Opticals combine providing medically necessary eyewear and fashion. So WO turned to Liza Amlani, principal and founder of Retail Strategy Group, to ask if there are missed opportunities in retailing and marketing opticals. In the first of this two-part podcast, she suggests optometrists and opticians can think outside of the box, especially in terms of simply "filling a need to get new eyewear." 

Several years ago, Caitlin Reghetti, OD, merged her interests in patient education with her skills for design and explaining things clearly. Believing that great design reinforces the quality content that doctors provide to patients, she branched out into a design business--DrReghettidesigns.com. Here, other eye care professionals can select forms, brochures, flyers and more to customize for their own offices. 

In this episode of WO Voices, Dr. Sara Varghai of Nova Optique + Eyecare in Arlington, Virginia, discusses how she finds the right staff fits for her practice, ensuring efficiency and collaboration between her entire team. 

Shira Kresch, OD, MS, FAAO, opened Michigan Contact Lens in Oak Park, Michigan, in the fall of 2023. Hear her explain how she determined there was a need for a contact lens specialty practice, how she discovered her passion for scleral lenses and where she compromised and where she didn't to get this practice off the ground. 

Janelle Davison, OD, of Smyrna, Georgia, uses goal-setting as a tool to help her expand her bandwidth, make an impact, leave a legacy and, in the process, amplify her own voice and that of others. Hear how she combines visionary thinking with practical steps. 

Sally Halim, OD, of Woolwich, New Jersey, is feeling the squeeze between counting on her parents to help get her manage the hectic schedules of her tween children and also worrying about what they can do.  Hear how she's organizing herself and what it means she has to let go of during her years as part of the "sandwich" generation. 

Brenda  Montecalvo, OD, FCOVD, FAAO, FCSO, is an optometrist and vision therapist in Beaver Creek, Ohio. She's the author of Visual Secrets for School Success, and in this podcast, she explains methods she encourages chairside and in vision therapy to help student use all of their visual skills for academic success. 

Dr. Neda Gioia and Dr. Julie Poteet talk about a new certification program to deliver much-wanted nutrition education to patients. The Certified Personalized Nutrition Certification is available at significant savings to members of the Ocular Wellness and Nutrition Society.

In this WO Voices podcast, Melissa Barnett, OD, FSAO, FSLS, FBCLA, talks with Leslie O'Dell, OD, FAAO, about the places where their careers have overlapped - particularly in dry eyes. Hear them talk about their work with the Intrepid Eye Society, Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society and more. 

Kaitlyn Duran, OD, is a 2023 graduate of Indiana University School of Optometry, where she mastered time management skills that allowed her to focus on her studies, her competitive running and her husband. She details the apps and strategies she uses to stay organized and how the discipline will help her as she starts her career and pays off student loans. Congratulations, Dr. Duran - and the class of 2023. Can't wait to see what you do! 

In this episode, Neda Gioia, OD, CNS, FOWNS, CFMP, of Shrewsbury, New Jersey,  and the new president of the Ocular Wellness and Nutrition Society, talks with Rebecca Treen, an OD candidate with the class of 2026 at SUNY College of Optometry, on how wellness and nutrition resonate with today's students, patients and a growing number of health care providers.