Many students want to know if doing a residency will increase their chances of being hired by an independent optometry practice. Although a residency is a great opportunity to expand ones skills in the field of optometry, it does not necessarily give a resident graduate an advantage in the increasingly competitive field of optometry. In most optometry offices the art of optometry is developed with a combination of education and
real world experience. Real world experience goes beyond the clinic and into the lives of people. People who are paying for your services and who have the opportunity to choose any eye care provider they want. Insurance does drive the public but most offices are all on similar insurances so the driving factor becomes the care the patient receives in your practice. The perceived care. This is different then the care that a great residency will teach you as the perceived care is the ability to take the patient’s problems and communicate them so clearly to the patient that they become an advocate for your office and your care. Most residencies do not train you beyond the walls of institutions and healthcare within those institutions. So this begs the question, residency, friend or foe?
Friend
- Interest development – Many students develop a strong interest in children’s vision, sports vision, or ocular disease. There is not a better way to begin your career then in a dry eye residency, if that is where your interests are at, and you are looking to make that a key aspect of your future practice.
- Alignment of your goals – If your goal is to be a faculty member or work for the VA, then a residency makes perfect sense and should be pursued. If you are looking to work at a referral center or alongside a corneal specialist then a residency will improve the likelihood of you reaching that goal sooner in your career. Knowing your goals is what makes a residency your friend.
- Improves clinical comfort – There is a difference noted in the clinic of a private practice when comparing a newly graduated optometrist to one that has been practicing a couple of years. The confidence required in clinical practice can only come when the head knowledge of school meets the heart knowledge of people. This usually requires patients that have a choice in their healthcare and their healthcare costs them something.
Foe
- Financial set back – Student debt is eclipsing $150,000 and will require a substantial amount of your paycheck the first 5 to 10 years of practice. Residencies are unfortunately underpaid positions and do not afford you the luxury of beginning the upward trek towards middle six-figure income as soon as what would be desired with such a large debt load.
- Establishing your practice – It takes anywhere from 3-10 years to establish a full schedule year around. Waiting a year will delay the process of building your practice. This is not necessarily a negative but will require you to delay gratification for larger purchases and investments you may desire.
- Resume – This is in the foe list because most students believe that a residency has more weight then what it actually has in the private practice job search. It is important that an optometrist applying for an associateship be competent in the clinic, but probably more of a differentiating factor is the perceived bed side manner that the potential hire will have. Doctors looking to hire associates know that the smartest most experienced clinicians are not always perceived as that by the patient. Many times a patient’s perception of care and competency is dependent upon the bed side manner and communication skills of the doctor.
Finding the right fit for your goals and dreams depends on you. There is no one that can say getting a residency is a bad idea. If your expectations are in the right place and you are doing a residency to sharpen your clinical skills, then a residency can only help you. If you believe that a residency is going to increase your pay in an independent optometry practice or increase your chances of an associateship/partnership, then you may want to forego a residency and head directly into the workforce as your experience will need to be developed beyond your clinical skills.
