(PRESS RELEASE) DULUTH, GA – National Vision Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYE), one of the nation’s largest optical retailers providing quality, affordable eye care and eyewear, has opened its annual optometry student grant program for entries, marking the program’s sixth consecutive year.
The retailer’s 2020-2021 grant program challenges third- and fourth-year optometry students to share which changes implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic they believe will become a fixture in how optometrists practice and provide healthcare services. Entrants will have a chance to win a $5,000 grant for first place and two runner-up grants of $1,000 each.
“The current pandemic has turned our world on its head, and has profoundly impacted the way healthcare professionals interact with patients and manage practices,” Alex Louw, chief medical officer, National Vision. “We’re all questioning which aspects of this ‘new normal’ may stick around for the long haul, so we’re eager to hear what the future leaders of our profession predict.”
Applicants are asked to address the prompt in the form of a 500-word written essay or a short video (no longer than five minutes). To enter, students must be in their third or fourth year of optometry school and in good standing with a school in the U.S, Puerto Rico or Canada. In either format, applicants are encouraged to provide their personal perspective on why certain measures being taken to slow the pandemic may become mainstays for optometrists, or alternatively, why they feel we’ll one day return completely to pre-pandemic procedures.
To explore the topic further, students may address questions such as:
- Do you believe the public’s expectations of healthcare practitioners, including optometrists, will shift as we emerge from the pandemic?
- How do you think opinions related to remote medicine have shifted in recent months? Are you, your peers and the public more or less accepting of the practice?
- Will mask regulations, increased sanitation standards or social distancing become the new normal in optometry practices and optical retail settings?
Additional information about the program and entry requirements is available on the Students section of the Optometry Careers page of the National Vision website, www.nationalvision.com.
All submissions and questions regarding the 2020-2021 grant program should be sent to Carly.Schenck@nationalvision.com by January 31, 2021. The winners, including two runner-up recipients, will be announced before March 1, 2021.