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P Kegel-Flom

Publications and source records attributed to P Kegel-Flom.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

What kinds of leaders are entering optometry schools?

The purpose of this study was to determine the parameters of leadership of students entering one optometry school, assess the relation between personality types and leadership during optometry school, and forecast potential for leadership beyond school. Personality inventories of 269 students entering University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) from 1988 through 1990 were analyzed for personality type according to Gough's two-vector system (V1 = extroversion/introversion; V2 = norm-favoring/norm-doubting) which results in four types or life styles: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta. Although some sex and ethnic differences were found, most (71%) optometry students were Alphas (extroverted/norm-favoring), accepted leaders who strive to maintain and advance consensual values. Alphas achieved well in classroom and clinic and were student leaders. A lesser number (10%), mostly women, were Gammas; extroverted but norm-questioning, Gammas can provide creative and progressive leadership. Remaining types were Betas (15%) and Deltas (4%), both introverted types who avoid leadership positions. In sum, traditional and, to a lesser degree, innovative leadership potential appears strong among optometry students; they should serve the profession well.

Ethnicity↗
PubMed1990

Predicting the academic performance of Asian, black, and Hispanic optometry students.

As optometry schools receive increasing numbers of Asian, Black, and Hispanic applications, it is appropriate for us to ask whether minority students differ in meaningful ways from nonminority students in measures used in admissions, and whether these variables have differential validity in predicting their achievement in optometry school. This study compares Asian, Black, Hispanic, and nonminority students at entry to the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) from 1981 through 1986 and tests the validity of admissions indices to predict optometry grades, academic dropout, and high-level achievement for these ethnic groups. Although preoptometry grade point average (GPA) was the best predictor of optometry grades for all students, measures of verbal ability were additional predictors for Asian students and, for Black and Hispanic students, ability in study/reading and math were predictors. In addition, personality inventory measures and ratings of the competitiveness of the undergraduate institution were important in differentiating minority academic dropouts from retained students. Suggestions are made for optometry college programs which will enhance the probability of success for minority students.

Achievement↗
PubMed1989

Surveying optometry school alumni: a multifaceted approach.

Surveying alumni of a college of optometry provides vital information on the effectiveness of academic and clinical programs which prepare students for the practice of optometry and for advancement of the profession. This University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) alumni study took a multifaceted approach, asking graduates of recent years--1984, 1985, 1986--to evaluate program areas and to tell how they practiced in the first years out. Although most young optometrists worked for someone else in the year after graduation, within 2 years, two-thirds of men and women were self-employed and located primarily in urban/suburban areas. A striking finding was the difference in type of practice entered by women and men: women far more often entered solo practice or, if employed, worked for a health maintenance organization (HMO), while men more often entered partnerships or worked for another optometrist. And, women reported much lower incomes than men regardless of type of practice. These differences merit attention, as does the familiar finding that alumni, although satisfied with their optometric training overall, rated their training in practice management most inadequate.

Education, Medical↗
PubMed1988

Women optometry students: how qualified?

This study compares the academic and personal qualifications of women and men entering the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) over a 6-year period, as well as the performance of these women and men throughout 4 years of optometry school. As predicted, women, as a group, presented somewhat higher grade point averages (GPA's) upon application to optometry, whereas men presented higher scores on science, especially physics, and math sections of the Optometry College Admission Test (OCAT). Women also scored significantly higher on an inventory of positive personality traits generally associated with achievement in higher education. Despite these differences, women and men performed at essentially equivalent levels throughout optometry school, both in the classroom and in the clinic. Women were under-represented as dropouts and over-represented as summa cum laude graduates; men received more clinical performance awards. In terms of personality traits, women were more similar to their male peers and female medical students than to college women in general. Strong motivation to achieve, independence, self-confidence, interpersonal skillfulness, and a sensitivity to others--traits generally associated with leadership--typified optometry students, especially women. These findings suggest that the increasing numbers of women graduates will bring to the profession young optometrists who are well qualified, not only to practice optometry, but also to fill positions of leadership in the profession.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Academic dropout or academic success: a model for prediction.

Why do some students who qualify for admission to optometry school become academic dropouts while others succeed? This question was addressed in a study which compared the admission records of 21 academic dropouts from three classes at the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) with 269 retained students. Academic dropouts were found to have significantly lower preoptometry grades, lower Optometry College Admission Test (OCAT) scores, attended less competitive (i.e., less selective) undergraduate institutions, scored lower on the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), and were older than retained students. When these differentiating admission variables, excepting age, were applied to a new entering class, prediction of subsequent academic dismissal or serious academic difficulty was highly accurate. However, it was found that such prediction must take into account not only areas of weakness, i.e., academic and psychological factors which place a student at risk, but also areas of strength which give the student an advantage. For all students, regardless of age, sex, or ethnic origin, it was the ratio of "advantage" factors to "risk" factors which gave the most valid prediction of academic success or failure.

Achievement↗
PubMed1985

Predicting optometry school grades from intellectual and nonintellectual admission variables.

