Survey finds student debt affects career choices for optometry school graduates

Issue: September 2006

ByBob Kronemyer

In a poster presented at Optometry’s Meeting, the annual American Optometric Association (AOA) Congress in Las Vegas, researchers concluded that student debt influences how optometry school graduates choose to practice.

The AOA provided funding to Morton W. Silverman, OD, FAAO, a diplomate in public health, and colleagues at the College of Optometry, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the survey of optometry school graduates.

The mail and online survey was designed to determine the practice mode, income level, indebtedness and satisfaction of those who graduated from the 17 U.S. optometry schools between 2000 and 2004. Several practice management educators and a psychologist/biostatistician provided input.

Of the approximately 6,600 graduates invited to participate in the survey, 910 responded (13.8%). Surveys were completed between July 2005 and January 2006. Responses were collected from all 17 optometry programs, equally representing the five graduating classes.

Overall, 51% of responders were male and 49% female. In addition, responders resided in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and four Canadian provinces. Furthermore, 19% had completed residency programs.

Retail practice popular

Initially, upon graduation, retail was the largest employer (34.3%), followed by employment by OD (23.8%), MD (10.8%), group/partnership (8.7%), solo practice/self-employed (6.5%), residency (5.7%), federal service (4.5%), education (2.1%), hospital/clinic (1.8%), HMO (0.9%) and optical/ophthalmic industry (0.9%).

However, when graduates were asked about their current mode of practice, the percentages working in retail or employed by another OD decreased. The least stable mode of practice was ODs employed by other ODs. Less than half the doctors (41.8%) who started out in this arrangement remained so. A change to solo practice was the most popular (29.1%), followed by partnership/group practice (23.1%) and retail practice (22.2%).

Overall, the survey found that the percentage of graduates in solo practice or self-employed increased between graduation and today.

Student debt remains

Beginning salary for the class of 2000 was divided into three ranges: $60,000 or less (34.6%), $60,000 to $100,000 (59%) and more than $100,000 (6.4%).

Not surprisingly, salaries increased during the first 5 years of practice. Current salaries for the class of 2000 were $60,000 or less: 15.3%, $60,000 to $100,000: 56.3% and more than $100,000: 28.5%. However, despite rising salaries, 93% of respondents had student debt.

“Student indebtedness is an important consideration in how recent graduates decide to practice,” the authors said in the poster. “In a previous survey, we found that current financial situation affects optometry students’ first choice of practice mode. When students made choices considering their financial situation, they were more likely to practice in a retail environment than to start or join a private practice. As we stated then, ‘today’s optometry students dearly would prefer to enter private practice if there were no restrictions and they could practice in any manner they wished.’”

The authors noted that student indebtedness is a barrier for recent graduates. “Additional surveys are needed to determine the level of student debt at which private practice becomes less attractive,” they said.

Partnership/group practice appears to be the most stable form of practice, with more than 80% of doctors who started in these modes continuing with them. Most of the ODs who left partnerships/group practice (71.4%) are now in solo practice.

The survey also revealed that 78% of respondents would choose optometry again as their profession, and 79% were AOA members.

For more information:

Morton W. Silverman, OD, FAAO, can be reached at 3200 S. University Dr., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33328; (954) 262-1440; fax: (944) 262-1818; e-mail: morton@nova.edu.

Reference:

Silverman MW, Woodruff C, Rumsey JM. A survey of recent optometry school graduates. Presented at Optometry’s Meeting, the annual AOA Congress; June 21-25, 2006; Las Vegas.