Everyone desires to be unique in their own way, most people especially students possess an occupational wish immediately they join the early stages of education. Some would like to be identified with certain jobs, hobbies, affiliating groups or even movies. This paper majorly illustrates my interested job as the icon of my choice; the icons have been selected from the medical field in relation to the eye. Each of the icon is referring to an eye specialist hence the theme is common. Since I am interested in becoming an optometrist, I have decided to choose other two related jobs dealing in eye disorders, these are optician and ophthalmologist. Since I desire a profession dealing in eye, the three icons I have mentioned would be of great relevance to me in my entire professional life. In the succeeding paragraphs, the three icons have been explained in three ways, that is what they are and what they deal in, why they represent me what and why they mean something tome and how they have improved my life. The paper will also explain how I intend to become or embrace the icons.
OPTOMETRIST
This is a profession in health care that is concerned with the eye and its related structures. It deals in visual system, information on vision processing and vision in humans as well. Optometrists are qualified to treat and diagnose eye diseases like glaucoma and even infections. The eye and its structures and the mechanisms involved has captivated scientists and the general public since the ancient times, therefore many people have been involved in it and this is my point of interest. Many patients are usually more concerned with eye related disorders than other diseases; the knowledge that one may experience an eye problem has an upsetting effect on the psychology of an individual, the same effect even spread to economy and social life. This makes the profession a point of interest to me as I would prefer helping and interacting with such individuals. Many people with visual problems need vital assistance with the activities of their daily living and are usually unable to gain full employment that they initially possessed before they developed the defect. It therefore results into terrible challenges to the victims. It would be my interest in the future to assist the eye disorder victims in maintaining of ocular health and correcting their eye problems that may limit their vision and contribute deeply to the ability to appreciate longer lifespan that the medicine can allow. This profession is therefore very vital due to the quality that vision has in life, hence many optometrists consider their job very rewarding, and that is why I intend to be one. As such optometry is tied to the vision science, optics and optical assistance, optical instruments of imaging techniques among other eye care professions. The nature of work in optometry includes examining people’s eye in order to diagnose the detected vision problems. These problems may include shortsightedness and long-sightedness, color perception and ability to coordinate and focus the eyes; they may prescribe eyeglasses or contact lenses or even provide treatment like vision therapy and low visual rehabilitation. Optometrists may also test for glaucoma and other eye disorders and even diagnose those conditions caused by systemic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes. They also prescribe medication to treat vision disorders or eye problem and provide both pre operative and postoperative care to cataract victims. Optometrists may also specialize in fields like contact lenses, pediatrics, and geriatrics or vision therapy. This has resulted in the formation of professional groups depending on the area of specialization and still they remain practitioners. For instance, some may specialize in developing ways of protecting worker’s eye from job related diseases, occupational vision while others may focus on sports vision, ocular diseases, head trauma and special testing. Some even teach optometry, perform research and consult at the same time. This is a major reason why I am interested in the profession and is my major icon. To become an optometrist, a doctor of optometry degree is needed and this requires a completion of a four year degree program in the accredited school of optometry. This is usually a competitive program which admits very few candidates and therefore commitment is necessary and that is what I advocate. Since the requirement for admission include Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology which I possess a great background in, I therefore believe I am capable of practicing the profession. This icon therefore means life to me and represents me in that I possess what it takes to be one, it will therefore improve my life in the actualization stage as I help others achieve their goals and mission.
