Finances

Let an OD Mentor Guide Your Career

By Cheryl G. Murphy, OD

Feb. 17, 2016

Mirroring the mindfulness of an experienced mentor does not stop in optometry school. By surrounding yourself with fellow optometrists you admire, you can continue to improve your skills and build yourself into the best OD that you can be.

While attending optometry school, I tried to establish connections with professors who inspired me. I looked up to each for different reasons: their expansive knowledge, their funny personality or the kindness and encouragement that they so selflessly imparted upon me during times when I was stressed out or struggling.

More than 10 years have passed since I graduated, but I still remember the teachers I had that made a difference, and sometimes even bump into them from time to time at larger continuing education events. I live about an hour away from where I went to school, so since I don’t see them on a regular basis, I eventually felt the need to surrounded myself with a new network of optometrists from whom I could draw encouragement, inspiration and knowledge.

Immediately after graduation I was lucky enough to be hired by an optometrist who really cared about helping me to develop my skills, and who took the time to coach me through the first few years I started practicing.

We worked side by side in twin exam rooms, so whenever I had questions, or needed a quick second opinion, he was right there and happy to give me his take on things. He wasn’t doing it out of obligation, or to brag about how much he knew and I didn’t, he was just a truly friendly and kind OD who loved what he did and wanted to share his knowledge and passion for the profession with others. He respected me and never looked down at me because I was a new grad, never treated me any differently because I was a female OD, and never shamed me for admitting that I didn’t know something when I sought his advice. He treated me as an equal and a friend.

After about ten years of working for him, he was diagnosed with ALS and had to retire from optometry sooner than he had ever expected. (If you would like to read more about his story and consider making a donation, you can do so HERE). I still work at the office in which I worked with him, but needed to find an additional part-time job, so I set out to meet other ODs in my area who I could work for, and also wanted to find others nationwide who I could be inspired by and learn from.

If you are looking to build a network of ODs, whom you admire and can learn from:

Meet Local ODs: Handing out my resume in person and sitting down to meet with local ODs who weren’t necessarily looking to hire someone at that particular moment allowed me to find ODs in my area with whom I could connect. I also have met ODs in my area through my county chapter of the NYSOA at monthly meetings (though I no longer go as often as I should), and have stayed in touch with them over time.

Meet ODs at Industry Events and CE: The nature of my other work (freelance writing for this publication and various other Jobson publications like Review of Optometry and 20/20 magazine) has let me find ODs I admire nationwide, and with whom I feel comfortable e-mailing or chatting with on e-mail, social media and at other industry events. CE classes are another way I have been able to not only expand my knowledge base and keep up with the latest trends, but also where I can find ODs out there that I am interested in following and learning from. Even though some of the teaching ODs at CE events do not know my name, and may not even be able to pick me out of a line up, I know theirs and I hope they know that they are making an immensely positive, uplifting and long lasting impact on other ODs across the nation and on our profession (I’m looking at you, Melton and Thomas!)

NetworkThrough Peers: One of my friends, whom I have known since high school, is also an OD who speaks nationwide and is very well known in our profession. I have made connections to other ODs through him that I have kept in touch with through the years on e-mail and social media. Don’t discount the power of being introduced to someone, even if it is “virtually.” I have made “friends” with a few ODs via e-mail and have kept in touch with them for years now and have still yet to meet them in person. Also, remember to keep in touch with your classmates from optometry school. Even if you haven’t talked to them in a while, send them an e-mail and reignite that connection. They’ll probably be happy to hear from you!

Engage with Social Media Groups: As far as meeting ODs on social media goes, I have mixed feelings about that. I have joined and quit and rejoined a few of the social media OD groups out there. Honestly, while I like to see what is going on in everyone else’s realm of optometry, I find some of the groups to be full of a lot of mindless chatter, or even worse, sometimes they can get pretty offensive. I recommend not using this as your primary channel of making connections with new ODs, but just something that you tune into every now and again to check “what’s on the radar” of optometrists across the nation, or to pose a question that you need the answer to.

If you choose to meet ODs via social media, pick a channel that keeps it professional and classy. I have found LinkedIn to be the safest best. I also really miss this great group on Facebook, called Peripheral Vision. I think I enjoyed that one more because its posts were more regulated and monitored more closely than some of the groups out there today. The Facebook group Optometry and Technology also is great. If you choose to be on social media groups, please remember, more people than you think can see what you’re posting. I know of corporations in industries outside of ours that actually pay other companies to look at activity of potential employees on social media to try to dig up dirt on them before they decide whether or not to hire them, so please, “Stay Classy, ODs!”

Having mentors, and growing a network of optometrists that you look up to and trust, can be invaluable in your career whether you are an employed OD or a practice owner. Finding the right people to add to your circle can be tricky at first, but with a little courage, luck and the right resources, you will be able to find people who help you to become the best OD you can be.

Who do you consider a mentor, or an OD whom you admire, and why? Through what channels do you typically make the best connections with other ODs? How has having a mentor, or a network, influenced the way you practice and how successful and happy you have become as an OD?

Cheryl G. Murphy, OD, practices in Holbrook, N.Y. You can like her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @murphyod. To contact her: murphyc2020@gmail.com.

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