Some of the stuff that I learned...

I learned quite a few things during the immersion period, here are 18 things summarizing what I learned during that period of time.

1 Being punctual- Apparently during most of the time of my immersion period my parents weren’t at home (during in the morning) so no one really did wake me up during that time. Something compelled me to arrive early however, (maybe it was the fear of disappointing my supervisor there) and somehow I managed time really well and got on time every day (or at least most of the times).

2 Taking the initiative on doing certain tasks and being adaptable- During the immersion period I learned how to build up confidence and take responsibility for my actions, as well so doing certain tasks without needing to be ordered to do so. One must also be attentive as to the available work at hand or if someone needs aid in doing something. Furthermore, I also realized that for one to be efficient at doing his /her job one must be willing to get out of his/her comfort zone to be more productive (such as when I introduced strangers to the clinic).

3 Responsibility to do the work done in time/ finish the task that you started- During the immersion period I learned that procrastination only leads to more work piling up in time and the best way to take care of that work is to finish it ASAP.

4  Having a positive mental attitude towards work - There are times when work/chores may seem somewhat mundane or vapid but developing a positive mental attitude towards and looking at how you can help people regain their vision can really motivate you to push through those times.

5 Greeting Patients/Clientele- During the immersion period I was able to greet the patients inside the clinic, and introduce them to the frames available in the clinic. This was a first for me since I’m not really that good at socializing much less trying to sell stuff to other people, so I was really glad that I sort of went a bit out of my shell during the immersion period.

6 I learned how eyeglasses work- Basically how eyeglasses work as explained to me by the optometrist is that our eyes may have relatively long eyeballs, having focusing power directly on point with the retina rather than on the surface, shorter ones or eyeballs that are not as elastic as the normal one causing loss of focusing power, which may lead to myopia or farsightedness/presbyopia. Lenses correct these problems by giving the eyes more focusing power by helping it focus more light with convex lenses or lose focusing power by diverging light through concave lenses.

7 I learned the different types of lenses -  During the immersion period I learned the different types of lenses or eyeglasses that are suitable for different purposes such as polarized lenses (for reducing glare), progressive lenses (for near and far vision), bifocal and trifocal lenses (for near and far vision but with a blatant opaque lens at the bottom that may not look nice), reading glasses (for reading…what were you expecting anyway?), and poly-carbonate lenses (for outdoor activities i.e. more durable).

8 I learned about the different types/brands of frames – While this one may not be the greatest achievement of all time, it certainly helped me pass the time by learning the brands of frames for glasses and their quality (I also discovered that there was a Spalding brand for frames for glasses, which entertained me for some time).

9 I learned how the optometrist efficiently estimates the optimal prescription grade for your lens- Through observation I was able to learn how the optometrist takes the patients grade effectively - which is by using the electronic device to get a good approximation of it and then testing out lenses close to that approximation on the patient to optimize the best lens for him/her.

10 I learned about different illnesses in the eye – During the immersion period I learned how to identify certain illnesses in the eye such as myopia, which is caused by having too long eyeballs which causes the light rays to focus at a point in front of the retina which can cause nearsighted ness, farsightedness or the lack of focusing power by the eye, astigmatism causing defects on the spherical curvatures of the eye, or presbyopia which is basically farsightedness due to age (as the lens lose elasticity overtime losing focusing power).

11 I learned how to read the computer receipt/analysis/results – During the immersion period the optometrist taught me how to translate the readings of the computer to meaningful results that can be exploited to help you approximate the best grade of your client – as the machine tells you how much focusing power/lack of focusing power your eyes have as well as what curvature axis it is (or what parts of your eyes have the problem). Essentially what it does is give you a baseline of the highest possible prescription grade an optometrist could give his/her patients or check if they have cataract (indicated by a huge difference in the sphere of the eye).

12 I learned how to write job orders/ receipts – During the immersion period I learned how to write job orders (as I really did write them) of the lenses (like writing the needed curvature for the lens on both eyes or for the right or left one).

13 I learned how to organize record files -  This was probably the one that took me the most time to do. An optometrist must keep records of his/her patients for reference in the future, like say organizing a thousand records in a cabinet so as to make them easily accessible (that was not so easy).

14 How to write a daily sales report – During the immersion period I learned how to write a daily sales report so as to calculate the total net income of the clinic during that day (by deducting the expenses from the profit) and had a glimpse on the business side of the optical industry.

15 I learned different optical terms – During my immersion period whilst writing record books and daily sales report I learned whtat different terminologies stand for such as ou (oculus uterque) which stands for both eyes, od (oculus dexter) for the right eye and os (oculus sinister) for the left eye; or cx, 180 cx 45, or cx 90 which stands for curvature axis and depends on what parts of the eye needs help.

16 I learned how to find the optical center of lenses – Finding the optical center of lenses is essential in crafting the lenses or the “jobbing” as they would like to call it so as to not make the patient feel dizzy whilst wearing the lens, which fortunately, the optometrist explained me how to do it during my immersion period.

17 I learned where the optical clinics get their lenses and how do they craft them for your preferred frames – I learned about the different companies that the optical clinics get their lenses for their patients, as well as how they sort of whittle the lens with a tool to make it fit in the frames that the clients chose, and of course, find the optical center of the lens.

18 I learned about the parts of eyeglasses as well as its’ maintenance – During the immersion period the optometrist explained to me the different parts of the eyeglasses as well as how to maintain it so as to maximize its’ usability (like not folding it in the neck of your shirt of placing it atop of your head, as well as clearing smudges on it with a soft cloth with one stroke as to not scratch it and sorts).

Overall, I reckon I could say that the whole experience improved me holistically and it sure is one that I would not forget for a long time.