Canadian student profile: Natasha
Find out how Natasha from Ontario has found studying optometry at Aston
Why did you choose to study in the UK?
"There is only one English-speaking optometry school in Canada, meaning it’s incredibly competitive. So, a lot of Canadians go abroad to study optometry, and the most popular options are the US, Australia, or the UK. One benefit of going to the US is that you don’t have to do the IOBP when returning to Canada; however, I decided against the States because fees were significantly higher there. Then it was a matter of deciding between Australia and the UK. I was actually leaning towards Australia for a while because I’d visited before and absolutely loved it. But in the end, I chose the UK for a few reasons – Australia had higher fees, higher living expenses, more expensive flights to visit home, and a time difference of greater than 12 hours to Canada, making communicating with friends and family difficult. Plus, their school year starts in February rather than September, so I would have had to postpone my studies for 4-5 months.
Why did you choose Aston?
Once I had decided to come to the UK, I had a whole second decision-making process to go through: which UK optometry school did I want to attend? Luckily, this decision was fairly easy for me. The program is normally three years longer to get a BSc in Optometry, then for the MOptom, you would take online classes during the pre-registration (placement) year. This option not only gives you more knowledge which will help with the IOBP program if you decide to return to Canada, but it also allows you to stay on your student visa for the placement year, which is much simpler than the alternative of being sponsored by the College of Optometrists and then applying for a work visa. On top of offering the MOptom, when I applied, Aston University was #1 in the UK for optometry and it has always had an excellent reputation in Canada. Plus, if you’re from Ontario, Aston is one of the accepted schools to get OSAP funding.
As a Canadian how have you found being a student in the UK?
There are nine Canadian students in my year at Aston, and even more in the year below – so in that sense, I’ve never felt alone. The one thing I didn’t expect was a language barrier, moving from one English-speaking country to another – but I was wrong! There are so many differences in the way we say things and the words we use, and in England, you can travel for half an hour and come across an entirely different accent with completely different slang. So that led to some funny situations, but all of the Canadians were able to relate so it was nice to have a support group. It was also helpful to have others going through the same process in terms of student visas and visiting home. Overall, everyone is really accepting of the Canadian students and I’ve loved being here. Every day, someone says that they love my accent, which is always nice to hear!
My clinical partner and I were on a hospital placement at Solihull Hospital during 3rd year. We saw corneal graft surgery, cataract surgery, and conjunctival lesion removal.
In this photo, I am at the Association of Optometrists (AOP) Awards Ceremony as I was nominated for national Optometry Student of the Year.
What would be your advice for Canadian students thinking about coming to study in the UK and at Aston?
My main piece of advice is to do your research and learn about the process to get back to Canada if that is your end goal. It can be daunting to know that even after graduating in optometry in the UK, you still have obstacles to getting back to Canada – but there are many Canadians studying optometry here, and most of us are in the same boat. Make friends with Canadians in the year above you so that you know people going through the process and can get advice from them. It isn’t easy, but it’s definitely worth it.
What is your favourite thing about Aston?
All of the students and staff at Aston are very supportive and it has always felt like a close-knit community, especially within the optometry department. It’s nice to be at a smaller university where professors actually know your name and really care about your success.
What is your favourite thing about the UK?
My favourite thing about the UK is how much history and beauty there is here. Canada is a very young country, and although it’s beautiful, it’s a different type of beauty than what the UK offers. There are so many quaint little towns with beautiful architecture, and it’s so nice to be able to explore it all.
What are your future career plans for when you have finished your MOptom course?
I’m a bit of an anomaly in that I’m not planning on returning to Canada after I graduate. I have a life here now that suits me well, and I’m very happy! I’m currently on my pre-registration year in the northeast of England and I’m hoping to eventually open my own practice around here. I also want to complete some higher education courses like the Independent Prescribing course, and possibly one on Medical Retina or Glaucoma. I’ve also played around with the idea of completing a Ph.D. or Doctorate of Optometry, although that would be far in the future if it happens. There are so many opportunities within the field of optometry and basically, I want to do everything! But for now, I’m enjoying my pre-registration year and looking forward to getting that piece of paper at the end that says that I’m officially a qualified optometrist".
