Optometric Technician for Differing Socioeconomic Communities

Presenter: Angela Nnabue, Kinesiology, Global Public Health Scholars

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For my practicum, I worked as an optometric technician at Visual Eyes, which is an optometry practice that stretches across six different cities in Maryland. At Visual Eyes, I worked with the doctor to test patients’ eyes, carry out their medical purchases, and fill out their medical data. I chose this sight because each population was different and exhibited their own unique challenges within their communities, most of them being underserved populations. At Visual Eyes we were intentional about catering to each individual and listening to patient concerns because we acknowledge that many diseases such as cataracts and blindness can be prevented just through earlier detection. This starts with patient advocacy and education, which is something I made sure to instill during my communication with patients. This is an important component for medical practices and healthcare in general to implement because many groups struggle for their own reasons, such as low health literacy or fear, with advocating for themselves and expressing their concerns to their doctors. Through this opportunity I was able to help in making a difference in this area of patient advocacy and making all groups feel comfortable and safe in medical settings to hopefully provide optimal care.