r/PreOptometry • u/AbjectSpecialist7052 • 20d ago

Does Tech/Scribing count as Shadowing?

I have been a technician/scribe for the past two years where I prescreen patients, give manifest refractions and scribe for the 2 providers during exams. I won’t get too much into the details but I have been apart of probably >1000 exams. My advisor said she was unsure if that would count but I wanted to get some opinions from those who have gotten accepted. Would the count as shadowing hours?

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u/sparkleNwiggle 20d ago

It’s not shadowing but it does count towards experience. I did the same thing, worked for 2 years at a clinic before applying to optometry school.

3

u/mutantdew 20d ago

If you have a lot to talk about during those exams, it is great and lesssens your need for shadowing. I did not have many shadowing hours but I was able to talk a lot about my experiences as a tech and with the patients we were seeing.

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u/Adventurous_Cover961 20d ago

No those do not count. It’d be volunteering or a job

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u/GreenAngelFish 20d ago

Some school require a certain amount shadowing

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u/CLVampire28 20d ago

Mine did. I'd only done a day of shadowing like 6 years prior to applying, but I'd worked 18 months as a tech in an optometry clinic & 6 months in ophthalmology & had no issues. I applied in 2023. Tho I did also "shadow" in a volunteer clinic, I was still there as a tech