Meeting Minutes
1st General Meeting: September 29th, 2009
1. President, Rachel Sharrock, called the meeting to order and introduced Sally Haltom.
a. Sally is the Adviser of the Pre-Opt club and has been for 12 years.
b. She is also the Director of Student Affairs and is on the Admissions Committee
c. Please contact Sally, Paul Todd, or Justin Griest for official information about applying or getting accepted to The Ohio State University College of Optometry.
d. There are THREE new Colleges of Optometry this year in Texas, Arizona and California.
e. She encouraged applicants to contact her with any questions about the admissions process, so she can correct any misperceptions or incorrect information that may be out there
f. Sally can be contacted at (614) 292-2647
g. The Pre-Optometry website will have updated information and weekly minutes, so check it out at http://optometry.osu.edu/preoptclub
2. Rachel asked if everyone was receiving e-mails or possibly error messages. Please let us know if you are not on the listserv!
3. Club Dues of $25.00 should be paid to Joe Blake as soon as possible. Cash or checks made out to the OSU Pre-Optometry Club
4. If you planned to attend the EastWest Eye Conference this weekend, please stay after the meeting.
5. The next meeting (10/13) will be off-campus at a Sports Vision Clinic near Riverside Hospital.
a. Please come at 5:45 PM next week, and bring your car if you are willing to drive! We will be leaving promptly at 6 PM.
b. If you do not drive that is NO problem, please just meet in the lobby of Fry Hall.
6. Rachel passed out sheets including information of prerequisites for the Optometry schools in the country, as well as the contact information for optometrists in the Columbus area.
7. We are taking a trip to visit Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University on Nov 6-7
a. A tour of the school, meeting professors will be done on the morning of the 7th.
b. The cost will be ~$25 for the hotel room plus a little bit of gas money
c. Please sign up if you are interested and if you can drive.
8. The club is signed up for intramural indoor volleyball on Mondays at 8PM
a. Please sign up if you are interested.
b. Our first game is in two weeks, so bring your best spikes/digs and come play with us!
9. Rachel introduced the officers of the Pre-Optometry Club. These students are old-timers and are here to help! Feel free to ask any of these peers about prerequisite classes, the application process, the optometry field, working in an optometrist?s office, etc.
10. Tours of the College of Optometry were given by Sally and the Optometry Ambassadors.
2nd General Meeting: October 13th, 2009
1. The club traveled to Riverside Eye Associates at 3600 B Olentangy River Rd, near Riverside Hospital.
2. Dr. Steven Curtis, OD, gave us a tour of his private practice, as well as described his favorite aspects of the field of optometry.
3. Dr. Curtis performed a retinal scan on several students, showed the club the images, and discussed the importance of such tests.
4. Dr. Curtis then gave the club a tour of his Vision Performance Center in the basement of his practice. a. The Vision Performance Center is used for children with learning disabilities, elderly patients working on low vision skills, as well as sports vision. b. Dr. Curtis especially enjoys working with Ohio State athletes, improving their vision to improve their game.
5. Dr. Curtis allowed several students to participate in the vision therapy "games", and explained how they are beneficial.
6. Dr. Curtis opened the floor to questions, and invited all students to come back for a day of shadowing. If you are interested, please contact: Dr. Steve Curtis at (614) 451-7244. www.RiverviewEyeAssociates.com
3rd General Meeting: October 27th, 2009
1. Rachel called the meeting to order and introduced Drs. Stephanie Haas and Juliana Lam from the Columbus Veterans Affairs Hospital Optometry Clinic.
a. They discussed the VA residency program: 12 months long (6 months in
Columbus and 6 months in Chillicothe)
- They have didactic Rotation, TA at OSU Optometry Clinic, and attend the
Ophthalmology Grand Rounds.
b. Typical VA patients are male between 50-70 years old with high blood
pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. Most patients have glaucoma, macular
degeneration and/or diabetic retinopathy.
c. The Drs. discussed diabetic retinopathy, showed retinal scans of patients, and discussed treatment.
e. An OCT machine helps tract various eye diseases and is a technology readily
available in VA clinics
f. They love working for the VA because they have access to all their medical files, and
are able to order more tests.
g. The doctors discussed seven of their personal cases and then answered questions
2. Julie from Kaplan came to talk about the OAT Kaplan course offered.
a. A free practice test is held at 3:00pm every Wednesdays for walk-ins at their
office on High St.
b. Kaplan is giving away $25,000 to a newly enrolled student in their program,
sign-up at www.kaptest.com
3. The Club wished a Happy Birthday to members Michael Mai, Joe Blake, Rachel Sharrock and Stephanie Palmer
4. Rachel reminded the club to pay their dues of $25 to Joe Blake before or after any meeting.
5. A Pumpkin Carving Social will be held tonight after the meeting, so feel free to stay!
6. A Club trip is planned to the Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University.
a. We will leave on Friday November 6th after classes, and plan to return in time
to watch the Buckeyes' game on November 7th.
b. Contact Jacque Seaman (.36) if you're interested in going
7. Julie announced the Club's Intramural Volleyball schedule:
a. Games are held Monday nights at the ARC at 8:30
b. Please sign-up if you are interested in playing!
8. The next club meeting with be held on November 10th in room 239 Fry Hall
a. Dr. Joan Nerderman will be discussing eye anatomy and physiology.
Cow Eye dissections will be available!