Optometrist: Holding Hands While Fixing Eyes
Optometric physician Lori Youngman helps bring the world into focus. Each day at her practice in Vancouver, Wash., she prescribes glasses and contact lenses, treats eye disease, provides pre- and post-operative care to people who have had surgery, and, oh yeah, conducts routine eye exams. She's just part of the vision-care spectrum–but a critical part. "Say a patient needs cataract surgery," she says. "They come to me as a referral from their regular optometrist. I do the evaluation and the assessment as to whether they are a good candidate for the surgery." Then an ophthalmologist does the operation.
One of her recent patients was essentially blind. Youngman recommended her as a good candidate for cataract surgery. It was successful. "This woman who could not see faces or shapes very well went from that status to a person who could see her grandchildren's faces and could get around without having to depend on others," Youngman says with satisfaction. "I love the interaction with the patients ... holding someone's hand when they're crying over an eye infection that is potentially threatening. We, as a profession, tend to be very close to our patients. We are their cradle-to-grave eye doctors."
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