“Doctors Day” – usually preceded by “Happy,” as in “Happy Doctors Day,” today, feels anything but happy. Aside from a surprise mid-day carrot cake from an appreciative office staff, the general sentiment among doctors isn’t roses, smiles, and sunshine. Here’s

This month, February 2018, is age-related macular degeneration month. With the purpose of increasing awareness of this vision-limiting and life-altering disease, here are ten common questions about age-related macular degeneration. Question #1 – What is macular degeneration? Macular degeneration is

The Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology is the marquee event for ophthalmology, with presentation of landmark research, unveiling of innovative technology, hundreds of educational symposia, and updates on the dynamic ophthalmology marketplace. What was the hottest topic

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming solar eclipse and how to safely view the eclipse without losing vision from solar retinopathy! A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the

By now I’m sure you’ve heard about British woman who reportedly showed up for cataract surgery only to have her doctors discover that 27 contact lenses were unknowingly stuck IN her eye. In this post (and video!) I will explain

You’ve spent 25 years of your life in school becoming an Ophthalmologist, putting you in the top 1% education level in the U.S. For all that time and hard work, you deserve a great opportunity. However, finding that perfect opportunity

Several months ago I was at an ophthalmology meeting in another state and needed to call a patient using my personal cell phone. While I occasionally give patients my cell number, I prefer to make phone calls from the office, but

Self-entitled, self-absorbed, and selfie-obsessed. These are just a few adjectives critics use to describe the millennial generation of today’s 16- to 36-year-olds, born between 1980 and 2000. Born in the early 80s, I both understand the criticism levied against my generation

Behind every Indy Car driver there is a story – Buddy Lazier’s story hits close to home for any parent, any child, and for anyone interested in ophthalmology and vision research. Buddy Lazier’s daughter, Jacqueline, was born with aniridia, a

The consult was for “decreased vision and eye pain.” Inpatient consults at the VA Hospital come up infrequently, but when they do, it’s inevitably something interesting. As soon as I access the patient’s medical record, a flashing rectangular box encasing

“I’ve been meaning to thank you,” a Thanksgiving Day tribute to those often un-thanked, but whose contributions make it an honor to practice medicine each day. 1 – Dear hospital phone operator, I’ve been meaning to thank you. I don’t

It is time once again for the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Annual Meeting, when over 13,000 ophthalmologists and another 12,000 others gather from around the world to discuss all things ophthalmology, including new research, treatments, and technology. For the first

Let me share with you a few insights so far on Stanford Medicine X 2015 (MedX), but first, let’s talk about colored filters, how our individual filters blind our perspective, and why we must remove our individual filters in order

Last year I used two of my hard-earned vacation days to attend the inaugural meeting of Millennial Eye Live in Austin, Texas. The meeting was unlike any scientific conference or medical meeting I had ever attended, and as soon as

Recently I met a boy, a boy with leukemia, a young boy with comic-book worthy superpowers. This boy, this superhero, is one I will never, never forget. When I entered the exam room, I was immediately struck by the sight of a

In May 2015, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology held its Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, and the Twitter feed was active, informative, entertaining, and engaging. Here are the highlights of the #ARVO2015 Twitter feed. How many tweets were

Think about the last time you asked a friend for a recommendation. Maybe you were looking for a new restaurant, a good book, or a trusted mechanic. While you undoubtedly took into account your friend’s recommendation, chances are you then

Have you ever had a professional photo shoot? I have had many…but not because I particularly enjoy being photographed. Actually, it is quite the contrary. Photo shoots have always been a traumatic experience for me. You see, for some reason,

My mother-in-law texted me about The Dress, random friends are blowing up my inbox, and the nurses in the Emergency Department were huddled around the computer at 2 AM debating the color of the dress. Everyone in the world seems to

Let’s create the world’s best medical search engine. This search engine must have a basic knowledge of human anatomy and an understanding of physiology and mechanisms of disease. It must be able to create a broad differential diagnosis including the

By now you’ve seen so many videos of everyone from friends to famous taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. In the past few weeks, awareness of ALS has reached an all- time high and tens of millions of dollars have

All his life, Isaiah Austin had dreams of playing in the NBA, until this week, when he was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome, forcing him to quit competitive basketball due to increased risk of serious vascular injury. Austin’s experience with Marfan’s

President Obama made headline news this week by announcing he will use executive power to extend the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) student loan repayment program to millions of Americans with student loan debt. This repayment plan, passed into law on

As I watched this year’s NFL draft, I wondered what it must be like to be an athlete in the draft…the excitement of being drafted to your favorite team and realizing your childhood dreams, the validation of thousands of hours

My childhood sports hero was John Stockton. His poster was in my room, his trading card in my wallet, and his signature #12 on my uniform for every sport I played. When asked what I wanted to be when I

What would Christmas be like without red and green? No candy canes, Christmas trees, or red-vested Santa? At this year’s Christmas feast, you know, the one with the ham sandwiches, potato chips, and red-green jello salad, when wondering what to

It’s first and 10, in the middle of the fourth quarter of a tied ballgame. As the quarterback, your team is depending on you to analyze the defense, call audibles using a combination of states, colors, and numbers, and move

“Despite my advising the patient of the potential risks, he still left against medical advice.” I dictated these exact words in two consecutive discharge summaries last week…on two consecutive days. On Wednesday my words described a patient who, from the

Stephen Marriott and I share many things, including our first name, college alma mater, and fight against debilitating eye disease, but I believe it was something other than our similarities that stood out when reading the news recently of his