Patients in a retina clinic usually arrive with a high anxiety level and undue amount of stress. It is important to remember how much our sight impacts our daily living. Treat every patient as if they are family and recognize their difficulties and remember that every patient has a different personality. I live and work with a goal of making every patient smile just once before leaving my office. That helps to ease the stress of a difficult diagnosis and lets them know that someone cares about what they are going through enough to make them feel at home.

We commonly see geriatric patients who have a lot of health issues with which they are constantly dealing. Let’s not forget how important it is to understand what is on their minds and agendas in addition to our work with their eyes. Being sensitive to our patients’ needs is an important part of our jobs. Often by being “truly present” with our patients during their exams we can help them deal with their other conditions. Sometimes just being able to cross the eyes off their list as a concern is incredibly valuable, as is the reassurance that their eye conditions are under good control.