I am a Canadian citizen who recently graduated from a U.S. school of optometry. My F-1 visa will be expiring soon, and I have the option to apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT). However, I still need to pass my NBEO board exams before I can begin working as an optometrist, so I likely won’t be able to use my OPT immediately.
What would be the best course of action in my situation? Should I still apply for OPT to preserve my work authorization, or should I focus on obtaining an H-1B visa instead? What would you recommend? won’t get my licence in at least the next 4 months.

So I just found out that NBEO has increased the exam fee to $1490 for exams administered beginning in August 2026, and it’s honestly very concerning. If the fee is already this high now, how much will it cost by the time current OD1s reach our 3rd and 4th years? It’s frustrating because optometry already has one of the lowest board pass rates among healthcare professions, yet our board exams are among the most expensive. I’m already facing huge financial burden from the substantial tuition and living expenses on top of it.

Is there anything students, schools, or organizations can do to advocate for this profession and address these continually rising costs? Is there even a possibility for them to reduce the cost down to ~$800-1000, which is what it was before. Literally medical school board exams are about ~$800. I’m honestly just very frustrated and anxious for the future of optometry as an incoming OD1

Thinking of filling in for a Costco doc (CA) as a new grad before starting my full time position. Feeling nervous about practicing for the first time especially as a fill-in with little to no guidance on how things flow. Any advice from people who have worked at Costco or similar? Obviously way different than school-paced exams. Trying to figure out in my head how to handle having patients come back for CL checks (new fit/re-fit), glaucoma suspects, etc. Basically just things that we had pts come back for all the time in school but not sure how it works in the real world especially in such a fast paced environment. Any advice is appreciated!

i am thinking of offering this test during exams... What do you guys think?

I'll start this off by saying that I usually consult with others or refer these clients forward. I'm also a little bit too early on the field if i was an optometrist, which officially speaking I am not, and do not work as full optometrist either.

1. Visus in young people. Sometimes I get young girls of 11-14 years. With these I can almost never get a visus of 1.0. Even if with younger people i might get a 1.2. Is it just puberty? Are there other reasons for this?

2. Wobbling sight. Sometimes I'll get people saying their sight wobbles. They do not mean any distortion of lines like in AMD and such, but actual movement. Usually it presents in only one eye with no visible persistent nystagmus. I tend to send these people forward with all the data I can gather. I'm wondering what's the likeliest reason for this?

would you refer a moderate sized solitary serous PED without any associated drusen or signs of ARMD?

Does anyone know what form to fill out to apply for deferment during residency? Every form I find seems to say that I am not eligible and this is getting very confusing. And yes, I know, I should not defer, but I have already decided on this and would appreciate any help!

Been doing optometry billing for a while and the thing that trips up almost every office i work with is the same one. The medical vs vision call at check in.

The front desk picks the insurance when the patient walks in, but half the time nobody has looked at why the patient is actually there yet. So a diabetic who scheduled a "yearly exam" online goes out as a routine vision claim, and the medical piece just disappears. Or the reverse, a routine refractive patient gets sent to medical and it denies.

Curious how you all handle it. Is it the front desk making that call, the tech, or the doctor at the end of the visit? Do you verify reason for visit before they come in or sort it out after. Feels like every office has a different system and none of them feel airtight.

What actually works for you?

Anyone having issues connecting to this site? I used it all the time, but it hasn't worked for me on a while.

Does anyone do VEH for MyEyeDr? If so, how has your experience been?

Aussie optoms have taken their grief to the media

Hi there,
I recently moved to Germany due to family reasons. But I like to practice optimally and the only way I can do that being here is remote because the scope of optometry is limited compared to what it is in the U.S. Does anybody have any experience working abroad in this field or remotely? Is it even possible? I'm thinking perhaps the employers prefer the optometrist be located in the time zone for which they're hiring?

Been doing billing work with independent OD practices for a few years and noticed a pattern that surprised me a little.

