Blog 10 - Interview 2 Reflection

1. Please explain how you are spending your mentorship time (Is it at a workplace or somewhere else? Are you shadowing? Are you able to do tasks that are meaningfully related to the topic? If so, what? Are there other people who are experts in the location? Etc...)

My mentorship time is spent working in the optometrist's office. I get to observe how the doctor and his opticians work with the patients, and there are a variety of them. I also get to learn about the financial aspect of optometry. 

2. How did you find your mentor? How did you convince this person to help you? 

I found this mentor through my Aunt who has been this doctor's optician for 13 years. I know the doctor fairly well and he agreed to help me out.



3. How would you rate your comfort level with your mentor at this point in your relationship? How does this relate to the time you've spent so far at mentorship/with this person

 My comfort level with Dr. Spaulding is about 7/10. We will hopefully grow closer as I begin to work with him more. Recently I haven't been able to talk to him as much as I'd like because he has been busy with patients. 

4. What went well in this interview? Why do you think so? What do you still need to improve? How do you know? How will you go about it?

I believe I learned quite a bit from Dr. Spaulding regarding his background and how he started. I think it went well because I allowed him to speak and the interview was not rushed in anyway. What I still need to improve regards my interview questions and I know for a fact that I need to dig deeper. Doing this will require me asking more in-depth questions. 

Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

My mentor is Dr. Donald H. Spaulding, O.D and I have an interview scheduled for this weekend. 

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within 

your topic. Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons. 

When doing my research I came upon two specific areas of optometry that I would be interested in studying further: Doctor-Patient Relationships and Optometry/Psychology Collaboration. They are both unique and interesting to me, I just need to figure out how to get myself further involved in the two of them.

3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth? Where will you go to get them?

I think I will use my mentor as a source. Most of my sources will most likely come from online research and perhaps a couple of books. These will help me go in depth regarding the Psychology/Optometry collaboration.

4. Write down a possible EQ. Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers. At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

What is the best way to reduce patient non-compliance? 

Blog 8 - Independent Component 1 Proposal

Independent Component 1

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

I actually plan to work extra hours for Dr. Spaulding at his office in Upland. I'll get to have more conversations with him and get to know him better. I'll also get to do more stuff around the office rather than observe, such as being taught more stuff about how to work with patients and perhaps even working with them face-to-face.

2. Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

I will work 30 extra hours of service and photograph my time there for evidence. I will also have the doctor sign off on the hours that I did.

3. Explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

Being in the office more will allow me to get a better perspective on how the doctor and his opticians work with the patients and make them comfortable. 

4. Update your Senior Project Hours log.

Senior Project Hours are Logged. 

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