Modern Optometry with Dr. Will To
There have been rumors about saturation of optometrists. To keep patients healthy, there should be 4,000 patients to 1 optometrist in the region. In the United States the average number of patients to optometrists is 7,916 to 1. In ten years, the projection is 6,672 to 1. So you should not be worrying about job security and you should be able to live wherever you want (except maybe Chicago). However, it has become more saturated due to many optometrists working past 65. In recent years, the percentage of non-retiring optometrists has increase from 8-12% to 20%.
The two "dirtiest words" in healthcare are change and complacency. You can see both of these on "ODS on Facebook". Older optometrists perceive us as impatient and lazy. They feel threatened by us because every year the curriculum gets increasingly difficult, making us more capable than any class before us. An example of this is when optometrists who graduated after 2008 became licensed to treat glaucoma. These graduates make up almost a quarter of the current 40,000 practicing optometrists. Only 30% of the practicing optometrists are certified to treat glaucoma, meaning very few optometrists who graduated before 2008 bothered to become certified. When going into private practice it is important to create your brand. You should ask yourself, "What does success mean to me?". It is recommended to not try to fit a template, but to be flexible. When building your brand, you should be handsome, be attractive, and not be unattractive AKA it's about how you present yourself. Have attractive qualities such as integrity, confidence, and charm, while still be authentic to yourself.
It helps to make a good first impression because the optometry community is very small, so making connections are important. Put yourself out there and be proactive. Go to conferences and meet NEW people: students, representatives, and doctors. Attend conferences when you are student because it is cheaper than when you are doctor. These connections can get you a job. There are plenty of jobs available after graduation. You may not get your dream job right away, but the more connections you make the sooner you can achieve your goals. Don't miss an opportunity because you are worrying about paying off your loans immediately. It is suggested to take a year off before refinancing so you can have some liquid assets.
You should shoot for $100,000/year, $400/day, or $50/hour. At a private practice, the profit is about a third of the gross income. Then the owner takes a third of that, so you need to be $500,000 doctor to be worth the owner's money. If each patient pays $300 per visit and see 2000 patients a year, you get $600,000 gross and $120,000 profit. You can get paid by performance or hourly/daily. Performance-based salary is best when patients will not be deterred by weather or other environmental factors. A hybrid of hourly and performance based salary may work best, such as $250/day plus 10%, that way you still make money if no patients come in. Note: You can keep up to date with Vision Monday, a weekly email. You should know the industry, not just the profession.
During questions: approximately 25% of new graduates do residencies. Others go into business or public health. Halfway through your fourth year you will know if you want to do residence or not based on your confidence at your externships.
