New grad website launches

San Diego-NewGradOptometry.com recently launched, joining its sister site OptometryStudents.com. The new site offers recent optometry school graduates information and resources to help them succeed in practice. Both sites are founded by San Diego optometrist Matt Geller, a 2013 graduate of SUNY College of Optometry. Dr. Geller started OptometryStudents.com while still a student at SUNY.

“On the first day, we had a thousand visitors,” Dr. Geller says, speaking exclusively to Optometry Times. “Since then, we’ve had about 400 visitors per day, with most from the 2014 class. About 10% of visitors are creating a profile. The site is for new graduates, by new graduates. That's why the model works so well.”

In addition to Dr. Geller, the site’s leadership team includes Quy Nguyen, OD; Ryan Corte, OD; Mikilyn D’Angelo, OD; Stefania Paniccia, OD; and Antonio Chirumbolo, OD. Dr. Geller seeks to expand the team to include the brightest and most talented minds in optometry.

“We fill that transitional gap between the graduate and the real world,” says Dr. Paniccia, a 2013 IAUPR School of Optometry graduate and current resident. “There's no time to answer questions between academics. It’s like having your own personal consulting group for free.”

Essilor and Vision Source are exclusive sponsors of the new website, which includes free articles covering licensing, insurance, practice management, business strategy, clinical skills, and general life success. To access the content, users need to create a free profile that also entitles them to a download the free e-book, How to Get Your Optometry License-A Guide to All 50 States.

Says 2013 SUNY graduate Dr. Nguyen: “Matt's goal has always been to create a positive outlook on the profession. A lot of other outlets are negative. We feel that if you know the right people and know how to network, you can find a great job.”

“With the ever-evolving healthcare scene, it’s good to be at the forefront with a positive look at what grads are seeing,” says Dr. Corte, a 2012 OSU graduate. “We're facing growing pains and keeping a strong attitude about the future. We're going to do some big things in the future.”ODT