Many high school and college students contact VOSH to ask how to get involved with optometry before they actually attend optometry school. While VOSH does not have a program specific to pre-optometry, we can offer this advice:
- Join or start a pre-med club or pre-health professional club that meets regularly. Ask a faculty member from your school to supervise. Here are some activities or programs you might consider: Tour an local optometrist’s office, arrange a guest optometrist to come talk to your club, collect gently used sunglasses or readers to donate to your local VOSH chapter to use on their next clinic trip-especially kid’s sunglasses
- Join your local or regional VOSH Chapter or Student-VOSH Chapter in your area
- Go on an international VOSH trip or participate in a domestic VOSH eye care outreach. You do not need to be an OD. We have a lot of significant and meaningful work for lay volunteers on a VOSH trip. Contact the trip coordinator: vosh.org/get-involved/clinics/
- Participate in Optometry Giving Sight’s World Sight Day challenge to get connected
- Contact the American Optometric Student Association. They have a lot of useful information on their website
