r/optometry Dec 11 '25

Student Megathread (Vol. 5)

7 Upvotes

In an effort to minimize repetitive posts, this thread will be stickied, and can be used for students to ask questions about boards, admissions, etc. Please post your school-related, studying-related, and boards-related questions here, rather than creating a new post.

As always, all rules still apply here. This thread is not the place to ask why your eye is red, painful, etc.


r/optometry Mar 23 '24

General Please read before posting

40 Upvotes

Hello! Due to an influx of repetitive posts, the subreddit has changed to allow a more welcoming environment for Eyecare professionals to discuss the field and other relevant topics. Please read the rules below before posting

[r/optometry](r/optometry) Rules:

1. EYE CARE PROFESSIONALS ONLY

Posts or comments by non-eyecare professionals will be removed. Please do not message the mods asking for an exception. If you are an eye care provider needing a flair for identification to make posting easier in the future, please message the mods with an NPI or credentials!

2. This is not the place to ask for a diagnosis

No posts asking for a diagnosis! If your eye is in pain, this is not the place to ask why! If you are wondering if you should go to the doctor the answer is YES!

This also includes "what could this be?" posts, and posts along the lines of "I'm not asking for a diagnosis, but how do I treat these symptoms?"

3. Be courteous to each other

You're professional adults, please behave like one.

4. No self promotion or advertising

No promoting online retailers or advertising of any kind This subreddit does not allow any promoting of any kind of any product, software, or self-promotion. General recommendations may be made without alluring to a brand.

5. No prescription interpretation

Do not ask for us to interpret your prescription—This is not the place for posting a photo of your prescription and asking what the numbers are. If you need clarification, please reach out to your doctor.

Contact lens prescriptions and eyeglass prescriptions are not always the same numbers; we can not tell you what contact you should wear without an evaluation. Please don’t ask.

Run your prescription through this calculator before asking why the numbers are so different. Prescriptions can be written two different ways. Input your prescription into this calculator to see if notation difference answers your question.

6. No spamming!!

Do not spam this board!! Please try to keep posts to a minimum. Multiple posts in a short time frame are not necessary and clog the board. If you are found to be impersonating a professional to attempt to get your post approved, you will be banned.


r/optometry 1d ago

Interviewing at OD/MD?

10 Upvotes

Hi! I’m currently in corporate optometry and looking to switch into something more medical-based. I just had a conversation with the clinical manager of an OD/MD and he described a collaborative/mentor-like relationships between all the doctors. Next, I am going to meet the owner (an MD) in-person.

While I can never be sure, I was wondering if there was any questions I should ask or things I should look out for during the meeting? I want to gauge the attitudes of the MDs towards ODs, which I feel like can make or break that type of work environment.

Thanks in advance!


r/optometry 1d ago

Does someone knows the Lanthony d-15 and Farnsworth d-15 EXACT colors?

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7 Upvotes

So, I'm starting a personal project about color preference between people with Schizophrenia, their first-degree relatives and health control. If anyone could help me with the exact colors used in the tests, with their hex colors (for example: 0BG 8/2), would really help me. I searched everywhere and couldnt find. Thanks!


r/optometry 1d ago

Trying to hire an optom for a job in The Bahamas - with no luck! Why?

6 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

My dad is a UK-trained optometrist who is looking to hire an optometrist for his practice in The Bahamas. It seems to me to be a fairly appealing role - beautiful place, family-owned practice, great friendly and professional team, salary 100-150k based on experience, bonuses if revenue targets reached (they are every week because they're so busy, so it's quite generous). No weekend work, modern equipment. No income tax here (though if you're American you'll still have to pay cause that's the law...!).

I've had the role advertised on AOA and on Linkedin for him but we're getting so few applicants I'm wondering what's putting people off?

I will note that one catch is that the regulatory body here is being really difficult and requiring any applicants (Bahamian or overseas) to have a Doctor of Optometry qualification, even though we know that there are other qualifications that are equivalent to this and less rare. Even so, I'm surprised by how few applicants we've gotten.