Intellectual achievement, assessed over time by grades in preprofessional courses and standardized by scores on the Optometry College Admission Test (OCAT), is typically used to judge an applicant's potential for academic achievement in optometry school. In this study both intellectual and nonintellectual admission variables were tested as predictors of optometry grade point average (GPA). GPA at the end of two years was strongly and efficiently predicted by the following combination of intellectual and nonintellectual variables: preoptometry GPA, scores on the physics section of the OCAT, and a score based on the applicant's California Psychological Inventory (CPI) profile. The multiple correlation coefficient between this three-variable combination and GPA was 0.66; cross-validated r = 0.56. Scores on the quantitative section of the OCAT were the best single predictor of first year grades; when preoptometry GPA scores on the physics section of the OCAT and the personality inventory score were added, a predictive validity coefficient of 0.61 was obtained. It is concluded that the prediction of grades in optometry school, and indeed all professional schools, will derive from these three factors: preprofessional grades, standardized achievement test scores, and a quantitative measure of personal traits which relate to academic achievement. Whereas the exact weighting of each variable in a predictive equation depends upon the individual school, maximum predictive validity will be based on these three factors.

College Admission Test↗
PubMed1984

Personality test measures in optometry school admissions.

Predicting clinical competence among optometry students from data obtainable at the time of admissions is the focus of this study. Preoptometry grades, Optometry College Admission Test (OCAT) scores, and applicant scores on a standardized personality inventory were tested as predictors of faculty ratings of student performance in optometry clinics. Students' clinical performance was best predicted by certain personality dimensions, objectively measured by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI). Preoptometry grades and OCAT scores, although significantly correlated with optometry grades, were generally poor predictors of clinical performance. For men, achievement drive, self-confidence, and tolerance and for women, self-confidence, assertiveness, and interpersonal effectiveness were the personal qualities most highly correlated with instructors' ratings of performance. The study demonstrates that these personal qualities, as well as the degree to which an applicant presents a "good impression," can be objectively assessed at the time of application to optometry school.

College Admission Test↗
PubMed1977

Predictors of rural practice location.

Attitudes toward the urban environment and place of origin were found to be the best predictors of an optometrist's practice location. When urbanism attitude and origin were scaled and placed in an equation to predict practice location, identification of an optometrist's practice location as rural or urban was highly accurate. Most important, scores on the equation were predictive of optometry students' future practice location. A single cutoff point on the equation correctly identified 79 percent of students who entered a rural or isolated small city practice and 81 percent of those who entered urban practice. The findings imply that optometry students most likely to enter rural practice can be objectively identified early in their training. If certain factors affecting choice of practice location are common to all health professions, the predictive equation presented here may be useful in the selection of students for rural practice in medicine.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1977

A personality profile of "Gold Retinoscope" winners: 1961-1975.

Fifteen Gold Retinoscope winners, each judged the most outstanding student in his/her graduating class of the School of Optometry, University of California at Berkeley, were compared with samples of optometry students, Academy Fellows, and non-Academy optometrists. Although most Gold Retinoscope winners had entered optometry school with low to average grades, their grades and clinical performance in optometry school were outstanding. When compared with other optometry students and optometrists in practice, these outstanding students were distinguished by greater self-confidence, initiative, and motivation to achieve. It is suggested that these personality traits were important contributors to their superior achievement.

Achievement↗
PubMed1976

Personality patterns of academy fellows and high-income optometrists.

Practicing optometrists who have achieved Academy membership status, and, separately, optometrists who have attained unusually high incomes in practice were studied and compared with optometrists in general. Academy fellows differed from non-fellows in their greater initiative, self-confidence, independent spirit, and a pattern of interests like persons engaged in professional social service occupations. High-income optometrists were more like Academy fellows than were optometrists in general, but showed somewhat less of the leadership potential evidenced by Academy members. High-income optometrists showed more interest than other optometrists in business occupations. The findings show that personal qualities and interest patterns associated with being financially successful and with achieving Academy membership can be assessed in a meaningful and objective manner.

Achievement↗
PubMed1976

Identifying the potential rural optometrist.

Rural optometrists were found to differ from urban optometrists in background, environmental attitude, and interest patterns. Attitude toward the urban environment and place of origin were the best predictors of an optometrist's practice location. When "urbanism" and "origin" were scaled and placed in a multiple regression equation to predict practice location, identification of an optometrist's location as rural or urban was highly accurate. Most importantly, scores on the equation were predictive of optometry students' future practice locations. A single cut-off point on the equation correctly identified 79% of students who entered rural or isolated small city practice and 81% of those who entered urban practice. The findings suggest that optometry students most likely to enter rural (or indeed urban) practice can be objectively identified early in, or even prior to, training. Such identification may assist educators in selecting and training optometrists who will deliver vision care to people in areas of greatest need.

Attitude↗
PubMed1976

The rural optometrist: who and why?

A first step toward the goal of better optometric manpower distribution is the identification of variables associated with the optometrist's choice of practice location. This study focuses on the optometrist who chooses a rural practice location and on ways in which the rural optometrist differs from the non-rural optometrist. One hundred sixty optometrists practicing in rural locations in ten states answered questions about their background, mode of optometric practice, attitude toward the environment, interests, and personality traits. Rural optometrists were found to differ from other optometrists in their rural origin, their strong liking for the people and life style of the rural community, and their interest in outdoor pursuits. Community recognition as a health professional, rapid practice growth, professional independence, and the opportunity for community leadership were seen by the rural optometrist as major advantages of rural optometric practice.

Attitude↗