• Pre-Optometry
  • Pre-Optometry Work Opportunities
  • Texas Pre-Optometry Professional Societies
• Careers in Optometry
• Students' Texas Optometric Association (STOA)
• University of Houston College of Optometry
• TOA Leadership
  • TOA Officers & Directors
  • TOA Office & Staff
  • 2008 TOA Committee Members and Chairs
    • TOA Members on AOA Committees
• TOA Member Benefits
  • Member Support Services Panel
• Meetings and Education
• Local Societies
  • TOA Society Membership Challenge
  • Contact a Local Society
  • Texas Optometric Women's Network (TOWN)
• TOA Endorsements
• Classifieds
  • Submit a Online Classified Ad
  • Announcements
  • Equipment for Sale/Lease
  • Practice for Sale/Lease
  • Positions Available
  • Positions Wanted
  • Services
  • Relief Doctors Wanted
  • Available for Relief Work
  • Pre-Optometry Work Opportunities
• Legal Tools
• Third Party/Managed Care Resources
  • Low Vision Services
• Accreditation Council on Optometric Education
  • ACOE Accreditation Process
  • ACOE Membership
  • ACOE Upcoming Site Visits
  • Recent ACOE Accreditation Actions
    • Accredited with Conditions
    • Withdrawal of Accreditation
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - October 2007
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - June 2007
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - February 2007
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - October 2006
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - June 2006
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - February 2006
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - October 2005
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - June 2005
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - February 2005
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - October 2004
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - June 2004
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - March 2004
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - October 2003
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - June 2003
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - February 2003
    • Archive of Accreditation Actions - October 2002
  • Manuals, Standards, and Accredited Programs from ACOE
  • Call for Comments on Proposed Changes
  • Contact ACOE
• Faculty Resources
  • AOA Faculty Relations Committee Members
  • Summary of Results: AOA Optometric Educator Faculty Opinion Survey
  • Faculty Resources
    • Creole Examination Phrases
    • Spanish Examination Phrases
• Financial Aid
  • Guide to Optometric Loans, Grants and Scholarships
    • Industry Scholarships
    • Non-State Scholarships
    • Schools Scholarships
    • State Residency Scholarships
    • Other Programs
  • Balance Sheet Preparation
  • Planning and Budgeting
  • The Resident's Guide to Resources in Research and Scholarship
    • The Resident's Guide to Resources in Research and Scholarship: Part 1
    • The Resident's Guide to Resources in Research and Scholarship: Part 2
• Professional Transitions
  • Primer for Successful Practice
    • Status Post Graduation: Private Practice Success
    • Strategy and Human Resource Management Illustrated
    • Business Functions and Structure
    • It Is All in the Mind: a Paradigm Shift for Practice Success
    • Action Plan: Preparing for the Entrepreneurial World of Optometric Practice
    • Methods of Securing Practice Ownership
    • The Practice Prospecting Process
    • Buyer Beware
    • Making the Deal: A Guide to Successful Negotiation
    • Practice Management
  • AOA Membership After Graduation
    • Post-Graduate Membership
      • How Affiliated Association Membership Works
      • I've Graduated! Why Should I Continue My Membership?
    • Practice Management
      • Selecting Your Practice Mode and Location
      • Future Practice - Choosing Wisely
      • Obtain Your Licence
      • Optometric Practice Options
    • Residency Program Opportunities
      • Directors
    • President's Letter to 2007 Graduates
• Career Advocate for the New Practitioner
  • Career Advocate 2007 - 2008 Program
  • Career Options
  • Marketing Yourself
    • Sample Cover Letter
    • Sample Resume
  • Joining a Practice
  • Buying a Practice
  • Starting a Practice
  • Managing Practice Finances
  • Managing Your Personal Finances
  • Day-to-Day Practice Operations
  • Third Party Programs
  • Managing Personnel
  • Dispensing
  • Patient Communication
  • Marketing Your Practice
  • Opportunities for Practice Growth
• Why Choose Optometry?
• American Optometric Student Association
• Clinical Care
  • AOA Optometric Clinical Practice Guidelines
  • Quick Reference Guides
  • Clinical Care Publications
  • AOA Diabetes Eye Report form
  • Council on Research
    • Summer Invitational Research Institute
  • Patient Care
    • Geriatrics and Nursing Facility
      • Facts about Optometric Nursing Facility Care
      • Instruments and Equipment
      • A Recommended Continuing Education Curriculum: Geriatric Optometry for the Primary Care Practice
    • Hospital Practice
      • Hospital Privileges Manual
        • Hospital Privileges Manual: Part II: The Importance of Optometry to the Hospital
        • Hospital Privileges Manual: Part III: Hospital Bylaws and Legal Issues in Hospital Privileging
        • Hospital Privileges Manual: Part IV: How to Obtain Hospital Privileges
        • Hospital Privileges Manual: Part V: The Hospital-Based Optometric Examination
      • American Optometric Association Guidelines for Delineation of Clinical Privileges for Optometry
    • Pediatrics and Binocular Vision
      • Vision: A Collaboration of Eyes and Brain
      • The Need for Comprehensive Vision Examination of Preschool and School-age Children
      • Vision Therapy
        • Optometric Co-Management of Vision Therapy
      • Vision, Learning and Dyslexia
      • The Use of Tinted Lenses and Colored Overlays for the Treatment of Dyslexia and Other Related Reading and Learning Disorders
      • Virtual Reality Games and Children's Vision
      • Optometric Care of the Patient with Acquired Brain Injury
    • Primary Care
      • Optometric Clinical Practice Recommendations
        • Quick Reference to Ocular Manifestations of Commonly Prescribed Systemic Medications
        • Monitoring Ocular Toxicity of Selected Medications
  • Environmental / Occupational Issues
    • Occupational Vision Manual Part I: Introduction
      • Occupational Vision Manual: Part II: Performance and Productivity in the Work Place
      • Occupational Vision Manual: Part III: Ocular Protection
      • Occupational Vision Manual: Part IV: Contact Lens Use In Industry
      • Occupational Vision Manual: Part V: Medico-Legal and Ethical Concerns Regarding Standards and Regulations
      • Occupational Vision Manual: References and Sources for Further Information
    • Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)
      • Computer Vision Syndrome Symptoms
      • The Relationship of Computer Vision Syndrome to Musculoskeletal Disorders
      • Impact of Computer Use on Children's Vision
      • The Effects of Video Display Terminal Use on Eye Health and Vision
      • Criteria for Determining Whether the Need for Eyeglasses or Other Treatment is Related to Computer Use
    • Motorist Vision Policy
    • Recommendations for the Use of Laser Pointers
  • Ophthalmic Standards
  • Quality Assessment and Improvement
  • Aviation Vision
    • Aviation Vision Continuing Education Course
    • Comparison of Bifocal and Progressive Addition Lenses on Aviator Target Detection Performance
    • Eyes, Right
    • LASIK Refractive Surgery: Clinical Considerations for the Pilot
    • Special Ophthalmic Needs of Aviators
    • Sunglasses in Aviation
    • Ultraviolet Radiation: Hazards in Aviation
    • Eye Exams and Aviation: Prescription for Success
    • The Eye and Night Vision
    • Adjusting to New Spectacles the Easy Way
    • Prescribing Spectacles for Aviators
  • Community Health Centers
    • Community Health Center Optometry