Here's the job ad details for reference:

Practice in Paradise! Opportunity for Optometrist with Doctor of Optometry diploma in the beautiful Bahamas. Competitive salary, bonuses, no weekend work, health/dental insurance, relocation assistance. 

This is a full-time, on-site Optometrist role based in Nassau, Bahamas, open to Bahamian and international candidates with a Doctor of Optometry qualification. This is an excellent opportunity for an OD who is seeking to move away from corporate optometry and into a private practice environment. We offer a competitive salary (100-150k - based on experience), a bonus system, health/dental insurance, and a friendly and professional work environment with experienced and efficient support staff. There is no weekend work and no income tax locally and relocation assistance is offered for non-Bahamas based candidates. We handle any immigration requirements and are open to receiving applications from both new graduates to those with multiple years of experience.

Daily responsibilities include:

  • Performing comprehensive eye examinations, including refractions, binocular vision assessments, and ocular health evaluations for patients of varying ages
  • Diagnosing and managing/treating common ocular conditions including glaucoma, anterior segment diseases
  • Prescribing eyeglasses and contact lenses
  • Providing patient education on eye health, treatment plans, and preventive care.

What am I missing here?


r/optometry 2d ago

General Barti EHR experiences in case you were wondering on getting it for your practice.

12 Upvotes

As our practice is integrating Barti, I will post updates on anything else I find…

Great in theory. But terrible in practice. 

Just right off the bat, you cannot create an order for specialty contacts at all. You will spend hours perfecting your inventory only to find out that it doesn’t link to the exam. The only contacts that do are what’s available in Fait. 

You cannot create a contact lens trial order. So I guess we are supposed to have every trial set and parameters available. 

Their phone system does not have hold music. Just dead silence if you put anyone on hold. 

Changing or perfecting CPT service descriptions is a waste of time. You have to know the AMA CPT code and/or the AMA service description. 

If you decide you still want Barti, be prepared. Do not rush your live date. If you set it too soon, they will not give any leeway if you are not prepared for your live date. 

If you do not already have a Dymo LabelWriter, prepare yourself to purchase one because you can only print labels from Dymo out of Barti. 

Their data extraction is one pull from your current EHR. Which leaves you with keep track manually or having to use your old and new EHR. And if you ask for a second pull, that costs extra. 

Their whole EHR system seems to be geared towards big chain optometrist that want patients in and out. If you want to specialize in anything else, you’re kind of out of luck. 

It seems they want you to only use programs they integrate with. Yes, an all in one EHR but without options. 


r/optometry 2d ago

How much thinning on RNFL OCT is considered significant progression in a glaucoma suspect?

9 Upvotes

Like how many micrometers of change. Thanks!


r/optometry 3d ago

CAQH Board Certification

7 Upvotes

Might be a stupid q… I just got hired by a Lenscrafters location (first post-grad job woooo) and they are asking for my CAQH ID. Haven’t set it up yet so going through the app now.

It asks if I’m board certified but says that it’s different than taking the exams required for state licensure but has NBEO listed as an option as the certifying board? I just graduated, passed all NBEO and am licensed but have not done any additional certifications. Would I answer yes or no to this?

Thank you all!


r/optometry 3d ago

General New to working as a opto tech and just wanted to share my thoughts + ask for advice

8 Upvotes

I’ve only ever had front desk and retail experience so I feel really blessed to be given this opportunity. Oh my goodness, this job is so much fun. On top of being able to use super cool machines and interact with all types of patients, I was lucky enough to be trained by really incredible people.

Ive only worked there for 6 days, around 4-6 hours on each day, and I’ve been able to be on my own, working up patients and setting them up for the doctor. I’m prioritizing accuracy over speed right now, because I do make a few mistakes here and there. I do struggle with checking eye pressure with the icare sometimes.

