Clinic Day 3 (7/26) || Allyson Okazaki
- UCI Volunteer
- Oct 14
- 2 min read
Today was the third and final day of our 16G clinic. I volunteered in the optometry station where I helped in registration to record the patients' pupil reflexes and intraocular pressure using the iCare machine for the majority of the day. Before today, I had no clue about the steps that optometrists took to create prescriptions for glasses, so it was interesting to gain insight into this field.
It was captivating to me how the pupil responds to light very quickly and simultaneously in both eyes, and that was usually a test that I was able to perform quickly. On the other hand, the iCare machine was a lot scarier to operate as we have to get really up close to the patients' eyes. We tried out the machine before clinic started, and it felt like a nonpainful, gentle tap on the surface of the eye. The most difficult part about operating the iCare was learning to get the perfect distance away from the eye for a proper intraocular pressure reading or else the machine would not produce a reading at all. However, as we got through more patients, we were able to adjust to the proper distance to get quicker readings.
I loved working with my team, Clara, Jaime, Alex, Dan, Mathew, and Khue as we dealt with the troubleshooting of the iCare together efficiently and helped the long lines of patients get their prescriptions.
Towards the end of the day, I was trained on how to use the autorefractor (AR) machine. I thought it was really cool to get a super close and detailed image of the patients' pupils. At times, the image was hard to distinguish, but it was really fun overall using the machinery.
My favorite part of the day has to be at the end where we distributed the finished glasses to the patients. It feels really rewarding to know that there are people now in Vietnam with glasses that we helped provide.
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