#26: Eye Give a Damn about Overcoming Obstacles with Dr. Cecelia Koetting

After getting her first pair of glasses at age 12 and seeing the individual leaves on trees for the first time, Pam knew she’d be an optometrist. As an adult, she struggled with her own dry eyes, which led her to focus on helping others alleviate their symptoms. Today, Dr. Pam Theriot advocates for 4 simple steps for a daily hygiene routine: Hydrate, Harmonize, Heat, Heal. Listen in to hear how Dr. Theriot is sharing her knowledge with the masses through her clinic, her book and now the metaverse: https://theomniverse.city/dry-eye-metaverse/

Learn more about Dr. Pam Theriot

Find her book "Alleviate Dry Eye"  

Key Moments 

0:48 Dr. Allen introduces Dr. Pam Theriot 

2:05 How Dr. Theriot found optometry 

3:17 Moving around as a military spouse 

5:38 Creating a dry eye clinic 

8:43 The path to self-publishing 

13:48 Preparing patients prior to initial consultation 

14:40 post-appointment follow-up communication 

16:43 Dr. Theriot’s 4 simple steps for daily eye hygiene 

18:11 Recommending nutritional supplements with Omega fatty acids 

20:57 Dry eye technology and treatments 

23:03 The future dry eye treatments 

25:48 The first dry eye clinic in the Metaverse 

33:07 Eye care should be part of your daily health care

Eye Give a Damn hosted by Dr. Joseph Allen is produced by FluoreSCENE Media.

For more information on Dr. Joseph Allen visit https://doctoreyehealth.com/

Visit https://odcommunity.com/ to learn more about FluoreSCENE Media. 

When it comes to overcoming obstacles, Dr. Cecelia Koetting likes to tackle them head on. In her mid-thirties while training for a marathon, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer right before the world shut down for COVID. Luckily, her attitude has always been to never ask “why me?” but to find a path forward and roll with it. Her experience battling cancer led her to try to connect with each patient on a more human level. As for optometry and patient care, if Dr. Cecelia Koetting doesn’t have an answer to a question, she dives in to figure it out. This often leads to the creation of her CE lectures, including those on hormone replacement therapy and limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD). This has also led to her current pursuit of a Master of Public Health in epidemiology and biostatistics which she hopes will allow her to find opportunities to further improve the profession of optometry.

Eye Give a Damn hosted by Dr. Joseph Allen is produced by FluoreSCENE Media.

For more information on Dr. Joseph Allen visit https://doctoreyehealth.com/

Visit https://odcommunity.com/ to learn more about FluoreSCENE Media. 

Michael Cymbor, OD, FAAO, radiates with a passion for optometry, especially when it comes to the connection between exercise, muscle mass, and ocular health. He discusses the research and how different types and intensities of exercise should be considered for different conditions. He knows each patient will have a different reaction to “you should exercise more,” so he makes sure to meet them where they are regarding their exercise routine. Dr. Cymbor truly enjoys mentoring optometry students, as well as tapping into his creative side, which led to the creation of hid video: “Night of the Living DEModex.” 

 

Key Moments: 

2:49 Dr. Cymbor’s path to a career in optometry 

5:13 What brought Dr. Cymbor to State College, PA (“Happy Valley” … home of Penn State University) 

6:20 The story behind his video: “The Night of the Living Demodex” 

11:46 Dr. Cymbor’s passion for glaucoma care and how it led to The Glaucoma Institute in partnership with his ophthalmologist partner 

14:55 The types of optometrists who gravitate towards a glaucoma specialty 

19:09 Current views on glaucoma research 

21:08 Dry eye and ocular surface disease 

27:30 Finding your sense of purpose 

30:00 The value and importance of mentorship 

33:10 Exercise and ocular health 

38:09 How muscle mass impacts blood sugar levels 

41:29 Exercise and eye pressure as it relates to glaucoma 

44:05 Research into exercise and stress management 

48:10 “Meeting patients where they are” regarding exercise 

51:55 The Pickleball effect 

54:00 The importance of earlier intervention to improve outcomes

Eye Give a Damn hosted by Dr. Joseph Allen is produced by FluoreSCENE Media.

For more information on Dr. Joseph Allen visit https://doctoreyehealth.com/

Visit https://odcommunity.com/ to learn more about FluoreSCENE Media. 

Jeffry Gerson always knew he wanted to be in the medical field, but having an aversion to blood and finding a positive role model led him to pursue optometry. Today, he practices at a collaborative OD/MD practice and is a prolific lecturer and writer who enjoys encouraging young people to explore optometry. He also partners with industry to help advise on new products and technologies, treatment protocols, and patient care. Over the years, he has developed a clear passion for the retina, especially caring for patients with age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. When it comes to patient education, Dr. Gerson is most excited about finding disease early so that he can start the conversation with his patients to put them on the right path. He and his wife also prioritize volunteering and giving back to their community, from going on missions and providing free eye exams to co-chairing a charity event that focuses on helping people with addiction.

Eye Give a Damn hosted by Dr. Joseph Allen is produced by FluoreSCENE Media.

For more information on Dr. Joseph Allen visit https://doctoreyehealth.com/

Visit https://odcommunity.com/ to learn more about FluoreSCENE Media. 

