The Illinois College of Optometry Student Blog

This quarter I have been in Florida, The Sunshine State, enjoying the beach when it is warm enough. During the day, I spend my time surrounded by veterans at the Daytona Beach VA outpatient clinic. As this quarter comes to an end, I decided to write a blog about how the VA is different from other externships and what to expect if you haven’t been yet. The Patients: The patient population at the VA is very different compared to any other site you will go to. This population is

The third year at the Illinois College of Optometry comes with a lot of changes to student life. As we shuffle from class to clinic with lab in between, we often forget the optometric steps ahead of us. These steps I’m referring to are the long-awaited, reverently desired externship sites for our fourth year. Externship sites are where ICO students enhance our clinical knowledge base. We work in different modes of practice for the duration of the year. ICO, on the quarter sys