The COVID-Era management of eye care businesses has been truly disruptive and transformative. Like other health care businesses, optometry practices had to obtain never-before-utilized PPE, put up plexiglass barriers, create "clean" vs. "used" pen boxes, deep clean examining rooms, and develop protocols for examining patients... all literally being done eye-to-eye.
But no practicing doctors can begin to understand the challenges brought to academic education, or to clinical training, as was experienced by schools and colleges of Optometry. The Illinois College of Optometry proudly achieved a continuity through its educational process, working to graduate it's fourth-year class while maintaining high standards, while also never closing the Illinois Eye Institute for those patients who needed service.
In this truly special Sandbox Story, five faculty members from ICO speak to their unique perspective of the College’s management of optometric education, clinical processes, and student affairs matters that needed to evolve due to the impact of COVID on American society. Not only will you learn insights and perspectives about the temporarily modified state of optometric education, but the video podcast includes behind-the-scenes photos and video of activities at the College and its clinic, the Illinois Eye Institute.
Contributors to this episode include these Doctors of Optometry, all of whom are humble about their incredible contributions, as shown in their willingness to speak to the full-team approach taken by ICO and IEI, all of which continues today:
Dr. Nora Kuby
Dr. Stephanie Messner
Dr. Len Messner
Dr. Christina Morettin
Dr. Erik Mothersbaugh
Runtime: 1 hr 25 min
Access the content via:
YouTube: https://youtu.be/rNnb4hlcJFs
Streaming Audio Podcast -- search for the Sandbox Stories channel on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, Pandora, TuneIn, PodBean, and now Stitcher!