Chapter 103

Right after Xmas and New Years, it was time for the last term of clinical rotations. For me, this meant Waterloo for the next 4 months. The Waterloo rotation was very familiar since our class had already done eye exams in our school during third year. There was a difference between 3rd eye exams and 4th year eye exams however. The main difference being that unlike in 3rd year, where we only did primary and easy cases, all the 4th years would be placed in clinical specialties and deal with the optometry specialities that existed in our school. 

While everyone was doing a normal term at the school clinic, I would be pulling a crammed term. I mean…I was around 7 weeks short of the mandatory clinical hours to graduate so there wasn’t much of a choice. Since this last term was a winter term, it meant that I would not be getting my reading week, a one week break during the middle of the term equivalent to the US’s March Break. Even with that, I would still be shy about a month’s worth of clinical hours, meaning I would have to make up the difference following term somewhere and somehow. 

As for lodging, I managed to find housing at a location just about a 10 minute walk from the school. Furthermore, I only had 1 roommate this term at the location. He was one of the confidants I had during the whole failure situation last year. This should tell you that he was a good friend of mine and one I trusted a lot. He’ll come back a few times so let’s call him NA. 

NA and I had grown close in the last couple of years. It started when we studied together on campus and found out we had a lot in common due to our shared love of Pokemon Go. From that point forward, we kept studying together because I needed the help and NA was not only very helpful but also pretty much as top of our class as you can get. Following that, as I mentioned, I trusted him as a confidant when I failed because we were close and from there, having a secret shared with someone basically solidified our friendship. 

As our term began, we quickly fell into a very predictable pattern. We’d both get up in the morning, make coffee, then walk in the snow to our school. While I did have my car, it seemed a waste to use it when school was literally just 10 minutes away by walking. When we finished up for the day, NA would go home and review a bit for the OSCE’s and I would go to the main campus to go breakdancing. I thought that since I wasn’t doing boards this year, it seemed like I should enjoy that freedom to the fullest. 

It should be noted at this point that NA and most of my class had already completed the “written” portion of our licensing examination. It was a multiple choice test held by the Optometric Examining Board of Canada, or OEBC for short, and it was held right before I had left for Hong Kong. The only thing left for my class was the practical test, known as the OSCE’s to do before they can enter the world force. 

Now, I think it’s worth mentioning one more point while we’re here that will come into play very soon. There was another reason for why I was pushing my board examination to next year. Sure, I did want some time off from studying but there was another reason. The other reason was that I felt like I would be okay even if I took the board exams a year out of school. By this I mean to say that the OEBC board examinations had a reputation of being one of the easiest tests during Optometry School. The pass rate for the Canadian optometrists? Let’s just say an over-95% pass rate was not uncommon. So, since I knew the tests were going to be easy, I felt that taking a year off from school and not being a “fresh” graduate wouldn’t really hinder my testing capability. 

But that was for me. For most of my other classmates,NA included, they were only studying for the OSCE’s now. But to be honest, it was only kind of half-studying. There was an online guide telling you what you may be tested on but honestly, it was kind of vague and not at all accurate in some cases. Our school, being pretty much the only school in Canada for Optometry outside of the French optometry school, meant that our professors often had ties with the OEBC. For this reason, most of my class just asked our supervisors and professors for advice on the OSCE’s. For the most part, that was all we needed. 

Anyhow, as the term started off without any issues, and everyone seemed pretty happy with our current situation. We were good to go. Almost at the finish line. There was honestly very little that could stand in the way of our graduation. All that was left was just 4 months of clinical rotation. Furthermore, it doesn’t even need to be said that there were no more classes. No more frivolous lectures about things we would never use. It was all clinic time.  All of which felt worthwhile. 

In the months of January and February, I experienced the specialty rotations in my school of Ocular Diseases, Mobile Geriatrics screening, pediatrics and even contact lenses. Each of which made me realize how much more there was to the clinic than just the stuff we learned in class. Speaking of which, although I had said I wouldn’t study for board exams until after graduation, my anxiety about being ill prepared in the clinic meant that on the weekends, I picked up the board examination prep guide as well as our class notes to review a lot of things. So, in essence, I was studying for board exams to a degree. 

As far as timelines go. The winter term of 2020 started in January and the OSCE’s were taking place in around April – May 2020. After that most of my class would likely take a month or two off while awaiting for the results, which take around 2 months of turn around before they get sent through. 

For me, while I did say I would take an entire year off following graduation, as the term went on and I studied the board exam guide and my class notes to not feel inadequate in the clinic, I felt an itch to just get it over with. I mean, I was already looking over the notes to not embarrass myself, I might as well just take it a bit more seriously and study properly. By the end of February 2020, I had made the decision to take the written test, not a year later, but just 6 months later in Oct – Nov 2020. 

I felt like this was a good timeline to work with as I would be done with school around April, then use about a month and a few weeks to complete my missing Hong Kong hours bringing me to June. Then I would have 5 months to study for a test that had an almost guaranteed passing score for most of my school’s graduates. Following that, OSCE’s would take place around April – May of the following year. Meaning I would get into practice the same time as the class of 2021. A fact I was okay with. 

This was a good plan and honestly, as I thought more and more about it, it seemed like a good trajectory to aim for. However…This was the year of 2020…and we were about to enter March. 

A fact I forgot to mention previously was that all of our specialty rotations were around 2 weeks in length. That is to say, all of our specialty clinics had us for just two weeks before we moved on to the next one in our school. At the beginning of March of 2020, I was rotated off of Specialty Contact Lenses and into the Optical. 

