Guest Lily Posted April 21, 2002 Report Share Posted April 21, 2002 Hi, I'm currently finishing my first yr @ UfT and I'm intending on applying to optometry school next yr. However, I'm worried that I might have to make up some of the prerequesite courses again...and not sure if it is worth it. Also, I have yet to take the require psychology course here but I am planning to do so next year. Does anyone know as to how Waterloo compare courses? Any help you can give will be appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeterHill0501 Posted April 21, 2002 Report Share Posted April 21, 2002 Lily, I have a background in Low Vision. All the information I have suggests that Waterloo's Optometry program is world class. I would say that it is among the best, if not the best, in the country. If you would like more specific information about the program I can put you in touch with the advisor I had during my Master's program...she knows several of the profs at Waterloo and is intimately familiar with the program. If you're interested in the Optometry program at University of Montreal, I also know one of the profs there...we worked together in the Low Vision Clinic at the Royal Victoria Hospital during my Master's program. Best regards, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hello Posted April 22, 2002 Report Share Posted April 22, 2002 Montreal and Waterloo are the only two canadian universities offering this program, if my memory is still good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lily Posted April 28, 2002 Report Share Posted April 28, 2002 Hi Peter, My apology for the late reply, but I would definitely like to get those contact info for the advisor. I would greatly appreciat it. Much thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PeterHill0501 Posted April 28, 2002 Report Share Posted April 28, 2002 Lily, Please e-mail me...my address is in my profile. I'll set you up with the appropriate people. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chw6922 Posted May 18, 2002 Report Share Posted May 18, 2002 Personally i can say that you will not be able to finish all pre-reqs within 2 yrs for Opt @ waterloo. i'm currently in Pre-Opt undergrad which prepares you to have all pre-reqs for Optometry, Meds, and Dentistries. For instances, u need bios such as 1. cell and molecular bio 2. genetics 3. microbiology 4. human physio 5. full yr chem & physics & math & psy 6. full yr organic chem 7. full yr english 8. recommanded taking biochem, human anatomy, histology, embryology..etc... all these course may take u at least 3 yrs i'd say.. what i've known: not many ppl survive in pre-opt @ waterloo for 2 yrs...( i'd say u have to compare the courses @ UT and WAterloo to match each pre-req courses) what i've heard: 2 ways u get into Opt @ waterloo 1. either u'r the smartest kid getting 88% ; but mostly got accepted u'r looking for 90's.. 2. or all ur family members r optometrists..~~=> with low grades such as mid 70's~80's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest browsing Posted May 18, 2002 Report Share Posted May 18, 2002 from that chart, I think a fairly good way to do it in 2 years are as follows: 1st yr bio/chem/phys/calc/engl X2 psyc X1 2nd yr physiology X2 orgo/ethics/biochem/micro/genetics/stats X1 the extra half credit in first year could be taken as a summer course probably. If I were to apply, I'd try after 2 years and if I didn't get in then I'd take a third year with the recommended stuff. >either u'r the smartest kid getting 88% ; but mostly >got accepted u'r looking for 90's.. I found this difficult to understand. If the smartest kid got 88% how could they find people getting 90's? >or all ur family members r optometrists how does this help? Do adcom's give bonus marks for this? Or does this somehow improve OAT scores? good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SIMETRA Posted May 18, 2002 Report Share Posted May 18, 2002 Peter, you are da bomb! It's so thoughtful of you to hook someone up with your contact. Kuddos Peter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 18, 2002 Report Share Posted May 18, 2002 Wow, taking that schedule sure would be taxing. Those are some mammoth course you would need to take to get in after 2nd year, and remember that taking such a course load, ie: difficulty of classes, might cause your grades to be slightly lower than expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest browsing Posted May 18, 2002 Report Share Posted May 18, 2002 nameless guy, you're right, I guess when it comes to "fast-tracking" through undergrad it pays to know your own strength. Rushing through things will do no good when it means below-par grades. Anyone with comments/ideas about the increasing competitiveness/requirements of non-med health fields? I've known for a while that Ontario schools have started to convert Physiotherapy/Rehab into a graduate program (only queen's is left?)