the field of optometry and ophthalmology. It's easier to connect with other professional through a professional you've known for years. So it makes it a lot easier because you know and trust they are guiding you in the right direction.



2. What are you finding difficult concerning senior project? How can you adapt to make that portion work better for you? How might the senior team help?

I'm not finding many things difficult currently in this Senior Project, but I am sure that in the future there will be difficult things ahead. The senior team cannot help me in any way and I am perfectly fine with that. If there are difficult things that I may have to face, I can adapt to them by just focusing on one thing at a time while also being efficient at it. 

Blog 5 - Interview 1 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview? Is there anything I would do differently for other interviews?

The most important thing that I learned from this interview is that there is more to the optometry field than I thought there was. It is a much more complex field and requires a lot of patience. For other interviews, I believe that I would allow the interviewee to review the questions before doing the interview. That way they are much more prepared.

 2. Did I get additional resources and contacts? What is the most useful? Why?

I was quite surprised when I was able to get an ophthalmologist as a recommendation, I actually had no idea that my aunt was actually friends with one. It will make things a lot more interesting since I now have all levels of the eye medical field. My mentor, an optometrist, and other doctors in this field will help me quite a bit when it comes to studying the patient and doctor relationship.


3. What makes my interviewee qualified to help me?

My interviewee has been an optician for 27 years and has worked with her employer, my mentor,  as his optician for 13 and a half years now. She has worked with quite a bit of patients and has a lot of advice to offer me.

Interview 1

Blog 4 - House Advisory Prep

The things I hope to accomplish through my senior project topic are:

1. Acquiring the knowledge needed to work in an environment such as a doctor's office. 
2. The knowledge needed to work with patients even at the most inconvenient moments. 
3. I hope to learn many things about optometry, as it is actually something that I am quite interested in.

That's pretty much it for now, but I am sure there will definitely be many more things that I hope to accomplish as the year goes on, but as of this moment, I am focusing more on the Patient-Doctor relationship aspect of optometry because trust is one of the most vital parts of any given job, especially when it comes to medical practices.  

Blog 3 - First Interview Preparation

1) Who do you plan to interview? Why?
For my first interview, I plan to interview my Aunt who is an Optometrist Assistant. Optometrist Assistants are similar to Opticians and assist with fixing frames and ordering prescription lenses and contacts. She's been working with my mentor for quite a while. She would help me get familiar with some of the patient connections side of the field.

2) What are some questions you would ask besides the five required ones?
Some questions I would ask are:

• From your perspective, what do you like most about working with your current optometrist?
• Tell me about your relationship with the doctor.
• Tell me about some of the things you need to remember when working with the patients.