WO Voices

Nadia Virani, OD , of Dallas, Texas, expected to go into pediatric optometry when she was presented with a great opportunity to join an OMD practice. Enthralled with new technologies, she thought it would be a great experience to learn about surgical options and IOLs. Now five years later, she has also gained new perspectives on the OMD/OD relationship and how great co-management can help all eye...

As Jennifer Stewart, OD , reaches the milestone of a decade in practice ownership, she reflects on how a leap of faith became the best move in transitioning from an associate to a partner early on in her career. Dr. Stewart also shares how Performance 20/20, her sports vision training business, connects her passion for sports with her love of optometry and has allowed her the unique opportunity to...

Having a clinical protocol in place can make the journey of clinical decision-making and consistency so much clearer. Whitney Hauser, OD , now director of clinical affairs at Keplr Vision, talks about the ways that developing and using a clinical protocol for dry eye and other ocular conditions can help. 

Julie Steinhauer, OD, FCOVD , of Vision For Life in Glen Carbon, Illinois, has been offering developmental vision care exclusively now for more than seven years. Her practice draws patients from throughout Illinois and around the world as she is one of relatively few providers who use syntonic phototherapy along with traditional in-office vision therapy. Hear how it works. 

Angela Fisher Aprahamian of National Recalls in Los Angeles, California, says that optometric practices can have effective recall strategies for reactivating patients—but only if the task is specifically part of someone's work day or work week. She describes the process her employees use—and how those could be adapted for in-house use. 

Sally Halim, OD , of Village Eyecare in Woolwich Township, New Jersey, trains for a half dozen or so triathlons or half Ironman races a year. The training has taught her time management skills, focus and a willingness to challenge herself, along with other lessons that she's brought to bear in her private practice. 

Even when she was an optometry school student, Millicent Knight, OD, FAAO, FAARM , began to advocate for the profession and patients. In her new role as Senior Vice President, Customer Development Group, and a member of the leadership team at Essilor, she can do so from an even larger platform. 

Opening a practice involves making so many important and expensive decisions—where, what it looks like, who it serves, what products to carry and what technology investments to make. Meg Richardson, OD , of Twenty Twenty Family Vision Center in Racine, Wisconsin, found help and support from PECAA and its relationship with RevolutionEHR. 

Nicole Trabuc, OD , and her husband, Kyle Wainwright, OD , have two practices in Manhattan, Kansas—one which Dr. Wainwright took on inside a Walmart and a private practice the couple opened recently. They made some unconventional choices, such as paying down their combined $200,000 in student loan debt in just more than three years, not taking any vision insurance, and opening a gym as a side busi...

Samantha Hornberger, OD , of Lawrenceburg, Indiana, realized her patients follow her treatment recommendations a large percentage of the time. Why? Because she models a mindset that encourages her staff to follow through. Hear how she encourages "sales" and how everyone - from patient to staff to community - benefits. 

Carol Alexander, OD, FAAO , Head, North America Professional Relations at Johnson & Johnson Vision, discusses how she followed leadership opportunities. One key piece of advice: if you say yes, give it your all. 

Eighteen years after her graduation, Michelle Ahumada, OD , opened her own practice in Rancho Mission Viejo, California. She talks about what led her to move ahead with her dream - and how others can, too.

Kimberly Friedman, OD, FAAO , of Moorestown, New Jersey, talks about the choices she made to find balance between her career, work for the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians and her family. She also talks about how practicing and teaching yoga brings her balance in a literal sense. 

Lori Grover, OD, PhD, FAAO , and Melissa Zaleski, OD, MPH , discuss strategies for creating a professional network once the infrastructure of a school-based program has ended. 

Julie Tyler, OD, FAAO , of Nova Southeastern College of Optometry, discusses the unexpected ways that mentorship, leadership and professional collaboration have revealed themselves. 

Caroline Guerrero Cauchi, OD, FIAO , of La Mesa, California, talks about the upcoming orthokeratology meeting ( orthokmeeting.com ) May 15-19. She describes the steps she took and teaches to help others bring myopia management techniques and counseling into their practices.  Take me back to the Specialty Services cover story package.

Rachael Wruble, OD, FAAO , of Belmont and Charlotte, North Carolina, says a job offer is more than a salary. Here are her suggestions for negotiating a deal that will make you happy.

Athena Brasfield, OD , wants to close the disparity in access to eye care. Her practices in the desert communities of Indio and Coachella, California, show that an efficiently run practice can be profitable and serve the mission of bringing eye care to the underserved. 

Evidence-based practices matter in helping to establish which services are of high value and which ones are of low value, says Lori Grover, OD, PhD, FAAO . Dr. Grover serves on the board of trustees for the American Optometric Association (AOA) and is the author of several AOA evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. ODs, she says, need to help establish that the work they do meets these high-...

Jenny Coyle, OD, MS, FAAO , Dean of the Pacific University College of Optometry, discusses how much optometric education and optometry students have changed in the 30 years that she has been on campus at Pacific. She shares her enthusiasm for mentoring and encouraging the next generation of ODs and leaders. [Dr. Coyle becomes the Dean of Optometry at Southern California College of Optometry at Mar...

Theresa Colonna, OD , of Westminster Eyecare Associates in Providence, Rhode Island, discusses the importance of using checklists for systematic, consistent employee reviews. The practice has 65 employees, so a method of standardizing the review process was critical. 

Rachel A. “Stacey” Coulter, OD, MSEd, FAAO, FCOVD , associate professor in NSU’s College of Optometry, discusses the importance of pediatric optometry, why she's passionate about it and how ODs can find their comfort level with kids.  

Sherrol Reynolds, OD, FAAO , president of the National Optometric Association talks about the organization's rich 50-year-history and its mission to advance the visual health of the minority population and recruit and support minorities in optometry.

Theresa Colonna, OD , of Westminster Eyecare Associates in Providence, Rhode Island, has mastered a strategy for consistent and thorough staff training in the use of instrumentation and procedures: customized video. Hear how she developed this process as the staff at this practice grew to 65 employees. And you can learn more about the videos themselves here .

Pamela Lowe, OD, FAAO , of Niles, Illinois, discusses the three essential pillars to a successful practice and professional life: advocacy, education and practice management.