What I Wish My Eye Doctor Did For Me/What I’m Glad My Eye Doctor Did For Me - Eyes on the Prize # 22
Thank You for teaching us through our own experiences how to treat and see others. I pray for my cohort, that we would be a force of good in the world. That we would see the person sitting in front of us not the condition that they have. Remind us to be humble, driven, and genuine health care providers.
Thank You for leading by example as always.
Love,
Grace
Why did I want to write this blog?
The reason I wanted to become an optometrist had nothing to do with my eye doctor actually, and I think that’s sad. I hope that I can be an eye doctor who impacts people’s lives by learning from my experiences and the experiences of others. I hope that you take little nuggets of wisdom from today's blog whether you’re going to be the doctor or the patient.
Cindy
I think in terms of finding a doctor, my parents didn't realize that there's a peds specialty or even know about myopia management. I think I wish my doctor had informed them, but it was never brought up for us
My doctor also overminused me, and I wish he hadn't :(
I like the contacts that my doctor fitted me with. Even though he wasn't a CL specialist, I've stuck to the same contacts and cleaning solution for many years and it's worked out for me!
My Thoughts
I think that’s such a good point: doctors can be a great resource for information and referrals. I wonder if we just assume people wouldn’t be willing to go or get extra/out-of-pocket procedures, but I think that we should offer it to them and let them decide what’s best.
It’s great that Cindy was able to get good contact lenses from her eye doctor, those can really make or break your quality of life!
Anon # 1
It has been years since I last saw my eye doctor; in fact, I’ve intentionally avoided them (except in the case of emergencies) because I’ve always been intimidated by them. In particular, I have felt shameful about my inability to see well from one eye, and I wished that during previous eye exams, my eye doctor would have verbally encouraged me more rather than stay silent the entire time because the silence made me feel judged, uncertain, and alone. I also wished my eye doctor better explained / better educated me about my condition rather than rush through it.
My Thoughts
First, I feel sad that this person’s experience with their eye doctor had been so negative. Being unable to see clearly isn’t the patient's fault, and there should be constant encouragement and feedback for the patient. Education on amblyopia (a difference of vision between the eyes), safety concerns, and empathy could’ve gone a long way here and could’ve made their experience a lot better!
Liz
I really appreciate it when my eye doctor takes the time to explain to me what’s going on with my eyes. I’m high risk for getting glaucoma and upon hearing that I was super scared. However my eye doctor answered any concerns that I had and whenever she ran any tests she would tell me what the test was for and explained to me the results of the test. I also really love how she’s honest with me! I once discussed with her how I was interested in getting hard contact lenses and she walked me through the whole process of it. Even when we were talking about the financial aspect of it, she broke down the pricing in detail and she was honest to me about how it wouldn’t really be worth it to get it! I was shocked because this meant less profit for her office and I really appreciated how she didn’t just recommend anything that would give her money. My visits with her never feel rushed and I always feel so heard and seen!
My Thoughts
I’m really glad that Liz has been well taken care of with her eye doctor. Glaucoma is a scary word, even before I went to school once I was told I could have it (even though I was young and I later learned why they possibly thought that), and it scared me a lot. My doctor barely explained it to me, and I wish they didn’t just throw around words like that.
I’m glad that Liz’s experience was patient-centered, and now she doesn’t have to go through the experience of hard contacts because her doctor didn’t think it was the best for her.
As health care providers, so much of what our patients go through is by what we say, what we recommend, and how we explain things.
Anon # 2
I wish my eye doctor asked me how I was doing
My Thoughts
Sometimes, I’ll admit I forget I’m interacting with a person and not the problem they’re having. I hope that I can get better at my interpersonal care skills so that my patient knows that I care about how they’re doing.
Serena
I wish my eye doctor would explain why they’re doing certain tests and what the results mean! I think a lot of the times there are patients who could care less why you’re asking them when a letter breaks into two or what you’re looking at while they’re about to fall asleep in the slit lamp, but there are also patients who are curious about what they’re paying for! It’s more time consuming to explain every single test but a one-liner can’t take more than 10 seconds. I also wish that there was no such thing as waiting, but that’s life… Things I’m glad my eye doctor does are making sure my eyes are healthy, making sure I can see, and not taking up 3 hours of my time.
My Thoughts
I think it’s so hard and so easy to explain what’s going on to our patients. I definitely think that it’s worth a quick explanation and it helps with their understanding and compliance. I hope that I can also get faster with my own eye exams for my patient.
Anon # 3
When growing up, MDs and ODs would say my recurrent eye swelling was nothing to worry about. Color me surprised when I enter my second week of optometry school and learn how dangerous preseptal/orbital cellulitis can be. To this day, I feel slighted, maybe angry and frustrated that something so "basic" with the most obvious of signs was never diagnosed. I wish my providers did their due diligence and took my concerns seriously.
My Thoughts
That must’ve been so scary to hear about. I hope that we can see our patients' pain seriously, refer out if it's not within our comfort or scope, and see that the patient is properly educated on their condition. It’s sad to hear that there was a lack of empathy and education, but I hope that we can see those kinds of conditions in the future and provide quality care going forward.
Afroza
I wish my eye doctor treated me like a regular person instead of treating me with awe and pity (my power’s way higher than normal, -14). I’m glad she took into consideration what I believed worked for me in the past, instead of what another dr prescribed for me.
My Thoughts
Wow, the awe and pity part. I feel guilty of that because sometimes I don’t know what to say to my patient, but I hope that we can treat our patients with dignity and respect. It’s great to hear that your doctor listened to you and involved you in your own eye care, I love that.
Grace (Me)
I remember going to my eye doctor and wanting to get my PD (pupillary distance) measured for glasses since I wanted to get my pair from somewhere else, and my doctor refused. Although it’s not against the law, I felt like my doctor didn’t have to do that the way she did. Besides that experience, my eye doctor felt very cold. When I also asked about getting LASIK, I was just told it would wear off when I was 40 anyways. I never felt very heard or experienced a positive eye exam with her.
Looking back now, I understand that doctors are just humans. We’re not superheroes. We’re people who have a bit of knowledge in a certain area, but we’re going to have our own issues and limitations. I hope that for myself and my colleagues that we just strive to continue to improve ourselves to be the best providers for our patients.
I’m glad to read all the happy experiences. I hope that my patients would also feel uplifted, cared for, heard, and seen when they’re with me.
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