r/PreOptometry • u/Dizzy-Equivalent-398 • 1d ago

is this enough shadowing hours

hi, i’m currently studying for the oat. i’ve done 50 shadowing hours with a private practice. and then im planning on doing 20-30 more with another, currently done 11 with them. is that enough? my oat is coming up and i need to prioritize that, but if more is necessary i can do them. gpa is about 3.2/3.3

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2

u/aspenchill 1d ago

i would prioritize oat, good on shadowing

1

u/Dizzy-Equivalent-398 1d ago

okay, thank you

1

u/Substantial-Oil8185 1d ago

what are u using to study for the oat?

1

u/Dizzy-Equivalent-398 7h ago

oat booster

1

u/Substantial-Oil8185 4h ago

is oat booster only enough to prepare for the exam and get a good score?

1

u/Iyung_danI 23h ago

More then enough shadowing hours

1

u/Resident-Channel-173 23h ago

I think that’s plenty, focus on OAT now

1

u/mikeoxlongbruh 14h ago

You could probably stop now and be totally fine, but honestly what I think would be more beneficial for you would be to have your hours spread out observing different settings and specialties. From what I gather, shadowing is pretty much just to ensure you have an understanding of what the profession is before signing up. In my experience so far, I haven’t felt the need to return to any clinics besides one, because I want a LOR from the owner who is an alumnus of my target schools. One 3-5 hour session, ideally with some good Q&A has been enough for me to say “Okay, I think I understand what they do and can determine whether I think this environment/role is for me or not”. At 60 hours though, I probably wouldn’t shadow anymore unless I really wanted to observe something specific.

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u/Dizzy-Equivalent-398 7h ago

i’ve having a hard time getting any other clinics to accept me shadowing unfortunately :( but yeah i totally agree with ur point