Research
Assessment #1
Subject: Qualities of a good optometrist
Source: Wong, Andrew.
"Berkeley Optometry Focus." Berkeley Optometry Focus.
University of California, Mar. 2005.
Web. 14 Sept. 2014. <http://optometry.berkeley.edu/focus_magazine/focus02_wong.html>.
Assessment:
In order for my ISM
journey to be successful, I need to know what qualities and skills are present
in a good optometrist. As I researched, I came across many of the same
characteristics and skills. Almost every site said that good optometrists are
compassionate, caring, attentive, and have high scientific aptitude. But, one
article in particular, written by Andrew Wong, stood out. Wong emphasized that
everyone has different ideas of what makes a good doctor, and rather than let
others dictate the doctor we become, we should “recall [our] personal vision of
a good clinician and aim to become that kind of health care professional.”
After reading the
article, I began to think and recall the first childhood image of what I
thought was a good doctor. In my mind, the first image that appeared was one of
my optometrist. I remembered the day when I entered her office and how I was
extremely anxious as I didn’t want to get glasses. Yet when I finally met her,
she was immediately able to calm me down and understand my worries. Instead of
simply telling me to get over my fear of glasses, she actively worked with me
to come up with a solution and prescribed me ortho-k contacts. One other quality
I liked about her was how patient she was. Even though my ortho-k contacts
didn’t fit right at first, she kept working with me and after three or four
revisions they fit perfectly, giving me 20/20 vision. Thus, she never gave up
on me, and kept trying until everything was perfect. To me, she represented the
ideal doctor I one day hope to become.
Reminiscing on this
encounter immediately made me realize the qualities I have and the ones that I
need to work on in order to become a good eye doctor. While I think I have the
scientific aptitude and work ethic to become an optometrist, I think what I
need to work on most are my communication skills. I want to be able to make
personal connections with my patients and make them feel like they are in good
hands. As well, I want to make my patients feel like they are welcome and want
them to enjoy coming to me. In order to achieve this, I will pay more attention
to the subtle things I do such as how I use my body language to portray my
feelings. As well, in my everyday life, I will try to hold more conversations
with people and practice making connections with them.
One other thing I
learned from reading Wong’s article was that student’s often try to impress
their teachers or mentors and often find themselves, subconsciously or not,
conforming to the qualities their teachers value. To make sure I develop the
qualities I think are important in an eye doctor, I must choose carefully who I
want to be my mentor. When I am choosing my mentor, I will be sure to look for
someone with good communication skills. I want my mentor to be someone who is
patient and compassionate so I can develop the same qualities he or she has. I
will also be looking for a mentor who is not afraid to point out my flaws and
tell me when I am wrong. I understand only through recognizing and learning
from my mistakes will I be able to improve and work towards my goal.
In the end, the article
made me realize that I didn’t need to spend the time searching for what
qualities make a good eye doctor. The truth is everyone has their own ideas of
what makes the ideal doctor and no matter how hard I try, I won’t be able to
impress everyone. Rather, I simply need to pursue and work on the qualities I
think will make me a good eye doctor.
