Objective  To investigate the employment situation of optometry students from medical colleges 5-10 years after graduation to provide suggestions on construction and development of optometry. Methods  Between July and November 2015, a electronic questionnaire survey was conducted among 100 optometry students graduated from West China Hospital of Sichuan University(from 55 students) and China Medical University (from 84 students) 5-10 years ago. The questionnaire items included: the employer at the graduation, the current employer, whether changing job, whether diverting to other professions, job satisfaction extent, situation of continuing education, and advice on optometry education and optometry professional development. Results  Sixty-three graduates gave back valid questionnaire. After graduation, 61 graduates (96.8%) engaged in in the optometry profession, and 2 (3.2%) diverted to other professions. Five to ten years after graduation, 57 graduates (90.5%) engaged in the optometry profession, and 6 (9.5%) diverted to other professions. The job satisfaction of 52 graduates (82.5%) was good. Conclusions  Under the circumstances of severe shortage of professional optical talents, optometry students from medical colleges should fully understand their own profession, make good psychological adjustment on employment and good phased career plan, and continue to strengthen the knowledge, to solve the present situation of the lack of the highly educated optical professionals.

Citation： CHEN Taowen. The employment situation and the status analysis of optometry students from medical colleges. West China Medical Journal, 2017, 32(6): 918-922. doi: 10.7507/1002-0179.201605221 Copy