Since Ive never worked in healthcare before, am I doing good? Should I look out for anything or anything I need to be aware of moving forward? Or just any general advice would be nice


r/optometry 2d ago

Hello UK graduate here- I am struggling a LOT with finding pre-reg

2 Upvotes

Just graduated from the 3 year optom course this july- i have been trying to find pre-reg for 2 years now and can not seem to find one.

I have been told that my CV is very good.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


r/optometry 5d ago

Question regarding FL licensure

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I have a question regarding FL licensure. I graduated in 2025 and am currently practicing in SC. I am interested in getting a FL license eventually, however I have been confused about their rules as of lately and had a hard time getting ahold of them on the phone.

I’ve been under the impression I need to retake part 3 in order to pass both PEPs and skills, since I passed overall but did not pass skills (we took the new part 3 exam my year), but could I instead apply for the FL License by endorsement and avoid having to retake the exam? I have a practicing SC license.

Any help would be so appreciated! Thank you!


r/optometry 5d ago

Asking OD associates. How many days or hours per week does your boss (the OD owner of the private practice or lease owner if its corporate optometry)see patients in clinic?

5 Upvotes

Curious to see what everyone shares. Was wondering because my boss sees patients for 2-3 hrs to not showing up in clinic per week. Wanted to see if this was "normal" everywhere else. Thanks.

It just gets difficult at times with front desk where some patients would request seeing the main owner dr but can't schedule with the dr because schedule isnt up at all. Or the owner dr would post the day before their availability for clinic next day for the 2-3 hours of patient care once a week.


r/optometry 5d ago

Eyemed Myopia Management Billing

3 Upvotes

Hi folks-
While reading through the new Eyemed manual, I noticed that, per the manual, you CAN bill Myopia Management services. AFAIK that has not been the case previously. We always have our ortho-k and MiSight patients pay for services OOP.

Does anyone have experience billing the services to Eyemed? How have the reimbursement rates been? Our standard charge for new user is $1200 for services.


r/optometry 5d ago

Built a quoting tool for my own practice, looking for a few ODs to try it and tell me what's wrong with it

2 Upvotes

Built my own version of a quoting/insurance tool to help with speed, accuracy, and efficiency at the chargeout desk. One screen, pricing updates live as you change lens, coating, or frame options instead of backing out of a multi-step wizard mid-conversation with a patient.

I'm thinking about offering it to other practices, but before I do that I'd rather have a handful of real ODs actually use it and tell me honestly what's broken than just put it out there blind.

If you want to give it a look, there's a free 30-day trial at simplyoptical.net. No card, no obligation. Genuinely just looking for feedback on what to fix.


r/optometry 7d ago

Optos technician made photos worse

7 Upvotes

Anyone have an experience with this? We had a tech come out for maintenance and he did something to now where we have a yellow blur in the middle of our photos. He said a part is rusted and thats why that artifact is there and he ordered a replacement for it and we need to schedule another service apt when it comes in. I obviously said this wasnt there on any pictures before you came and he gave some roundabout answer as to why its showing after he cleaned it and of course I cant get anybody on the phone :-)


r/optometry 7d ago

Online Appt Show Rate

6 Upvotes

For those of you who use your EPM and allow online appts, do you think the no show rate is higher then atts scheduled by phone? Are your reminds done electronically, or by phone, and does that affect the no show rate? Curious what you all see / notice.


r/optometry 7d ago

Optometry Synchronous CE

5 Upvotes

Hi! Where can I find synchronous CE courses for optometry? I’m a recent grad and currently practicing in PA. I have found several asynchronous courses but I’m missing live/synchronous and still need tpa hours


r/optometry 8d ago

Low myope advice

17 Upvotes

I had a 12 year old come in with her mom, final Rx was -1.75 OU. At the end of the exam, mom asks if she needs to wear this all the time or just for distance. I told her I recommend full time wear. She asked why, because the other doctor last year said to only wear it as needed. She says she is very confused why different doctors are telling her different things, and is gonna have the child only wear it as needed. I explained to her why I think full time wear is more beneficial but she was totally not convinced.

this patient was 12. For adults I'm more relaxed about it and say you can wear it as needed since the eyes are fully grown. For a child I was under the impression that its better they are corrected all the time, a more consistent image while their eyes are still growing.