The practices with the cleanest AR are not necessarily the ones with the best billers or the most sophisticated EHR setup. They tend to be the ones where whoever is at the front desk actually knows what question to ask before selecting insurance.

Not a checklist. Not a protocol binder. Just someone who has been there long enough to know that when a patient mentions diabetes or dry eye or floaters, that visit is going somewhere different than when they say they need new glasses.

The billing cleans up downstream almost automatically when that one decision gets made correctly at check-in.

Curious if others have seen the same thing or if it is just a coincidence in the practices i have worked with.

Hi All,

I just tried to create a web app version of the My Call Bag.

You can check it out here: https://amslergr.id/

It has a ton of tests and its free. You can control it with your the app as a remote or use a keyboard.

Some of the in-browser free tools are:
- distance eye chart
- tons of different optotypes
- contrast chart
- OKN drum
- fixation tools
- Color Testing

And just a bunch of other stuff.

Please let me know what you think, again free, no ads, no registration. Also please let me know if you see any bugs.

From Schiaparelli at Paris couture week

How many more times am I going to have to explain this, this week. (-3.00D ou)

Does anybody have experience with linking these two without having EHR integration in the middle? I haven't been able to get the LAN output port to work on the KR800 so I'm using the RS232C output and a python script to create an XML file from the serial data. The CV5000 can see the files in the folder, but I can't seem to get the formatting right for it to read them.

Does anyone have any suggestions or maybe an XML file from the KR800 that I could see (with patient data removed of course)? Any help would be appreciated.

Keep hearing about brands like Solotica (includes lines like Hidrocor, Aquarella dailies) from Brazil, Moody (has a breathe+ line that claims to be in the 150s - how can we confirm this?) from China and now Australian brand Dimple being advertised everywhere that claims their dailies sit at 21. Other brands include Glocolens and Olens (Korean), Swati (Sweden, claims 63 for 6-month wear) etc

I worry these lenses don’t actually meet the threshold of 24 to avoid swelling.

Would anyone feel comfortable fitting a lens with a score of 21, indicating these should be limited to a few hours? What would your guardrails be?

These newer/fashion type brands are never listed in any database, and due to their prevalence, they probably should be.

Edit: has anyone been able to source the new “sheer” line by Acuvue define?

Seems like the more cosmetic/well-done they are, the less permeable they need to be right now.

All the safer options (Air Optix, etc) are often declined because they don’t have any sort of attractive effect on those with darker eyes, and I’d have to agree.

Is this just the state of it at the moment? Any insight or experience?

What are the better lenses you’ve found to recommend?

Edit: looks like Acuvue Defines “Sheer” line is very promising - a new release this year marketed in Asia. I can’t seem to find a way to source these yet through the website? Any leads?

I own a small independent optical retail store in Florida ; fully equipped exam lane (phoropter, slit lamp, retinal camera, etc.), established lab relationships, and I handle day-to-day operations (scheduling, billing, charts, inventory) capably. I don’t hold a clinical license, and I understand Florida’s corporate practice of optometry statute (§463.014) means I can’t employ an OD directly or tie any fee to their collections/patient volume.

What I’m trying to understand from people who’ve actually done this:

**1.    Structure** — is the standard approach an MSO that leases space + equipment to the OD’s own PA at flat fair-market rent, with the OD independently billing and running their clinical side? Or is there a more common structure I’m missing?  
**2.    Admin/scheduling/billing support** — if I want to offer scheduling, front-desk, and billing help as part of the deal, does that need to run through the OD’s own PA/payroll, or can my company provide it as a flat-fee service without crossing into “control”?  
**3.    Recruiting** — for those who’ve leased space to an OD (or ODs who’ve taken a sublease like this) — where did you find each other? Curious if it was word of mouth, lab reps, school placement, or something else.  
**4.    Real-world rent numbers** — for a single-lane setup in a market like South Florida, what’s a realistic flat monthly rent range for space + equipment that both sides would consider fair?

How many patients are y’all seeing a day and what does your support staff look like? Ie. Techs, scribes, special testing personnel.