Like many of you these days, who have yet to reopen for routine care, I miss seeing patients and being able to help them. It’s tough when patients call or text me that their vision has changed a bit and they need an eye exam, and I have to turn them down. I’m so excited to get back to that ...
By Michael Bacigalupi, OD, MS, FAAO |
March 09, 2020
I joined an established private practice immediately after graduating from optometry school, and it just wasn’t for me. I was primarily doing refractive management for my patients, and I wanted to do more. I wanted to practice full-scope optometry, to truly help people and make a difference. I was able to find that fulfillment when I opened a practice in a rural community that really needed me, where I could make a significant impact on people’s lives. Today, as dean of a rural optometry school, I get to extend that opportunity to the next generation of optometrists.
I never planned to own a practice—especially not in rural Nevada. With a background in ophthalmology ocular disease, I always pictured myself in an MD/OD setting. But those opportunities weren’t coming my way, and I got tired of waiting. I decided to ...
I didn’t always know that I wanted to become a Doctor of Optometry—just that I loved science, wanted to help people, and didn’t want to pursue traditional medicine. In college, I started researching careers that would marry my love of science with my ...
Born and raised in Wayne Gretzky territory, aka Western Canada, it was no surprise that I played ice hockey as a youth. In fact, it’s what got me to the U.S., as I came here to play for Norwich University in Vermont on a hockey scholarship. After ...
VSP Eyes of Hope® recently asked me to consult on-set for a video about their mission to help increase access to eye care and eyewear for people in need. Because Doctors of Optometry are central to the delivery of care, I was there to help ensure the ...
Working at a private practice in high school, I loved the freedom the doctors had to spend time with their patients and form meaningful connections with them. Today, as a new OD, I seek out those connections to enhance my patients’ experience and to ...
In the U.S., one in two adults has diabetes or prediabetes—and the numbers keep rising. As Doctors of Optometry (ODs), we can help slow the impact the disease can have on vision and overall health through early detection, intervention, and ...
By Dean Jennifer Coyle, OD, MS, FAAO |
November 05, 2019
When I was 15, my family lived in Alaska, where I got my first job at the local Dairy Queen. Soon after becoming employed, I went to the sole optometrist in town and told him I had been wearing glasses since fourth grade and wanted contacts. I told ...
Like many of you, I graduated from optometry school with a plethora of knowledge about vision care and eye health. I was ready to conquer the world, providing superior eye care one patient at a time. However, when I went into private practice ...
I started my practice in Los Osos, CA, which for a small town of 10,000 was a mecca for optometrists—there were nine of us in town when my practice opened. Finding success in a saturated environment was daunting, but we determined we could all be ...
As you have likely seen or read, VSP Global® has just announced that the acquisition of Visionworks is complete.
At the same time, you may also have seen the news release that announced major investments in the VSP Global Premier Program for private practice doctors.
Last year, as the VSP Global® Premier Program celebrated its fifth anniversary, I blogged about the benefits my practice has experienced being a part of this program. The Premier Program has helped me increase my practice’s revenue and grow my ...
I went into private practice optometry because of my father. Growing up, I would sit at the kitchen table for hours, listening to him talk about his patients—not just about how he treated their eyes, but how he impacted their lives, and ...
If you had asked me during optometry school how I defined success, I would have answered, “It’s a practice with my name on the door.” Today, just one year post-graduation and three months after joining an established practice, I would answer that ...
As you have likely seen or read, VSP Global® announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Visionworks, subject to completion of regulatory approval. This is an investment that takes a significant leap forward in meeting ...
Reflecting back on my career, my favorite patient was a seven-year-old girl who came in right after I bought my practice. She sat in the chair asking question after question—about the phoropter, the optics, what it’s like being an optometrist, you ...
VSP Global’s recent announcement that it plans to open three brick-and-mortar Eyeconic® locations has sparked questions, and even some misinformation out in the marketplace, specifically around how Eyeconic is marketing to VSP members, our patients. ...
As a young OD, jumping into private practice right out of school was a daunting proposition. However, I knew early on that owning my own practice would give me the work-life balance I needed, as well as the flexibility to control my patients’ quality ...
When I was in optometry school, the independent practice doctors I met seemed to enjoy their profession the most—it’s one of the many reasons I chose to go into independent practice myself, 38 years ago. While I’ve found this path rewarding on many ...
As you’ve been hearing (and reading) over the past several months, our industry is shifting, and VSP Global® needs to adapt to serve both our members and VSP network doctors in mutually beneficial ways. We recently announced that we will be opening ...
I knew when I was in eighth grade that I wanted to be an optometrist. I got glasses when I was six and contacts at 12, and because I spent so much time at the eye doctor, I decided right then that that’s what
I wanted to be. I even wrote to optometry schools when I was 14. Fast‐forward a few years, and now I’m leading a booming practice with 25 employees and thousands of patients. Today, I couldn’t be more
excited about private practice optometry—the freedom and opportunity it gives me to improve people’s lives and to be someone’s hero.
VSP Global sat down recently with new chairman of the board, Dr. Gordon Jennings, to learn more about his background and interests, his goals in the new role, and his thoughts on the future of optometry.
I coach a Little League baseball team and am an avid baseball fan. In the game of baseball, most teams, at any age, invest time, effort, and money in developing their players. This is done so that the team can be successful and so the players will ...
I went into private practice 20 years ago because I wanted to be the master of my own destiny. I felt that I could make a greater impact on patients’ lives if I wasn’t being told how to practice, and, could instead do what I felt would provide the ...
