SUNY Annual Report 2019

Partnering With The VA and Military Advances Optometric Training Well-rounded clinical training creates a solid foundation for students to build their future practices. That is why fourth year students participate in at least 3 externships during their final year of study. Among those externships are 19 VA- and military- affiliated sites around the country which train over 100 students and 15 residents each year. For many of these sites with which SUNY College of Optometry has an affiliation, alumni serve as the supervisors continuing to share what they learned from their years at the College.

Jacquelyn Walter Dougherty, O.D. ’96 Buffalo Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Clinical Supervisor and Professor of Optometry “My work at Buffalo VAMC is very rewarding. My father is a veteran, and in some way, it’s a tribute to him. I mostly do primary care with some tertiary care. I also do specialty contact lens and some low vision. The College’s affiliated externship programs at VA centers around the country are important because having a variety of sites to choose from in unique locations is always a good thing. Our externship program is special because we try to make it as “real world” as possible for the students. I’m drawn to sharing my knowledge and putting their minds at ease that we are here to help people, not to see them as a number. With the VA specifically, observing and working with individuals with PTSD and other mental illnesses can open the minds of future professionals. They can see their patients the way no one else can, if they are open to it.”

Nicole Nowling O.D. ’18 United States Air Force, Captain “I am serving as an active duty officer in the United States Air Force, currently stationed at the Joint Base Elmendorf- Richardson (JBER) military installation in

Anchorage, Alaska. More than 10,000 active duty military personnel are based at JBER, and along with families, guards, civilians and retirees, the Anchorage community has a military presence of more than 42,000 people. I’m fortunate to experience the rewards of serving those who serve, every single day. I find that military members are extremely appreciative for the services provided to them; serving in the military shows us a different type of gratitude towards life and our well-being, and the importance of good health and positive morale. I am privileged to have the opportunity to serve my country, use my skills to provide outstanding treatment and contribute toward the excellence of our country’s Air Force. It also offers me opportunities for continued training and experience in optometry.”

Grace Tan, O.D. ’07 Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Externship Coordinator for the Optometry Clinic “Veterans are important members of our

Michelle Kim ’23 United States Navy, Lieutenant (O-3) Surface Warfare Officer “When I was applying to college, I knew that I wanted to become a doctor, but I felt

society and optometry has several unique ways in which we can help those who have served. By having externs rotate through VAs, we can teach them how to manage primary care and ocular disease in the aging population and how to detect signs of post-trauma vision syndrome in our younger returning veterans. While so many programs are fixated solely on ocular disease, we give our students exposure to those cases, help them manage or refer and co-manage, and then follow through with low vision and vision rehabilitation if needed. This wide range of exposure emphasizes how optometry can help patients with their daily tasks and return to civilian life. Training doctors in this environment feels more complete and teaches them that optometry should not be isolated in the private sector."

like I didn’t understand what was going on in the world. Having a deployment under my belt opened my eyes to the lack of availability of eye care, not just for people in underserved areas, but also for our deployed service members. Without this opportunity, students could easily never interact with the military and never gain appreciation or understanding for it, affecting future policies. Moreover, students get to use top notch technology, see interdisciplinary care in action and give back to those who have served. For veterans, students allow greater access to quality eye care; attendings who oversee students are able to care for more patients in a day and having two different perspectives allows for more discussion and better diagnosis."

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