This past Thursday I took my preclinical proficiency exam. What is that and what does it mean? Proficiencies is a rigorous hands-on exam which second year optometry students must take to demonstrate that they have the knowledge and communication skills necessary to begin working with patients in the clinic.
It works like this - I'm assigned a day and time when I must arrive to the clinic in professional attire, including white lab coat. I'm assigned to a room which is the first of four "stations". When I enter there is a "patient" already sitting in the chair and a doctor who is there to watch and grade my performance. The patients are all 1st and 3rd year optometry students. As soon as the buzzer sounds the door closes and I have 25 minutes to get through a specific set of procedures and exam elements. The doctor watches me, but doesn't speak. I'm graded on whether I covered everything, how well I explained the procedures to the patient, if I went in a smooth and orderly manner, and how accurate my results were. At the end of the 25 minutes I get 5 minutes to pack up my equipment and walk to an adjoining room where I have a whole new set of procedures to perform. It's a nerve wracking two hours, but by the end I'm so relieved it's over.
From what I hear, it'll be another two weeks before we get our scores back. Assuming I passed, I'll begin clinic orientation in the beginning of May and a week later I'll be seeing my first patients! It's hard to believe I've almost reached the halfway mark!
