Should You Do an Optometry Residency? Everything You Need to Know

What this episode covers

For many optometry students, graduation comes with one of the biggest career decisions they’ll ever make: Should they pursue an optometry residency or enter practice immediately? While starting a career offers immediate financial rewards, an optometry residency can provide advanced clinical training, specialized expertise, and the confidence to manage complex patient care. In this Defocus Media Podcast, Dr. Darryl Glover sits down with Dr. Whitney Powell to share her journey from optometry school to practicing in an OD/MD referral center, offering practical advice on choosing the right residency, navigating the application process, and aligning training with long-term career goals. Through firsthand experience, she explains how intensive mentorship, high-volume clinical exposure, and collaboration with ophthalmologists helped shape her career and why the right residency can become a launching pad for clinical excellence and exceptional patient care. Dr. Whitney Powell, Optometrist Topics Covered: Why Consider an Optometry Residency? Choosing the Right Residency Program What Is Life Like During Residency? How Residency Accelerated Her Career The Value of Collaboration Optometry Residency vs. Entering Practice: Which Path Builds the Strongest Clinician? Additional Resources Why Consider an Optometry Residency? Dr. Powell knew early in optometry school that she wanted to continue her education beyond graduation. Without prior experience working in an optometry practice, residency offered an opportunity to build confidence, gain advanced clinical experience, and explore the type of practice that best fit her career goals. Rather than focusing on the temporary financial sacrifice, she viewed residency as an investment in her future. The experience ultimately opened doors that would not have been available otherwise, particularly in ocular disease and collaborative OD/MD practice. Choosing the Right Residency Program One of the most valuable pieces of advice from the conversation was to start with your long-term career goals. Instead of choosing a residency based on location or reputation alone, Dr. Powell recommends asking: * What type of patients do you want to treat? * What practice setting do you see yourself in? * Which residency will challenge you the most? After completing an externship at an OD/MD referral center, she realized that collaborative medical eye care was exactly where she wanted to practice. That experience guided every residency application she submitted and ultimately positioned her for the career she enjoys today. What Is Life Like During Residency? Residency is demanding, but it provides an unmatched level of clinical exposure. Dr. Powell described long days filled with postoperative care, surgical consultations, glaucoma management,

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