Welcome to WO Voices, a podcast series from Women In Optometry, featuring women ODs and others who talk about some aspect of practice, business, career choices, family, volunteer interests, leadership in the profession and more. Hosted by WO editor Marjolijn Bijlefeld, WO Voices is a chance to share ideas within the WO community and beyond. It’s another platform to bring women’s voices in the profession to the fore. If you’d like to join us on a podcast episode, we’d love to hear from you.
Maggie Craddock is the author of Lifeboat: Navigating Unexpected Career Change and Disruption. She joins WO Voices in this second podcast to discuss her workbook-type approach to career disruption and uncertainty.
Angela Abraham, OD , is the newly appointed Diversity and Inclusion Liaison at New England College of Optometry. Hear as she talks about the school's commitment to increasing the diversity of its student body and how other stakeholders in the optometric profession can do more—and why they should.
Hannah Cho, OD , of Irvine, California, started her independent practice about eight years ago. In the next six or so months, she plans to open seven more. Hear how and why she developed this model. For more info on the virtual grand opening, go to facebook.com/FLOEoptometry .
Elise Brisco, OD, FAAO, CCH, FCOVD , of Hollywood Vision Center in Los Angeles, California, details the way she combines the latest technology along with nutritional and lifestyle counseling to help patients tame their dry eyes to look and feel their best. This episode is sponsored by MedOp, maker of MaxiTears Pro.
Maggie Craddock is the author of Lifeboat: Navigating Unexpected Career Change and Disruption. She joins WO Voices to discuss the emotional connection we have with money and how that affects our decisions and our lives.
Michele Andrews, OD , Senior Director of North America Professional & Academic Affairs at CooperVision, discusses how clinicians can—and why they should—talk about the progression of myopia with parents. The Brilliant Futures™ Myopia Management Program provides guidance on ways to include these conversations. Indications for Use: MiSight® 1 day (omafilcon A) soft (hydrophilic) contact lenses for daily wear are indicated for the correction of myopic ametropia and for slowing the progression o...
Linda Chous, OD , owner of the whimsically named The Glasses Menagerie in Minneapolis, Minnesota, encourages ODs to be on the lookout for a possible spike in nonorganic vision loss. She explains how NOVL is different from malingering and how to counsel patients and their parents.
In January 2020, Stephanie Woo, OD, FAAO, FSLS , opened the Contact Lens Institute of Nevada in Las Vegas, a clinic dedicated entirely to custom contact lenses. Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA , shares Dr. Woo's passion for fitting scleral lens patients. Enjoy listening to these two past presidents of the Scleral Lens Education Society talk.
Jennifer Stewart, OD , of Norwalk Eye Care and Performance 20/20 has been using this time to catch up on webinars and education, spend time with family and plan for how the practice where she's a partner and the sports vision training center she co-founded can be ready to see patients in a safe way. A note stuck on her computer reminds her that crisis creates innovation—and she's looking for innovations to help get these businesses back on track as quickly as possible.
Bridgitte Shen Lee, OD, FBCLA, FAAO , and her practice partner reopened Vision Optique in Houston, Texas, with safety protocols in place to help protect doctors, staff and patients. Dr. Shen Lee was a guest on WO Voices as she was planning the reopening.
Kelechi Mezu-Nnabue, OD, MS, MPH, DrPH , worries about the patients she serves in her Pikeville, Maryland, practice, as well as those who would normally be served by her family foundation in Baltimore and in Nigeria.
From keeping patients with ocular infections out of emergency rooms and urgent care clinics to providing counseling on ocular and systemic health issues, the critical role that optometrists play in the health care becomes even more apparent during the COVID-19 crisis. How can ODs embrace advances in technology to do even more for patients? Dorothy Hitchmoth, OD , brings her vast experience in patient advocacy, health care administration and more to WO Voices.
Cheryl Murphy, OD , of Long Island, New York, details some of the steps that the doctors and staff members are taking to do what they can to flatten the curve, protect themselves and protect patients. Note that guidance on COVID-19 is being updated continually and locally, so this is Dr. Murphy sharing her experience; to learn the latest about COVID-19, please visit aoa.org/coronavirus , your state or regional optometric associations, the CDC and/or your local public health agencies....
Monica Johnsonbaugh, OD , of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, worked in a variety of settings before opening her own practice, Focus 313 Eye Care. The revenue from that location, a corporate location and some speaking engagements were enough to support her, her husband/business manager and provide enough to accelerate loan payments. Hear how she did it.
Susan Resnick, OD, FAAO , and Viola Kanevsky, OD , both have busy private practices in New York City. Both are almost exclusively cash-pay practices. These two doctors talk about how and why it works for them, as well as what to consider if weighing such a move for yourself. They'll be hosting a webinar on this topic on ODWire on March 11.
Debby Feinberg, OD, FAAO , of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, is one of the leading voices in the field of neurovisual optometry. She has trained 27 eye care practitioners in her method of providing fast help to patients who suffer from congenital or acquired issues with balance, dizziness, nausea and anxiety due to visual issues. Dr. Feinberg is a 2018 Women In Optometry Theia Award winner for innovation. Take me back to the Specialty Services cover story package....
Melanie Weiss, OD , in the second part of a two-part podcast, describes how she found help in treatment and in a supportive community, including optometrists who helped her keep her practice afloat after news of her opioid addiction became publicly known. Now back at work, she dedicates 20 percent of her time to talking about addiction and recovery and has launched Vision of Hope at myvisionmyhope.com . Asking for help doesn't make you weak, she says. It makes you strong. Listen to part 1....
Melanie Weiss, OD , of Watertown, South Dakota, had it all: a loving husband, three beautiful daughters, a successful optometry practice. Her opioid addiction put it all at risk. In part 1 of this 2-part series, Dr. Weiss describes how three surgeries in three years contributed to a hellish dependency. The day she was arrested became the turning point in getting her life back in order. Listen to part 2....
Emily Bjore, OD , of Eagen, Minnesota, and her husband had accumulated nearly $400K in student loan debt. Hear how they decided to scrap the 30-year-repayment plan and accelerate the payment—and stuck with it, even after a serious illness.
You don't have to look far to find an opportunity to flex your leadership muscle, says Michele Andrews, OD . "Start where you are." Dr. Andrews says opportunities to see leadership in action are everywhere—as are opportunities to encourage others to explore their potential.
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 care professionals thrive.
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 collaborate with many training professionals and athletes from novice to nationally recognized....
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 business. So far, it's working well for them.
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.