President's Letter to 2007 Graduates

Dear 2007 Graduates:

I must commend each and every one of you on completing four rigorous years of preparation towards becoming a doctor of optometry. You have assembled a skill set you will use from this day forward to manage patients' needs in eye health and vision care. You will find the time developing and refining your skills was well spent as your career develops during the many years to come.

Another important tool for ODs is AOA membership. As you continue to grow within our profession, the information and resources organized by the AOA will prove valuable. Please take time to browse all of the information gathered for here for you at www.aoa.org. On it is the latest optometric news regarding advocacy, clinical care, professional transitions, plus much more. As questions arise during your first few years of practice, visit this website to find contact information for any one of the several specialized departments qualified to faithfully serve our members.

We recognize you’ve invested thousands of dollars in achieving your optometric education, so you will find a free AOA membership for the remainder of the calendar year of your original licensure very satisfying. For those planning postgraduate work, membership remains free through one year after completion. If you plan to do a residency, you will find a postgraduate application here.

During this time, if you have already determined which state you plan to practice, make sure to contact your state association. It will be your resource for all optometric information for that state, as the AOA is for you nationally.

Once more, allow me to extend my congratulations to you, colleague to colleague. I wish you continued accomplishment and good luck with all future endeavors. Welcome as a fellow member of the American Optometric Association.

C. Thomas Crooks, III, O.D.
President