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About Us

About SCCO and How It Will Change You 

A rewarding health care career begins with a quality education. Just ask any of the thousands of SCCO alumni, whose hard work, dedication and commitment have put them at the top of the optometric profession. 

When you choose our Doctor of Optometry degree, you’re getting a program that’s professionally and nationally accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education of the American Optometric Association (AOA).

 Completing the SCCO curriculum will qualify you to apply for licensure in all 50 United States. 

Interprofessional Education

As a future optometrist, you’ll become an integral part of patients’ primary health care team, along with internists, specialists and other medical professionals. Studying at SCCO more than prepares you for this future. 

This aspect of your training is known as ‘interprofessional education.’ MBKU is the first health care university in Southern California to bring three primary care disciplines together, learning and working together as a team to provide collaborative, effective patient care. 

See Patients Your Second Year 

As an SCCO second-year student, you'll begin examining patients in a supervised clinical environment. Few other institutions offer the opportunity to develop your clinical and patient-management skills like this, in a collaborative, interprofessional educational setting.

You can further enhance your optometric skills through our Outreach Clinical Program, a unique opportunity for fourth-year students. As a student intern, you’ll work side-by-side with other health care professionals, doing four, 10-12-week rotations, one in the Ketchum Health Network, and three in clinically diverse settings of your choice, such as VA medical centers, HMOs, military bases and others–both in the US and overseas.

SCCO Mission, Goals, and Objectives 

Mission

To inspire and educate future doctors of optometry to provide collaborative, evidence-based, ethical, and equitable health care that reflects the evolving practice of optometry, and to be leaders in the community and profession.

Values

As the first optometry school in California, the Southern California College of Optometry (SCCO) has a proud history of serving the optometric profession and the public. The college educates and guides future doctors of optometry to be leaders in healthcare, advances the profession, and serves our communities, locally, nationally, and internationally. We embody the values of the university in our commitment to reimagine the future of healthcare education, while promoting accountability through professionalism, ethical standards, and societal responsibility. We embrace an inclusive and compassionate culture for all members. We practice excellence in the care we give to patients and the high quality, evidence-based education we impart to students. Innovation is championed by the contributions we make to the profession. Above all, we respect and value the skills and diversity of people and their contributions to our college. 

Goals

Educational Goal

Provide an innovative and comprehensive curriculum that prepares students to practice full scope optometry, to value professionalism and ethics, and to promote a supportive learning environment.

Teaching Goal

Deliver a contemporary, evolving, and comprehensive didactic and clinical education by faculty who are knowledgable, highly qualified, effective, and passionate.

Service and Outreach Goal

Instill a devotion of providing health care for the community, to contribute to the optometric profession. 

Scholarship Goal

Provide and sustain a high-quality research environment that enables the expertise and aspiration of faculty and students to advance the college and contribute to the profession.

SCCO Community Goal

To inspire and nurture an inclusive, supportive, and collaborative campus environment supportive of growth and respectful of diversity in perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences. The SCCO Community includes people who work, learn, and engage with services at SCCO.  

 

SCCO Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates will demonstratecompetency as a primary eye care providerby:   

PLO 1.1.     Identifying and applying principles of biomedical, optical, vision and clinical sciences with an emphasis on the eye and visual system to diagnose disorders of the eye, visual system, visualfunction and systemic health.  

PLO 1.2.     Gathering pertinent health information about a patient through skillful,culturally sensitive, communication and observation.  

PLO 1.3.     Accurately obtaining and interpreting the results of diagnostic testing by understanding the scientific and statistical principals of testing.  

PLO 1.4       Understanding the associations between ocularand systemicconditions and disease states toformulateeffective, patient-centered,management and treatment plans through the appropriate use of ophthalmic materials, pharmaceuticals,and/orselectsurgical and non-surgical procedures.  

PLO 1.5.     Demonstrating an understanding of healthcare systems and designing evidence-based interventions, and educational strategies for individuals and communities to manage ocular and systemic disease and improve health outcomes.  

PLO 1.6.     Working in cooperation with those who receive care, those who provide care, and others who contribute to or support the delivery of health care.

Graduates will demonstratecritical thinking and problem-solving skillsby:  

PLO 2.1.     Identifying, evaluating and developing solutions toproblems.  

PLO 2.2.     Integrating current knowledge, scientific advances, and the understanding of the human/social dimensions (i.e., compassion, ethics, cultural sensitivity, and patient centric) to assure the highest quality of health care for each patient.  

PLO 2.3.     Acquiring, analyzing and applying newinformation.   

PLO 2.4.     Recognizing and applying relevantpublic health principlesinthedevelopment of            

                   treatment and management plans.  

Graduates willpractice evidence-based healthcareby:   

PLO 3.1.     Integrating current knowledge, scientific advances, and human/social dimensions (i.e., compassion, ethics, cultural sensitivity, and patient centric) to deliver competent patientcare.  

PLO 3.2.     Pursuing and appraising current literature, identifying study limitations and understanding relevance to clinical scenarios.  

PLO 3.3.     Interpreting statistical tests and hypothesisanalyses.   

PLO 3.4.     Applying evidence-based knowledge to incorporate new technologies and      

                   procedures in clinical evaluation, problem solving and decisionmaking.   

Graduates will demonstrate acommitment to professionalism and ethicsthrough:  

PLO 4.1.      Developing personal and professional goals.   

PLO 4.2.      Practicing patient care in a professional, ethical, sustainable, and legalmanner.  

PLO 4.3.      Pursuing cultural competence and humility skills to appropriately address the unique needs of diverse populations. 

PLO 4.4.      Respecting the dignity of each patient.   

PLO 4.5.      Supporting and participating in professional organizations withinoptometry.