Brooke Major, OD, had always envisioned working in the medical field. “During undergrad, I was on the premed track and had full intentions of going the medical school route,” she says. However, everything changed her junior year when her college delivered shocking news: it was $100 million in debt and would close its doors permanently at the end of the school year.
With only a few months remaining in her undergraduate program, she decided to leverage her experience managing a heavy course load and enrolled in an ambitious 29 credits to ensure she completed her degree.
POST-GRAD CONFUSION
After graduating, Dr. Major found herself at a crossroads, uncertain about her career path. She accepted a position at a biopharmaceutical company in her hometown, working in a microbiology lab. As an essential worker during the pandemic—and the youngest employee—she was often called in at odd hours, which took a toll on her.
“They would constantly call me to come in at 3 a.m. I knew I couldn’t continue doing that,” Dr. Major says. “So, I started looking into different careers and considered going back to medicine.”
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
She started to explore different medical fields, shadowing doctors to get a better sense of day-to-day operations. Initially, she was drawn to orthopedics. But after shadowing several orthopedic surgeons, she realized it wasn’t the right fit for her.
“Some of those doctors were so stressed out. I can’t blame them. They were always on call, never at home with their families,” Dr. Major says. “I wanted a career where I could take care of patients and have a work-life balance, especially since I want to eventually start a family.”
That’s when her mother suggested optometry. “I was skeptical at first, not knowing much about it. But they always say, ‘Mom knows best!’” Dr. Major says. Taking her mom’s advice, she shadowed various optometrists and was inspired by their shared passion for the profession. “What sold me is that every single one of them, no matter if they were in it for 10, 20 or 30 years, loved what they did,” she says. “And that’s what I want for myself.”
A NEW BEGINNING IN OPTOMETRY
By the end of 2020, Dr. Major had made her decision. She was accepted into two optometry programs, ultimately enrolling in Midwestern University at its Downers Grove, Illinois, campus. Not only that, but Dr. Major seized the opportunity to earn a dual degree, earning both a doctorate in optometry and a master’s in precision medicine. Precision medicine is an innovative approach to medical care that tailors medical treatments based on the individual’s environment, lifestyle and genetics. It aims to deliver more personalized and effective therapies, moving away from the traditional one-size-fits-all, she says.
Her classmates in the master’s program came from a variety of health care fields: osteopathy, dentistry and pharmacy, for example. “We got to do a little bit of integration, and all of us could use that in some sense to try to figure out our patients a little bit better.” As she learned more about optometry’s clinical value in detecting systemic diseases, the field of study became even more valuable to her, she says. “This is the future, and this is where medicine is going.”
Her experience at the biopharmaceutical company gave her a valuable perspective, allowing her to approach her studies with intention and clarity. “Being in the work field before starting optometry school helped me learn to distinguish between things that are important versus things that are not,” she says. “And I’m glad I went to optometry school after having real-world work experience because it confirmed that this is truly what I wanted.”
ADVICE FOR THE NEW GENERATION
Dr. Major’s next step is her upcoming residency in ocular disease at Northeastern State University College of Optometry in Oklahoma. “I’ve always wanted to work with disease of some sort,” she says. She pursued a residency in Oklahoma because she wants to focus on providing comprehensive care to underserved, rural communities and the state’s expansive scope of practice adds to the opportunity.
Dr. Major is an advocate for exploring different career paths at your own pace. “It’s so important to figure out what you really want to do, especially if you’re heading into graduate school,” she says. “Shadow doctors and ask them the tough questions. Take some time off. Consider not just your current career but how it might look in five, 10 or 15 years from now.” Her own journey has shown her that the path to success is rarely, if ever, linear, and sometimes the detours can lead to the most fulfilling destinations.
