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To see a video about the 3rd Annual Career Symposium, scan the QR code (right) or visit www.youtube.com/ sunyoptometry

Career Symposium Enlightens and Inspires

The SUNY College of Optometry was buzzing about the future last spring during the College’s 3rd Annual Career Symposium: Imagine Tomorrow. The full-day event assembled a collection of distinguished professionals to provided students and other members of the SUNY community with an informed glimpse at what the future of optometry might look like. Two dozen experts from across a broad spectrum of the optometric community and beyond took part in a variety of fast-paced, interactive panel discussions on such issues as employability, technology, interprofessional practice and more. President Heath noted in his welcoming remarks to the audience that one of the College’s goals is to ensure that the overwhelming majority of students who attend SUNY Optometry end up in satisfying careers of their choosing. Events like the annual career symposium are designed specifically as tools to help the members of the College community achieve that important goal. A major theme of this year’s event was the globalization of the profession, something that was reflected in the international nature of many of the symposium’s participants. Dr. Fan Lu of Wenzhou Medical University in China, Dr. Hector Santiago who has worked for three decades on the development of optometric education in Latin America and beyond were two of the panelists, while Dr. Jason Singh, the event’s keynote speaker, is the executive director of OneSight, a nonprofit organization that is working to create sustainable solutions for vision care around the world. “The energy, the enthusiasm, the collection of talent and the wide range of issues that were addressed helped to make this year’s symposium the best one yet,” said Mr. Francisco Lucio, SUNY Optometry’s director of career development. “It was a great opportunity for the members of our community to really dig into the issues that will matter for their careers in the coming years.”

E y e o n t h e F u t u r e . . . Graduate Residency Program

SUNY Optometry has developed a highly unique residency/graduate program that is designed to produce clinician-scientists with a particular focus on translational and clinical research. This combined program concentrates on primary care/pediatrics, cornea/contact lenses, vision therapy/ rehabilitation/ traumatic brain injury or ocular disease. The focus areas of the residency complement the research interests that are developed through the graduate degree work. The program takes place over a two- or five-year period depending on whether the participant is pursuing an MS or PhD degree. The participants in this innovative program are expected to devote half their time to residency and clinical activates and the other half to graduate studies and research.

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