I had enjoyed my two weeks in Contact Lenses. It was everyone’s favourite rotation. This was because since our school supplied an entire country’s worth of optometrists, the contact lens companies really liked to reach out to us during our contact lens rotation. For almost every day of my contact lens rotation, we got free lunch by a different company trying to convince us to tell our patients to buy their contact lenses when we entered the workforce. By the end of it, I must have gained at least 5 pounds. 

The only specialty rotation better than CLs was the optical, my next rotation. This was the most fun you’d find in the 4th year rotations. All you really do is fill some forms on a screen and call it a day. It was just dispensing glasses in a clinic not designed to sell that many glasses. Essentially, the optical rotation was known to be just a hangout. The 4th years mostly just sat around chatting with each other about their experiences on rotation and then fixed a few glasses. I was looking forward to all of that. 

But then…well…

The world stopped. 

It was easy to remember the date since it was Friday the 13th. There had been whispers since February about something related to a flu or sorts but while this was somewhat concerning, since we were a health clinic, it was by no means anything that people took seriously. However, on this fateful Friday, things were about to spiral. 

It started off small. 

At around 9am, I overheard that a classmate of mine got sent home because she had a mild cough. For the most part, we thought this was a stupid incident since it was just a cough and being sent home meant our classmate needed to make up a day later. Most of us brushed it off as the supervisor was acting crazy. But no one really looked into the rationale of our supervisor anymore than that. 

As the day kept moving along, we heard rumours about how the USA was declaring a state of emergency. However, they kind of just stayed as rumours. The main reason for that was because since we weren’t allowed to have phones with us during our rotations, no one really looked specifically into it. 

Finally, in the afternoon, at the optical we would find out what all those incidents were leading to. Things were going slow at the optical. There was no business that day and because of this, all the fourth years, myself included, were working on their glasses fixing requirements. There were certain skills for fixing glasses we had to demonstrate to our supervisors as part of our rotation at the optical. Since we had a low volume of traffic that day, the supervisors told us we were allowed to grab glasses from the donation bin and fix any broken ones we saw there as part of our requirement. I was fixing some rimless glasses when a UW international student walked in to pick up his new Ray Bans. Since we both spoke mandarin, I opted to help him with adjusting the glasses. 

I fixed his glasses and adjusted them the best I could. Then I did the 4 point test to make sure it sat well on a flat surface. We then chatted for a bit since he was literally the only customer we’ve had all day. During the chat, he made a remark that felt particular. He said he’s glad he made it in today because amidst the chaotic situation playing out. I kind of brushed it off as him referring to traffic but then, right after he left our clinic doors, our supervisor followed afterwards and locked the doors behind him. 

“Shut it all down.”

There were a few fourth years there with me in the front of our Optometry clinic. We all looked at the supervisor with intrigue. It was still a few hours before the end of our shift. Why stop now? Our supervisor explained further. 

“The optometry school has declared a cessation of clinic until further notice. We’ve been ordered to shut everything down until further notice due to the virus.”

While we all looked a bit confused still, no one wanted to ask any questions. Our supervisor then told us to follow our end-of-day protocols and start cleaning. When we were done, we were to wait on our supervisors to tell us to leave. 

When we finished cleaning, the other 4th years of a few of the other specialty clinics came to huddle around us at the optical. Everyone had their things ready to leave but we weren’t allowed to until the supervisor returned. It seemed like the supervisors of all the specialty clinics were having a meeting of their own. 

As the time kept passing on, we all got to talking. It was around this time that I was educated about the vast differences people were having in experiences across our rotations. There were stories about how some of us were essentially lab techs or glasses salesmen for 4 months. Others were working 6 day weeks while still almost never touching a phoropter. Some had reported their clinics and got their sites shut down due to poor supervision and uncomfortable workspaces. This last one I knew about. Mostly because that was how my replacement at the Scarborough clinic came to be my replacement following my departure for HK. 

In truth, I was most surprised by how many of my classmates decided to rough it out at a crappy clinic for their rotation simply because they were afraid of the lack of availability for other spots. A fear I confirmed by sharing my experience post-HK. 

The minute I shared how stupid all of HK was and how I would have 7 weeks of makeup clinical hours I need to complete, I think my fellow fourth years suddenly changed the entire vibe of our conversation. We were sharing light hearted jabs at the coordinators until then but right after my story came to light, they were angry. No one was holding their punches anymore. We said some pretty terrible stuff at that point. 

It became very clear that the clerkship coordinators behind the clinic rotations had pissed off a lot of people. The mood was palpable. You can feel the unrest. The seats of discourse planted years prior were coming to fruition. During the hour of us waiting on the supervisors to tell us more of the situation going on, it was suddenly out in the open how much tension there was between the coordinators and the students. Just as the conversation was about to hit a climax, our supervisor came to us with news. 

“I suppose you’ll hear it from me first. The school is going to be shut down due to the virus that’s been on the news.”

We all fell silent a bit. 

“We’ll email you all the rest of the decision soon. Go home for now.”

With that, we were all done. Everyone packed up and headed out. I don’t think any of us had it in our heads that this would be the last time we set foot in the Waterloo clinic. While we made our exodus, a classmate of mine turned to me and made a bold statement. I find myself thinking back on his words every now and then. It was insightful to a strange degree. 

He said with confidence that “I predict we’ll all be delayed in practice entry.” 

I knew what he meant. He was thinking about how the OSCE’s were only about a month away at that time but with the announcement we just got, it was inevitable that it would be delayed. While I thought seriously about this prediction despite having no stakes, I think I was in the minority. Most of my class was still under the idea the shutdown would be lifted soon. I mean, surely this was an accidental over-reaction to the news right? 

Why was our school shut down when the virus had not even been reported in Canada yet? This seemed absurd. It didn’t make any sense. 

It’ll definitely blow over soon enough…

Right?