When I was in medical school, I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do at first.
During my third year — the clinical rotations — I spent 12 weeks in internal medicine, which I really enjoyed. Then I moved on to my surgical rotation, and I was assigned an ophthalmology elective. Funny enough, it wasn’t even my first or second choice — I was placed there because the other rotations were full.
But that ophthalmology rotation changed everything for me.
One patient in particular stood out. He was a veteran I saw at the VA hospital. He had no interest in hearing about lifestyle changes. He told me directly — and politely — that he was going to eat what he wanted, smoke what he wanted, and drink what he wanted. “Thank you, doc,” he said, “but I’m just going to live my life.”
Sometime later, that same patient returned — this time for cataract surgery. I happened to be on rotation the day of his procedure.
After surgery, I saw something I hadn’t seen in him before: a smile. He was engaged. He listened intently to every instruction the surgeon gave. He didn’t want to mess anything up — not after what he’d just experienced.
And that was the moment I knew:
Ophthalmology wasn’t just medicine. It was transformational. I realized how powerful it is to help someone see the world clearly again — and how that alone can change how they live their life.
That’s what drew me to ophthalmology, and that’s why I chose this path.
