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Thread: instruments for a first-year optometry student

  1. #1
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    Hello there,

    I am entering optometry school in the fall, and my school has sent me a list of required
    instruments that I need to purchase. Does anyone have any recommendations for certain
    brands of equipment? (I need to purchase a trial lens set, ophthalmoscope, retinoscope, prism bars, etc.) The only manufacturers I was given were Marco and Welch-Allyn. Thanks for your help.

  2. #2
    Bad address email on file Darris Chambless's Avatar
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    Redhot Jumper

    Do you have a fax number? If you do I will send you the sheets with the different companies and their phone numbers

    Thanks,

    Darris Chambless

    PS. I'd post them here but there are too many ;-)

  3. #3
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    Arrow

    Hi Darris,

    Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I don't have a fax #, but if you wouldn't mind passing on the names of a few companies that are well-regarded by the industry, that would be much appreciated. Thanks again.

  4. #4
    Bad address email on file Darris Chambless's Avatar
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    Redhot Jumper

    Here we go,

    Alcon Laboratories 800-862-5266, Ardco Industries 800-239-2342 access code 50, Belrose Refracting Equipment Co. 800-875-5235, Canon 800-652-2666, Grobet USA 800-847-4188, Haag-Streit Services, Inc. 800-787-5426, Humphrey Systems 877-486-7473, Nikon 800-438-8782, Optical Technologies 800-327-2070, Reichert Ophthalmic Instruments 716-686-4555, Topcon America Corp. 800-223-1130, Veatch Ophthalmic Instruments 800-447-7511. Give those a try and let me know if you need anything else.

    Take care,

    Darris C.

  5. #5
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    Darris,

    Thanks so much for your help! I will give them a call after the holiday weekend and hopefully I can at least look at pictures of what I'm going to buy, before I fork over a small fortune (for a student) for them! Thanks again for taking the time out to help a pre-opto student.

    Best wishes,
    DH

  6. #6
    Bad address email on file Darris Chambless's Avatar
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    No worries. Eh, mate. :-)

    Darris C.

  7. #7
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    Hi,

    Congrats on getting in to optometry, I just finished first year myself and really enjoy it. What school are you going to?

    As for equipment, it's certainly good to get info from the manufacturers, but I wouldn't stress out too much about it before you actually get to school. The reps will likely come to your school and make it really easy to get information and try out their products. Remember, they want to establish brand loyalty with the optometry newbies as soon as possible so you'll stick with them throughout your entire buying career. It's true that equipment for first year is expensive, but it's nothing compared to the coin we'll be laying out to buy slitlamps and autorefractors and the like when we're in the real world.

    Having just gone through the whole buying routine myself, I'm able to give you a bit of advice, but ultimately you need to remember that you should go for the equipment that feels good in your hands and that works for you. As for ophthalmoscopes and retinoscopes, Welch-Allyn makes a pretty good set. The new models have lithium ion handles which makes them much lighter and more comfy to use IMHO. Keeler and Heine are both decent as well, so if you have a look on the web for those companies it'll give you a pretty good starting point. I don't have any experience with Marco. Trial lens sets are all pretty similar and if you ask me, it doesn't really matter what kind you go with. Ditto for prism bars. Just make sure that you spend lots of time with the sample o-scopes and rets so you can find out which set you like the best.

    If you have any specific questions, let me know.

    Dwayne

  8. #8
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    Arrow

    Hi Dwayne,

    I'm going to SUNY in the fall and they asked us to mail them a check for $1970 by July 1 if we needed the equipment. No pictures, no comparisons. No joke. That's why I felt like going out and doing some research of my own. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed your first year. I don't even know where to begin with the questions! I'm happy to hear about the endorsement for Welch-Allyn. I just ordered a catalog from Lombart just so I could see pictures of what I'm buying. (Pathetic, huh?) :-) I guess they would expect the best products to go for the highest price, but heck, I might as well be going into some cigar shop and picking one out at random. Where do you go to school, and are you in summer school right now?

    -DH

  9. #9
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    That strikes me as bizzare- that you have to buy equipment without even looking at the goods!!! Best of luck.

    I go to the University of Waterloo in Canada. Thankfully, we don't have to go to school throughout the summer, so I'm enjoying coming home from work and spacing out in front of the TV to watch the NHL and NBA playoffs. It's a nice change of pace from the crazy studying schedule during the school year.

    Dwayne

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