To be great doctors with fulfilling careers, we have to go beyond doing well in our classes and clinic. One of the beauties of our profession today is the wide variety of opportunities for us as students to connect with successful people, whether doctors or industry members, and to learn about all the innovations in eye care.
Two such opportunities are International Vision Expo East in New York City and Vision Expo West in Las Vegas, both of which offered incredible experiences for my friends and me. Here’s 5 reasons why you should go too!!
- It’s FREE to register. And there are travel grants to go to New York or Las Vegas!
Unlike the other major conferences, Vision Expo is free to attend! In addition, each year, 1 student from each school is selected for a $500 travel grant to go to Expo East or West. For application details, visit http://east.visionexpo.com/For-Attendees/Students/
Also, the booths will be giving tons of free stuff!
- Experience the latest tech and styles
There’s nothing like going to a conference to see the amazing products and services we can offer our patients. Of all the conferences, no one does the tradeshow bigger than Vision Expo! You can try out newly released contact lenses or see the incredible capabilities of OCT-Angiography or try on the latest eyewear styles with built-in fitness and health monitoring technology.
- Take free CE
There are over 300 hours of CE to choose from, with nearly every possible to topic you can think of. As long as there are still seats available in the class (which there likely will be), you are welcome to learn about anything from clinical topics to specialty contact fits to practice management. To check the topics for the upcoming Expo East in the spring, visit http://east.visionexpo.com/Education/Highlights/
- Connect with Doctors, Industry Members and Other Students
Vision Expo is the world’s most inclusive ophthalmic conference, meaning nearly all the major industry players be there. If you’re planning to go into private practice, now is the time to get to know some of people you can do business with.
Doctors from all over North America will attending, so If you are looking to practice in a place different from where your school is, contact doctors in your areas of interest and see if you can meet!
Students from other schools will attend too, so meet them at the convention during the day and party with them at the Eye Docs of Rock Concert and the ODs of Facebook Party!
- Enjoy the city!
There’s so much to do in the City that Never Sleeps and the Entertainment Capital of the World. The possibilities in New York and Las Vegas are endless. Go explore!
Now that you have decided to go Vision Expo, where should you go? Contrary to the limited real estate in New York, Expo East is actually much bigger, especially with the number of optical vendors. In addition, some of the industry’s biggest players have grander exhibits, such as a fashion runway pairing the latest styles in eyewear with the innovative styles from the NY Garment District. However, by in large, both conferences offer similar things.
Ideally, you get to go to both East and West! If that’s not possible at the moment, most students choose to go to the one closest to them as a cheaper option, and so they can go with more classmates. On the other hand, if you’ve really want to visit New York or Vegas, there is no better opportunity than now! Keep in mind there is a $500 travel grant you can apply for to go to the conference of your choice. Take advantage of this incredible opportunity and enjoy Vision Expo!
– Brandon Or
SUNY College of Optometry
