The professional program leading to the Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) is four years in duration. During the first phase of the program, students learn the basic biological and visual sciences that constitute the foundation of clinical practice, as well as the fundamentals of ocular examination, treatment, and therapy. Rotations through various clinics in the University Optometric Center begin in the first professional year and continue with more and more responsibility into the third and fourth years. During one-half of the fourth year, interns rotate through off-campus hospitals and other health care facilities as part of the External Clinical Education Program. At the completion of the fourth year the Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree is awarded. Once the state board exam is passed, a license to practice is given, allowing the graduate to begin practicing.
SUNY to even further extend its leadership in optometric education through a curriculum revision to be implemented in the 2008-09 academic year :
Beginning with the 2008-2009 academic year, the SUNY College of Optometry will be implementing a revised professional program curriculum leading to the O.D. degree. The revised curriculum will be phased in beginning with the class entering in the Fall, 2008.
The revised curriculum will feature a semester system consisting of sixteen week semesters with each semester also divided into eight-week modules. Individual courses may be conducted for a full semester or within an eight-week module.
The revised curriculum will feature seven curricular tracks that will extend throughout the four years. These are:
Systemic/ Ocular Health
Clinical Examination
Refractive Conditions and Skills
Visual/Perceptual/Sensorimotor
Public/Community Health
Clinical
Integrative Seminar
Greater emphasis will be on integrating clinical knowledge and skills with basic science information. The integrative seminar which runs throughout the four years will permit small groups of students to learn by utilizing clinical case studies to improve their critical thinking and problem solving skills while bringing together information garnered through other coursework, both prior and current.
The faculty is confident that the revised curriculum will even better enable students to develop their abilities to provide thoughtful quality care to their patients and to be successful in their licensure examinations and in their future optometric careers.
|
