Thirteen months ago, four new residents arrived at the Waterloo Eye Institute fresh out of optometry school. When they were fourth-year optometry students, they’d been through clerkships – full-time internships where they practiced under supervision at clinics across North America – but this was something different. This was an opportunity to immerse themselves in a specialized area of optometry.
At the time, Drs. Natasha Bhanot, Joanne Jin, Ivana Latalisa and Bella Phan were a little nervous about practising more independently as newly registered doctors of optometry. Now, as they wrap up their residencies, they’re confident, knowledgeable and ready to take the next steps in their careers.
Residencies are optional post-graduate programs for early-career optometrists who want to develop their expertise in areas such as ocular disease, advanced contact lenses, pediatric eye care or low vision rehabilitation.
Because they’re based at the Waterloo Eye Institute, which attracts patients who need specialized care from across the province and sometimes beyond, they get to see more patients who need that care than they would at the average private practice. (Some residencies also have residents practice part time at another large, specialized clinic.) The result is that residents gain the equivalent of what would normally be years of experience in their area of interest in just one intensive year.
