Personal Statement (Optometry)

According to the statistics from the Singapore National Eye Centre, myopia is a rapidly worsening public health problem in Singapore. Moreover, surveys have indicated that myopia afflicts 25% of 7 year olds, 33% of 9 year olds, 50% of 12 year olds and more than 80% of 18 year old males in Singapore (SNEC, 2004). It has been proven that myopia is a degenerative disease with age. If untreated. These have resulted in escalating concerns about problems in educating, screening and treating both in our ageing and maturing population. I foresee that more and more qualified optometrists are in demand to prevent and correct refractive errors, as well as to detect, diagnose and manage eye disorders in the future. With this, I personally think that optometry is a highly field to be explored and researched on especially in the local context.

An important reason why I am interested in studying Optometry is the career prospect. Although I am equipped with a diploma in Biomedical Engineering, I am confident that I have the necessary skills, attributes and commitment to complete this demanding course. During my final year project, I did a project entitled ““Analysis of plantar pressure in diabetic type 2 subjects with and without neuropathy” (Rahman et al, 2006; Acharya et al, In Press). This project has enriched and exposed me to the health sciences field especially in an evidence-based research. Moreover, my engineering background could perhaps enhance the education, training and experience that come along studying with this degree. This degree will train myself to become a professional optometrist. I will learn how to examine eyes, test sight, give advice on visual problems, prescribe and dispense spectacles and contact lenses and recommend other treatments or visual aids. With an increasing healthcare institutions sprouting in Singapore, I really hope that I could be part of the healthcare professional sphere in educating on the misconceptions of eye disorders particularly myopia.

Another reason is that I like interacting with people on a daily basis. The strong emphasis on hands-on optometry practice, such as refraction and clinical practice and internships are what I am looking for in a job. I read on the internet about vision-related social organization whereby they went to various developing countries to educate, diagnose and manage eye disorders. In a nutshell, it is actually a more practical sense in fulfilling my ambition in helping others as well as gaining experience by travelling around the world. Being a 24 years old, I know what I wanted in life, which is to get a good education that enable myself to contribute back to society. My interpersonal skills through social communication and interactions have improved through my growing up years. My final year project helped me to be approachable and to work closely with patients while collecting my diabetic data. Not only that, my industry attachment programme at Alexandra Hospital which I am responsible in provisioning breakdown services, preventive maintenance and commissioning new equipment provided me with the analytical, interpersonal communication and computations skills which I could implement during my study as an optometrist.

The last reason is my love of science and aspiration for a medical career is reflected in my polytechnic choice where good time management, self motivated study skills and ability to cope with stress and pressure are essential. Modules which I took have helped me further my interest and develop my analytical skills, mathematics helps my problem solving skills helping me to work logically and the NgeeAnn’s integrated computer environment gives me a valuable insight into the rapidly developing technological world where computers are crucial. I believe all the qualities I have developed through my courses are essential for any good optometrist.

In conclusion, it is evident that optometrist is a vast field to be explored in Singapore; therefore the demand of optometrist should be well received. The career prospect, interaction with people and the love for science should be my good testament in being a good optometrist. I hope the University of Manchester selection committee could deliberate, evaluate and weight my reasons for application in the Bachelor of Science (with Honours) in Optometry Programme. I look forward to the challenges and range of experiences that awaits me in higher education and university life. Thank you.

References

1.Acharya R.U., Rahman, M.A., Aziz Z., Tan P.H., Ng E.Y.K., Yu W., Law C., Subramaniam T., Wong Y.S., Sum C.F. (In Press) Computer-based identification of plantar pressure in diabetic type 2 subjects with and without neuropathy, Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology (JMMB), USA.
2.Rahman, M.A., Aziz Z., Acharya R.U., Tan P.H., Natarajan K., Ng E.Y.K, Law C., Subramaniam T., Wong Y.S. (2006) Analysis of plantar pressure in diabetic type 2 subjects with and without neuropathy, Innovations and Technology in Biology and Medicine (ITBM-RBM), France, 27(2), 46-55. Retrieved December 2, 2009, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science
3.Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC). Childhood Myopia. (2004). Retrieved December 2, 2009, from http://www.snec.com.sg/eye/myopia.asp