Lainey Pickens Post #3

Today, I shadowed in two sections of the clinic I hadn’t seen yet: optometry and retina. In optometry, I shadowed an ophthalmic technician, Emily, who works with Dr. Huff. Emily mostly conducted routine eye exams for adult patients of all ages. None of the patients we saw had any other ocular problems; they were just updating their prescriptions. I also learned that the eye test for people who wear contacts is slightly different, and the technician uses handheld lenses to test a person’s vision. 

Next, I followed a technician, Debra, in the retina subsection of the clinic. She was very talkative and answered lots of my questions about all things to do with ophthalmology. I learned that people with diabetes often have trouble with their retinas, and we saw a few patients with this problem. I also got to observe Dr. Benevento, a retina specialist, inject a diabetic patient’s eye to help preserve the stability of their retina. Yes, the needle went DIRECTLY into their eyeball! Yes, the patient was fully awake! Apparently, they have to get an injection every six weeks in that eye to try and keep their problem from worsening. 

The injection was the coolest thing I have seen so far, and I really enjoyed what I learned about the retina speciality today. I have requested to shadow in retina again tomorrow, so hopefully I will learn even more!

The picture is of Debra and me in the retina technicians’ office.