COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Ohio State University College of Optometry has opened a new eyecare clinic on the campus of The Ohio State University. The new clinic, which replaces a more than 50-year-old facility, offers a modern learning experience for students to improve the lives of their patients, Karla Zadnik, OD, PhD, dean of the college, told Ohio State News. “You can only do so much in the classroom, so much in simulations, and so much in the lab before, sooner or later, [students] need to start seeing real patients,” she said.

“Our clinic uniquely exists only to educate students. If you wanted to see one of my faculty members, you would not be able to do that without first seeing a student. This is designed from the first moment to be that kind of educational clinic.”


Image courtesy of Ohio State News' website.
 
The new clinic occupies the first three floors of a building at the corner of 11th and Neil Avenues, and offers primary vision care, contact lens care, pediatrics and vision rehabilitation among other services.

The new building includes 56 fully equipped exam rooms and a new retail eyewear gallery with more than 3,000 frames, according to the Ohio State News report. Audree Bass, a fourth-year optometry student, said the new clinic offers more space and more efficiency. Faculty, diagnostic equipment and labs are all centrally located, which benefits patient care.

“I’m able to grab all of my tools and put them out on the desk, and I’m able to help the patient efficiently. That really speeds up my exam efficiency,” she said.

Zadnik noted that patients tend to see their optometrists more often than they go in for a general physical. As a result, their eye doctor can catch health problems that extend beyond the eye. “They say the eye is the window to the soul. I don’t know about that, but the eyes certainly can be the windows to your systemic health.”

Zadnik said the new clinic also helps Ohio State recruit and retain the best students and faculty.

“If you really are a place with the best students in the country and the best faculty in the country, they deserve a nice house,” she said. “I really think with the best and brightest optometry students in the country, the addition of this facility is going to make us unbeatable.”