... and optometry has these prereqs now. Maybe pharm and chiropractics are to follow? I wonder why they are making it sure a chore to get in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Liana Posted May 18, 2002 Report Share Posted May 18, 2002 Well, not so recently pharm was converted from a program where exceptional students could gain entrance straight out of high school, to one where you require a year of university (and most applicants have 2 or 3 years, I believe). Perhaps part of these changes are a result of society's changing perceptions on the urgency with which one must settle down into a career, but I wonder if these increasing requirements are also due to increasing number of qualified applicants - ie, fewer spots per capita. The shortage in number of medical doctors is well known - is this true for other healthcare fields as well (pharmacy, physio, opt, etc)? I imagine an aging population will put an increased demand on all aspects of healthcare, but are we also undertraining in other areas as compared to the number of students we were training (per capita) 10 or 20 years ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted May 30, 2002 Report Share Posted May 30, 2002 Here's a neat article produced by the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry which is a good read if you are interested in a career in Optometry. There's also a lot of information available on the ASCO website itself. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Optometry: A career guide:<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> www.opted.org/pdf/optCareerGuide.pdf www.opted.org/ Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tal Posted May 30, 2002 Report Share Posted May 30, 2002 I don't know too much about optometry, but I know that pharmacists and physiotherapists are in huge demand! (This is to answer your question Liana). For pharmacy at least: Going into Pharmacy now almost garantees a job straight out of school! And most get ones with $10 000 bonusues, cars, houses paid for, school paid for, and pay around $70-80 000 average, etc. depending on where you want a job. At Dal they did away with applicants having to take the PCAT, and increased the amount of students they take hugely! Right now, one of the largest ever Pharmacists shortage is going on. Like with Drs. They're losing many to the US, and all the other provinces are losing them to Ontario, since it only has one small Pharmacy school for the whole province. that's my rant about the pharmacist shortage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marmotYVR Posted May 30, 2002 Report Share Posted May 30, 2002 Wow, Tal, tell me where those jobs are that come with the house & car included - that'll soften the blow if I get a "thinvelope"! I think that is a bit of an exaggeration (or I am doing something very wrong!). There is, right now, what I would define as a "pseudo-shortage". That is, there are more jobs than pharmacists BUT, imho, there are also way too many jobs out there! Surely people have noticed that every Walmart, Zellers, grocery store, Superstore etc out there now has a pharmacy in it - not to mention all of the Shoppers and other chains on the street corner! You won't find too many newspaper reports about people not being able to find a pharmacist and get the drugs they need due to the "shortage"! As for the job/pay situation, a few chains in small, rural towns (the kind I'm sure Ian will one day want to work in ) are offering a company car, but this is not the norm. I have never seen offers of houses (well, OK, I have seen ONE - but that's b/c you live on a reserve, where it is illegal for non-natives to own a house, so they provide the housing free of charge...I worked there, and it was quite nice!). The hourly wage generally starts around $27/hr (with a 37.5 hr week = ~53K/yr) in hospitals, topping out at around $35/hr (~68K) . In community drugs stores, wages are generally around $35-40/hr (~83K/yr). From what I've seen, wages higher than that are advertised to "draw" you in, but collegues tell me these are exaggerated, and they end up getting around $40/hr. Personally, I make more than this hourly, but I do contract work, so I don't get paid vacation/pension plans/benefits - I'm a pharmacist without a drug plan - and without a fixed address! When you do the math, in terms of my lack of benefit pkg, I actually fall behind my collegues. That said, I have the freedom to take (unpaid) time off whenever I want, and to work wherever I want. If you are interested in pharmacy b/c you can own your own business, bear this in mind: it is almost impossible nowadays for small independent stores to compete with the big pharmacy chains, and many are going out of business. If you own a franchise in a big chain, they pretty much tell you how to run your store - so much for freedom. As far as I know, pharmacists are the highest paid of the "allied health" professionals - but, if I had to do it again, I would give up a bit of cash, and likely do OT. (Well, OK, I AM trying to do it again, and am trying for meds, but if I had to pick another allied health profession...) Check out medhunters.com - they've got loads of job listings, often with wages included. Loads of pharmacists are heading south - from what I was told a couple of years ago, about 65% of the UBC class was recruited to the US! There, they make (again, this is rumour) around $60/hr US. All these $$$ aside, I do not recommend pharmacy as a career, esp if you are wanting a meds "back-up". Look at PT/OT/speech path/dents/optometry/midwifery/nursing/dietician etc etc before think of pharmacy. Trust me. Marmot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tal Posted May 30, 2002 Report Share Posted May 30, 2002 Well you do obviously have more information and much more experience than me, so I probably was exagerating a bit. Especially since I don't really know a lot about pharmacy in other provinces. My mom is a pharmacist in NS. And is very involved with the Pharmacy college here. Almost every job here straight out of school for a pharmacist is upwards of $70 000 and I've taken a look at many offers from pharmacies and most included those perks I mentioned before. (I guess I just assumed it would be the same or higher for most other provinces, since everything else is.) Maybe it's just here (since like i said Ontario is pulling all our pharmacists away) but this is the largest pharmacist shortage here that anyone I talk to has seen. Of course, none of this at all applies if you want to own your own pharmacy! My parents did that for 20 years (there store is independent and still going strong as are many others here), but lets just say I never ever want to own a business! However now they're retired and my mom works at various stores where she also gets paid hourly, housing, travel expensises, etc. all paid for. Pretty good for being retired. The thing is no one ever thinks of Pharmacy. And if they did right away, one could be finished school making a great income after 5 years (here that means one could be 23 and set!) The thing that turns many people off med school is the many years of school before you make any money. And there are sooooooooooo many people doing BScs and they don't know what they want to do. Pharmacy is one option (and a really good one at that), but of course it depends on what you enjoy (ie chemistry and people). I think Pharmacy's a pretty good meds backup, I don't see why not! Again it depends on what you enjoy most) Don't turn anyone off of this, or any career path though. Send'em over here if you don't want them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marmotYVR Posted May 30, 2002 Report Share Posted May 30, 2002 You are quite right, Tal - I shouldn't turn people off a career in pharmacy. I do know of a few pharmacists who really enjoy it. Sadly, tho, I think a lot of people get into pharmacy thinking of the dollar signs, and not about what they will be doing to make that cash. There are certainly aspects that are great, and that were referred to in other threads: I have taken a good holiday every year - I've been to continental Europe, Nepal, England, Fiji, NZ & most of South America (2 trips) in the last 5 years. Certainly, most of my friends cannot afford to do this, either in terms of time, or money. But, at the end of each holiday, I dread returning home, and having to go back to work. I quite actively dislike my job, as do many of my colleagues. I have certainly met more pharmacists who dislike their profession, than those who enjoy it. I don't regret becoming a pharmacist per se, since it has afforded my loads of opportunities for fun outside of work. But ultimately, work takes up at least 1/3 of your life, so it is impt to enjoy it, regardless of the $$ or other perks! Anyone with questions re: "day in the life" let me know - I have worked in both hospital & community pharmacies, both in cities and rurally, so I have a pretty good perspective on the various options. Marmot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pharm student Posted June 1, 2002 Report Share Posted June 1, 2002 Hi Marmot (or anybody!), I am a pharm student just out of 3rd year. My 1st 2 years were horrible and I was pretty sure I wouldn't stick with pharmacy. After 3rd years...I think I may enjoy pharmacy as a carreer. I am considering applying to med in a few years (should a carreer in pharm be horrible). I worked as a tech in a community pharmacy and it was discouraging to see pharmacists work so incredibly hard (without breaks, lunches, etc...) and go home all grumpy. I'm not too sure if community pharmacy is for me. On the other hand, after a year in a hospital setting...I think I may enjoy it. Marmot, how did you get into hospital pharmacy (did you go through residency?). I would love to hear your experiences and story! One question...why med and not pharm? How long have you been out of school and did you have to go back and retake courses? Or do the admission committee look at the Pharmacy GPA. The thing that I'm worried about is that fact that my GPA is quite avg (I found the courses to be hard and a huge course load compared to other undergrad programs). Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted June 1, 2002 Report Share Posted June 1, 2002 Hi guys, If you're discussing Pharmacy, please post all future replies to the below URL so we can keep this Optometry thread on topic. pub125.ezboard.com/fpremed101frm0.showMessage?topicID=356.topic Thanks, Ian UBC, Med 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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