OPHTHALMOLOGIST
This is a specialist who deals with medical and surgical eye problems. This profession is one of the branches in medicine that deal in the physiology, anatomy and diseases of the eye. As a discipline, ophthalmology applies to animal eye as well; this broadens the practice, since the distinctions in human practice are minor and related mainly to the differences in prevalence or anatomy and not differences in the disease processes. Ophthalmologist is therefore a medical doctor specialized in vision care and the eye. They are trained to provide a full spectrum of the eye care, prescribing contact lenses and glasses to delicate and complex eye surgery. They are sometimes involved in the eye research as well. This makes the profession my point of interest. This profession requires a four year training and one year internship which should be hospital based. They are trained in all aspects of eye care and prevention, medical and surgery treatment of the conditions of the eye including diagnosis of the same. Some of the specific areas of training include; cornea and the external disorders, glaucoma, ophthalmic pathology, Neuro-ophthalmology, pediatric ophthalmology and vitriol retinal diseases. Both the diagnosis and management of these diseases are intensively learnt with several practical demonstrations like transplantation involved in the training. Practitioners may specialize in different field such as corneal diseases, glaucoma, retina and vitreous diseases, pediatric eye problems and plastic surgery. This is a major contribution of this profession to be my preference icon, with several options to specialize, one can easily identify what he or she can perform best and since it is geared towards assisting people which is my aim in life, I prefer it to other professions. Optometrists and family doctors are known to often refer the patients experiencing serious eye problems to ophthalmologists due to their extensive training as they can always link eye problems to other diseases for instance, they are usually he first to identify and detect brain tumor, multiple sclerosis and even diabetes. Ophthalmologists usually use a variety of different instrument such as ophthalmoscopes, which enables easy visualization of the inner part of the eye. They can then prescribe contact lenses, medicine and eye glasses or even recommend eye exercises and where required with urgency, they perform surgery. For this to take place, extensive training after high school for four years in medical school is necessary. This means a lot to me as I aspire to become an eye specialist, therefore in reference to this, I prefer the icon, it would improve my life as I assist the victims as I actualize my professional life.
OPTICIAN
This is a person who deals in optical devises. A medical practitioner trained on filling the prescriptions for the correction of the eye in the field of medicine. Opticians also make optical devices and are also known as dispensing optician. They determine the specifications of different ophthalmic appliances that gives necessary corrections to an individual’s eyesight. Some opticians also manufacture lenses to their own stipulations and design spectacle frames and some other devices. Opticians work in a variety of settings like as independent or joint practice, retail stores or hospital eye care centers. This is not always the case as opticians need to get registered in order to meet the set standards of practice. They also commit to an ongoing education and hold professional liability if any arises. They usually consult a client in order to design optical appliances or ophthalmic to best meet their needs. Information is usually gathered from the patients on the eye and the facial features. In proving the service, opticians are expected to use variety of instrument which usually ranges from simple devices of measuring to complex examination instrument. This is my preference icon as it is very marketable and always needed by the victims. Due to the increasing demand for contact lenses and glasses, the job growth is proportionate for dispensing opticians. This growth creates more demand for corrective lenses by those who need regular vision care hence making the profession lucrative and profitable. Therefore apart from assisting others, there is also a lot to learn and earn from the profession, for that reason, this icon means a lot to my life and I believe it will not only improve my life but also take me to the actualization stage of life. Some other things that I love with the icon is the kind of activities that one involve themselves in. such activities as taking client’s facial measurement, assisting a client to sense the type of most appropriate glasses, keeping client’s records up to date, working together with the insurance groups to maximize the client’s benefits and even customizing the glasses fit to suit the face of the client. Such activities mean a lot to me and therefore justify my love for the profession. As s result of the nature of the work that opticians do in their daily lives, a lot of experience is needed in mathematics especially in algebra and geometry, Physics, anatomy and quality drawing. One also requires very good interpersonal communication skills as they get to interact with many people in their service delivery. For jobs like this, one do not need to wait for employment but can set up his or her own premise and begin, that is one of the reasons why I admire the profession and tops my list in the icons.
In summary, the above icons actually represent me as they are what I want to become. In the medical profession, I prefer to assist those with poor vision and bring the whole world back to them. The three icons also mean life to me and improves my life as each day, I work extra hard to achieve my ambition of becoming one. The requirements of each leave me with no option but to commit myself to work. I would like to assist people gain their sight where necessary. I believe in the Icons as they inspire me to work hard and therefore they change my life in a positive way. I also believe that apart from helping people, I can also earn a living with them. Therefore they are all I need in life, my inspiration and what I want to become.
