Our OD spotlight for the month of July is Dr. Stephanie Woo, O.D., F.A.A.O., F.S.L.S.
What is your current mode of optometry practice?
Private practice in very rural areas (3 locations).Describe your career path from graduation to where you are today.
After graduating SCCO, I completed a Cornea/Contact Lens residency at UMSL. From there, I came back to my hometown in Lake Havasu, AZ and I began practicing with my childhood optometrist, Dr. Stuart Adams. Originally, I thought I would be there for a few years and then move somewhere else, but I ended up loving the practice, the patients, and the location. I am in the process of buying into the practice now! During this time, I also became involved with lecturing, writing, and consulting too.What made you decide to become an optometry practice owner?
During optometry school, I always knew I wanted to own my own practice. Making decisions and having control was very important to me. Dr. Adams was a great mentor, and we work very well together. After about a year of practicing with Dr. Adams, I felt we were a great team, and that is when I decided to approach him with the idea of partnership.
Are you involved in any other optometry related work?
Yes! I love how my optometry career has developed into many different elements. I love lecturing - I lecture at many of the meetings with COPE approved courses, and I also lecture on behalf of many different companies, whose products I truly believe in. Most of my lectures are specialty contact lens related, but I also lecture to students, which I really enjoy! I also co-author the GP Insights column for Contact Lens Spectrum, and I write other articles from time to time for other publications. I am also the Treasurer of a non-profit organization called the Scleral Lens Education Society.
How did you get involved in speaking, writing articles, posters, research, etc?
Dr. Ed Bennett, one of my great mentors during my residency, helped me to get involved with speaking and writing. He presented a few opportunities, which I gladly accepted, and then it developed into more companies asking me to write for them. As far as speaking goes, I have to thank Richard Dorer, who was my Blanchard rep during my residency. He helped me to become an expert on fitting scleral lenses, and I became very comfortable with the Blanchard Contact Lens products. Around the time I was completing my residency, Blanchard began a series of lectures and workshops called "Beyond the Limbus," in which they taught other practitioners how to fit their scleral lenses. I was fortunate to be asked by Richard and also Jean Blanchard to present many of these workshops. I found it extremely rewarding - I was able to teach practitioners how to fit scleral lenses successfully and also answer many real life, clinical questions. I knew teaching practitioners and students was going to be a goal for my career - it felt so natural, and I am genuinely excited and passionate about teaching others!
Any advice for a young optometrist looking to educate other ODs through research, lecturing, etc?
If you want to become involved with lecturing or writing, just ask! Look for contact information at the end of publications and reach out to them via email and ask about authoring a piece. They are always looking for great writers! For lecturing, simply apply on the websites (aaopt.org, optometrysmeeting.org, visionexpo.com, etc). with your course outline, description, and goals. For commercial lecturing, ask your local rep to consider you for speaking positions. It's very easy to get involved, you just have to be proactive!
What do you do for fun outside of optometry?
I love traveling! I often times try to piggyback a lecture or speaking event with a mini vacation. If my schedule allows, I stay a day or two after my lecturing commitment to explore the city I'm in. I also love wine! Anywhere I visit, I try and find a winery or at least try some of the local wines in that area. I've started a wine collection that I am aging - I have about 120 bottles so far. Lastly, I have 2 dachshunds who I adore, so when I am home, I spend time and play with them!
The Top 15 Tips and Tricks for Studying for Part I of NBEO®
Some of the Top 15 Tips include:
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We’ve put together a ton of great tips and tricks for studying for Part I of NBEO along with two tailored study programs that will help you thoroughly prepare for the big day. Remember, you’ve made it this far and you can totally do this!