Week of 9/10 Journal:

This week, I met with my mentor for only 2 hours. We discussed our future plans and machine
equipment along with scheduling and possible career plans. Although my mentor and I technically met, I
did not log the hours because we did not accomplish much. My "first day" was busy as there were a
large number of patients (around 4 within 2 hours) and my mentor could only briefly describe to me
what the process was and why he did them. I observed his usual process, with him usually starting off
with an overall examination of the patients, asking questions such as "can you see this letter?" or "what
letter is that?" After the general exam, my mentor would use a machine with different lenses to check
the prescription of the glass that was needed for the patient. My mentor said that he did not have any
contact patients and the procedure is usually different for contact patients which I would see next week.
Overall, I would say this week was a success, and I learned the necessary procedure for the general eye
examination.

Week of 9/17 Journal:

For my Fall ISM Project Topic, I chose to explore the limitations and advantages of artificial intelligence
in the optometry field, more specifically, in general examination and in surgical procedures. I selected
this topic because recently, I've been very interested in artificial intelligence and human reliance on it.
I'm also doing my capstone project on it. Initially, I was going to do my project on artificial intelligence's
impact on surgical procedures, however, since my mentor is a general examiner, I decided to research
the effects of artificial intelligence on general examinations as well. This week, similar to the last I met
with my mentor, and I watched him go over his examination process. However, this week, I watched him
as he prescribed contact lenses.

Week of 9/24 Journal:

The key points that I decided for my mid-term presentation discussed the increased use of robotic
surgeons, ethics of robotics in the medical field, ease of robotics in examinations, UK robotic optometry,
and the economic benefits of the introduction of artificial intelligence. I have decided that I will research
common cornea, Sclera and ciliary body damages, previous success and limitations of artificial
intelligence in another sector (other than the medical field), and current common uses of artificial
intelligence in the medicinal field. I chose these topics because they cover a variety of lenses (such as
economic, ethical, and scientific) and they offer a variety of perspectives, including the most common
advantages and disadvantages of my topic. This week, I went over contact lenses and the general
examination procedure with my mentor.

Week of 10/1 Journal:

In my mentorship, I successfully learned about the basic anatomy of the eye, common optometry
vocabulary and common eye issues. I also learned the general examination procedure and theorized
steps that could be automated using a machine. In the next nine weeks, I hope to examine further and
speculate possible actions that could be skipped/automated using a device and get a better
understanding of the general examination procedure. I could also possibly use Dr. Pope as a possible
resource or an interviewee that could serve as an opinion in future studies.

Week of 10/15 Journal:

After reviewing my mentorship evaluation for this nine weeks, I was surprised to see my mentor gave
me all 5s on my assessment. He did not critic me on any areas that needed improvement, but self-
reflecting, I think I should ask him more questions concerning the general examination procedure, with
more specific questions concerning subjective questions. In general, however, I believe that I can
improve on my communication with Dr. Pope a great deal, but in other areas, I'm satisfactory. My
mentor also noted that I was interested in the machinery as I believe artificial intelligence may be the
future concerning operations of machinery.

Week of 10/22 Journal:

For my mentorship this week, I went and watched a surgery performed by Dr. Mayo. My mentor (Doctor
Pope) had gotten in contact with Dr. Mayo and scheduled for the two of us to meet for me to explore
the field of ophthalmology. In the clinic, Dr. Mayo worked exceptionally efficiently, spending no more
than 5 minutes per patient which was a surprise to me when compared to Doctor Pope's 15 minutes per
patient schedule. At around 5:40 PM, Dr. Mayo started a surgical procedure with a patient, removing a
skin mole that was near the eye. The surgery was fascinating to me as I did not expect the patient to be
fully conscious during the procedure. I think the best part about my mentorship site is the environment
of the employees. Everyone in Parkwood Vision center is extremely relaxed, and the atmosphere is very
friendly.

Week of 10/29 Journal:

From a patient's perspective, I believe that the most frustrating thing about Parkwood Vision Center is
the time that it takes for Doctor Pope to start the general examination procedure. Due to the number of
customers/patients that Doctor Pope receives as compared to the staff that he works with, it is often a
15-minute wait from the time a patient comes into the clinic and to when Doctor Pope becomes
available. I think the best thing about my mentorship site (from a client's perspective) is the calm and
quiet environment that you are greeted with when you first walk in. The air is consistently crisp, with
bright lights and no loud distracting sounds. There's always rock music playing quietly on the speakers,
and all the staff treats you with smiles so that you can tell that he or she likes what he or she does as
their job. This week, I was not able to go to my mentorship because of a health-related issue, and I plan
on making up the hours over Thanksgiving Break and any weeks that I can fit additional mentorship
hours in.

Week of 11/5 Journal:

Regarding my most recent mentorship experience, I was observing Doctor Pope in his general
examination process with patients. The best thing about the procedure, according to my obsercations, is
the environment of which the clinic operates at. As I've said before, the clinic environment is surprisingly
calm and quiet with little background noice besides the radio playing. Regarding my final product, I've
already learned to code the artificial neural network and am in the process of getting further data. I
plan on making a waver asking for consent for taking pictures of a patient's eyes so I may use it for
further data.

Week of 11/26 Journal:

In my most recent mentorship experience, I was observing the general examination process with Doctor
Pope. I also asked Doctor Pope on the issue of cataracts and how surgical treatments affected the
cloudiness. For my final presentation, I'm very nervous on every aspect due to my stage fright and how
quickly I panic whenever I need to present in front of a group of people. Even during my Capstone class,
where we had practiced our final presentation (which lasted around 15 minutes) for about a month non-
stop, in the final performance, I was still unable to perform to my expectations. In my mind, many things
could go wrong in my presentation especially with a product of that caliber. For example, the outcome
could malfunction, or the data may be invalid.