Vision, Mission, and Core Values
A Vision for the College
The vision for the College of Optometry encompasses four primary perspectives, and serves four distinct stakeholders: the public, the profession, the students, and the faculty. The underlying philosophy of the College’s vision emphasizes one central theme: Building Bridges.
Vision
Our vision is to be a progressive leader in optometric education and to improve the way health care is delivered worldwide.
Mission
Our mission is to graduate caring, comprehensive health care professionals who will serve the needs of a diverse global society. The College emphasizes rehabilitation of the visual system, neuro-optometry, and interprofessional education. We advance the profession of optometry through innovation in health care education, research, and patient care.
Core Values
We value a rich humanistic tradition and are committed to professional collaboration, community involvement, accountability, integrity, and respect.
The Public Perspective
The College will
- Promote and protect the visual health and welfare of the public
- Enhance quality of life in the community through optimal visual functioning and ocular health
- Serve the public by graduating family-practice doctors of optometry with particular strengths in optometric rehabilitation, to meet the needs of an aging population, and to provide exceptional care to vulnerable populations
The College will build a bridge to span the gap between the latest advances in state of the art optometric care and underserved populations.
The Profession Perspective
The College will
- Support the professional identity of optometry by promoting the expansion of optometric scope of practice and integration within the health care delivery team
- Graduate doctors of optometry who experience advanced training as part of their professional and clinical education, and who will expect and create these opportunities in their future practice
- Provide unique continuing education programs for optometrists practicing in California, the western region, and other parts of the United States, that capitalize on its close affiliation with the other health professionals at WesternU
The College will build a bridge to unite professional interests and to form a road to reach out to health policy decision makers.
The Student Perspective
The College will
- Recruit and enroll students who demonstrate a commitment to life-long learning, personal development, leadership, and a desire to give back to the profession
- Provide its students with an innovative curriculum emphasizing community-based clinical education to foster a humanistic approach to health care
- Ensure that its graduates are compassionate and skillful caregivers
The College will serve as a bridge to provide a pathway for students to realize their dreams and commitments to clinical excellence, service to society, and the humanistic and ethical practice of optometry.
The Faculty Perspective
The College will
- Recruit, retain, and nurture a distinguished cadre of faculty dedicated to leadership in optometric education and service to the profession
- Encourage its faculty to develop unique pedagogical techniques to enhance the educational process
- Foster opportunities for collaborative research among its faculty and between various disciplines
- Develop and maintain an environment of inquiry in support of the creation and communication of knowledge
The College will support its faculty to serve as bridges between the body of advanced professional knowledge and patients, students, policy-makers, and the public.
Graduate caring comprehensive health care professionals who will serve the needs of a diverse global society.
- Matriculates will complete the educational and clinical programs successfully
- Graduates will interact with patients and other health care professionals in a competent, caring and humanistic way
- Graduates will be prepared for diverse cultures, experiences and practice settings
The College emphasizes rehabilitation of the visual system, neuro-optometry, and interprofessional education.
- The curriculum will emphasize the distinctive elements of the program
- The expertise of the faculty will be aligned with the program emphases as part of a comprehensive educational program
- Research conducted will align with the program emphases as part of a comprehensive educational program
- High quality patient care will be provided in the program emphases as part of a comprehensive educational program
We advance the profession of optometry through innovation in health care education, research, and patient care.
- The college will develop, implement, and evaluate improved aspects of health care education, research, and patient care and disseminate best practices and innovations
- Interprofessional, collaborative, and community-based projects in health care education, research and patient care will be conducted