“I have really enjoyed being able to work with qualified optometrists to put skills we have learnt about into context to manage real life patients and conditions.”
Ally started her Doctor of Optometry in 2022, after also completing the Bachelor of Biomedicine (Major: Immunology) at the University of Melbourne in 2021. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand and moved to Melbourne, Australia to complete high school.
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Why did you decide to study at the University of Melbourne?
In high school I really enjoyed science, and the idea of a health science related career appealed to me, however I didn’t know exactly what area I was interested in.
I decided to study the Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne as I really liked how the course both explores a wide range of topics as well as having the opportunity to major in an area we are especially interested in, and the opportunity to pick breadth subjects outside of science allowed me to explore interests outside of science and even find some new ones.
I really liked how the campus is:
- …so close to the city, making it very accessible to travel to and from and being located so close to the vibrant Melbourne city life, and
- …a part of the Biomedical Precinct it has ties to many groundbreaking hospitals and research facilities.
Nearing the end of my degree I knew I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare, and while looking through potential pathway’s Optometry caught my eye as I was always interested in what was happening when I went to see my own optometrist! I also enjoyed the balance of coursework and placements, getting practical experience from our first year, and also opportunity to do a research project.
While I was a little nervous as I didn’t know a lot about the course or science behind Optometry, since starting I have never looked back!
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What do you like most about your studies at the University of Melbourne?
I have really enjoyed the balance of content and practical work. Our distribution of coursework is a good balance of lectures, tutorials, practical work and case-based learning which really help consolidate content. We start practising clinical skills relevant to everyday life in our Optometry careers from our first year, which really helps put everything we learn theoretically into perspective. As the course progresses, it moves from more general to establish our base into more specialised content, and the focus on practical work increases.
Placements, which are started in the third year of the course, have been a particular highlight. I have really enjoyed being able to work with qualified optometrists to put skills we have learnt about into context to manage real life patients and conditions. I also had the opportunity to complete a research project with a supervisor and write a scientific report, giving us a taste for the research experience which I also enjoyed.
I also really enjoy the Optometry community. There is a strong Optometry social network within and between year levels.
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What are your plans for the future?
I am not quite sure what the future holds, I definitely want to practice as an optometrist for a few years. Many graduate optometry jobs are located rurally; however, I am prepared for the challenge of the scope of this! Later down the track further research, public health/education or teaching certainly isn’t off the table.
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What advice do you have for people considering this course?
You definitely don’t need to have a background in optometry or science to study it – this was one thing I was nervous about before starting however they taught us everything we needed to know. A lot of the science I had learnt in my undergraduate ended up being useful but certainly not required to do well.
Choosing which degree to study is always a very difficult time and it is never easy to be sure but that is completely fine. Optometry has lots of career outcomes and the skills learnt are transferrable to other careers as well, so no time studying is ever spent wasted if it isn't the right fit.
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