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own optometry private practice, developing a niche, inventing a new product, or giving back to the community, then take some time to be inspired by Dr. Janelle Davison’s story. Like many others, she found her path to optometry by speaking to her own optometrist then finding a mentor who was doing everything she wanted for her own life – owning a practice, growing a family, teaching, and loving life as a doctor. In 2010, She cold opened her own practice in Georgia and has never looked back. She and her business partner, who is also her husband, invented PARADEYEM software to help ODs take control of optical revenue, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. Today, Dr. Davison is known as the “Dry Eye Mentor” and enjoys customizing treatment plans for each patient by listening to their needs and addressing their goals.  As a natural extension to treating dry eye disease and based on a suggestion from a patient, Dr. Davison has evolved her clinic to provide full-service ocular aesthetics with an in-office spa. Finally, her true passion is mentoring high school students. She and her sister (a dentist) created S.C.O.R.E. INC. to “pay it forward” and encourage minority high school students to pursue careers in dentistry, optometry, or ophthalmology, as less than 6% of doctors in the US are African American or Hispanic American.

 

Discover more about Dr. Janelle Davison and her passions:

https://brillianteyesvisioncenter.com/

https://dryeyeinstituteofga.com/

https://thedryeyementor.com/

https://wescore.org/

https://paradeyem.com/

Eye Give a Damn hosted by Dr. Joseph Allen is produced by FluoreSCENE Media.

For more information on Dr. Joseph Allen visit https://doctoreyehealth.com/

Visit https://odcommunity.com/ to learn more about FluoreSCENE Media. 

Torn between math and medicine as an undergrad, Shalu Pal shadowed 10 different types of doctors to figure out which one was truly happy but didn’t find the joy she was seeking. Then, she walked into her optometrist’s office and heard laughter coming from patients, staff and doctor. At that point, she knew she had found her path forward. After optometry school in Southern California, Dr. Shalu Pal first specialized in specialty lenses at her residency in Oklahoma, which led to expanding her interests to dry eye disease, ocular aesthetics, and myopia management. Today, she focuses on her “why” of happiness as the owner of a thriving practice in Toronto, Canada, by fostering a warm, joyous environment for her staff and patients. Discover her strategies for building a robust clinic with the best doctors in each specialty focused on improving the lives of their patients. The doctors dive into current treatments for mastering myopia management as well as upcoming technologies in the pipeline. Dr. Pal also enjoys sharing her love for optometry with students, new grads and her colleagues through lecturing and co-editing the Mastering Myopia newsletter. 

 

Eye Give a Damn hosted by Dr. Joseph Allen is produced by FluoreSCENE Media.

For more information on Dr. Joseph Allen visit https://doctoreyehealth.com/

Visit https://odcommunity.com/ to learn more about FluoreSCENE Media. 

Parres Wright, OD, FAAO 

Joseph Allen, OD, FAAO, Diplo ABO (aka DoctorEyeHealth)

Eye Give a Damn hosted by Dr. Joseph Allen is produced by FluoreSCENE Media.

For more information on Dr. Joseph Allen visit https://doctoreyehealth.com/

Visit https://odcommunity.com/ to learn more about FluoreSCENE Media. 

For more information about Optometry Giving Sight, visit: https://givingsight.org/

Key Moments:

2:41 Dr. Alan Glazier’s background story

4:30 The launch of a “little group” called ODs on Facebook

7:12 Blazing your own trail in optometry

9:38 Managing the largest online community of optometrists

11:15 Being mission led with ODs on Facebook

12:10 Giving back with Optometry Giving Sight

15:33 Expanding on ODs on Facebook to fill unmet needs  

17:39 Presbyopia research  

29:12 Protecting your ideas with patents

34:58 Accepting how each OD choices to practice

Eye Give a Damn hosted by Dr. Joseph Allen is produced by FluoreSCENE Media.

For more information on Dr. Joseph Allen visit https://doctoreyehealth.com/

Visit https://odcommunity.com/ to learn more about FluoreSCENE Media. 

Dr. Brianna Rhue, co-founder of Dr. Contact Lens
Dr. Joseph Allen, also known as Doctor Eye Health
Key Moments:
1:40 – Brianna Rhue’s backstory
3:39 – Her private practice journey from associate to “soul” ownership
7:58 – The genesis of Dr. Contact Lens
12:15 – The Dr. Contact Lens patient experience
14:37 – Building a technology company and driving change
20:12 – The value of investing in yourself, your team and your practice
22:55 – Learning from other industries and treating the patient also as a consumer
31:48 – The biggest fear and hope for the future of optometry

Eye Give a Damn hosted by Dr. Joseph Allen is produced by FluoreSCENE Media.

For more information on Dr. Joseph Allen visit https://doctoreyehealth.com/

Visit https://odcommunity.com/ to learn more about FluoreSCENE Media. 

Dr. Melissa Trego is a clinician, researcher, educator, and administrator who earned an OD as well as a PhD in cellular and molecular biology. As the Dean of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University and past president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO), she discusses some of the opportunities and challenges the world of academic optometry faces today. Dean Trego’s passion for optometric education is palpable and her main goal is to ensure her faculty and students have everything they need to succeed. She is truly inspired by the expansive breadth and depth of optometry and dedicated to bringing more students into the profession. Finally, she and Dr. Joseph Allen ( @DoctorEyeHealth ) touch on the future of AI and technology in optometry.Eye Give a Damn hosted by Dr. Joseph Allen is produced by FluoreSCENE Media. For more information on Dr. Joseph Allen visit https://doctoreyehealth.com/ Visit https://odcommunity.com/ to learn more about FluoreSCENE Media.