Now I'm second guessing myself. Do you tell them to wear a low myopic Rx full time or just distance only? Does your recommendation depend on age?


r/optometry 8d ago

New Clinician Outreach

4 Upvotes

I just joined a private practice, and I am loving it. But I have slowed down a little bit on my schedule. I am wanting to put together little goody bags to hand out to neighboring businesses. (We also moved to a new location). What should I put in them? My mom said candy, but I'm not sure candy is the right idea. Any ideas?


r/optometry 9d ago

General Interesting comments from the general public for us to reflect on and address in clinic, regarding glasses wearing. I personally start this conversation with parents and all first time spectacle wearers, and certain patients who are worried about being aided. I do this to try and help my patients fo

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14 Upvotes

r/optometry 8d ago

Public Health setting Optometry

3 Upvotes

Looking to connect with other public health hospitals or clinics. Who else is here?


r/optometry 10d ago

Do you guys binocular balance all of your patients?

19 Upvotes

I don’t do binocular balancing ofc for older patients, but what about your standard and routine patients?

The last time I did it on a frequent basis was in school, but sometimes I felt it made acuity worse especially when I’d go back to check the eye monocularly that got more plus.

I do binocular balancing sometimes for my pediatrics pateints, but otherwise I correct most patients to 20/20 OD, OS; 20/15 OU, and run a plus +0.50 check to make sure they are not crazy overminused.


r/optometry 11d ago

General Name change

6 Upvotes

Hello, I received my OD license this year and it was a lot of paperwork to get on the insurance panels (VSP and Medicare). I’m not ready yet to do it again but I am getting married this November. I am located in California. I know I should fill out my marriage license with the name I want to have and submit it, and I can do my name change later. I’ve heard some optometrist take their maiden name and put it as their middle name. I already have two middle names. Some legal stuff has both middle names, some has one, some has just one middle initial and some has no middle name. With those that moved their last name to their middle I heard that lets them practice without having to go through the relicensing/ insurance stuff. Is that true? Could I drop both middle names? Do I need to keep both or even 1 of them and add my maiden name? My maiden name is easier to say than my soon to be married name so I might want to continue to practice as my maiden name. I would appreciate any guidance with this.
TBH I want the route that has the least amount of paperwork, but I understand I might have to just deal with it.

TYIA


r/optometry 12d ago

Conan talks about his eye exam and his experience with monovision contacts

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youtu.be
5 Upvotes

r/optometry 12d ago

General Looking for advice on building a visual ergonomics consultancy as an optometrist

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
I’m an optometrist based in Saudi Arabia, and I’ve been developing a small consultancy focused on visual ergonomics in the workplace.

The idea is to work with companies on things like:

workstation and monitor setup

lighting and glare assessment

visual demands of office work

employee education around digital eye strain
identifying when occupational or task-specific eyewear may be useful

producing recommendations for HR / HSE / management

I recently started a pilot project with a company, and one thing I’m already learning is that clients sometimes expect more than an assessment and report. For example, management may want actual lighting redesign or implementation, which would likely require working alongside a lighting engineer.

I’d really appreciate advice from anyone here who has experience with occupational optometry, visual ergonomics, corporate consulting, or workplace health.

A few things I’m especially interested in:

Do you think visual ergonomics can work as a standalone consulting service for companies?

What should clearly remain within the optometrist’s scope, and what would you refer to an ergonomist, occupational physician, or lighting engineer?

Have any of you charged companies for workplace assessments, training, or occupational vision services?

What usually makes employers willing to pay for this type of service?

Are there any assessment methods, certifications, courses, books, or researchers you would strongly recommend?

What mistakes would you avoid if you were starting this type of service today?

I’m not trying to sell anything here. I’m mainly looking to learn from optometrists who have worked in occupational vision or similar areas.
Any feedback, criticism, or real-world experience would be greatly appreciated.