KEEPING IT REAL WITH …

Reap the Benefits of Having a Mentor

Learn why choosing a mentor may be the single most important decision of your career.

Michael S. Korenfeld, M.D.

The wisdom I received from my mentors has left an indelible impression on me. There's barely a day that goes by that I don't think about them and all the great lessons they taught me. While many ophthalmologists have one mentor, I was lucky enough to have three.

Priceless Guidance

The most valuable lesson I learned from my first mentor Bernard Becker, M.D., was to resist focusing only on eye care. He taught me that keeping informed about other disciplines in medicine makes you a more knowledgeable and resourceful ophthalmologist.

Dr. Becker and I met in 1986 while I was conducting a study during medical school on the role of atrial natriuretic factor on intraocular pressure. We met again during my fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Becker read national and international ophthalmology journals and other publications from all branches of science. As I recall the time we worked together during my fellowship, I'm awestruck by the number of articles he used to send me that often were linked to something I was working on. The insight he shared about cross-disciplinary specialties was amazing.

Once he found an association between something he read in a cardiology journal and a scientific problem we were grappling with concerning the cornea. The correlations he found between different medical specialties solved real medical dilemmas.

When I opened my practice, I took Dr. Becker's advice and kept abreast of other disciplines in medicine. Currently, I read the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association as well as publications focusing on optics. Reading a variety of journals helps me make associations between medical specialties that I wouldn't be able to do otherwise.

Lessons Learned

Two other mentors I met during my residency were Joseph Giangiacomo, M.D., and David Dueker, M.D. I discovered I could learn more by watching them practice medicine than simply listening to their advice. I paid close attention to how Dr. Giangiacomo, a pediatric ophthalmologist, communicated with patients and staff. He had many children of his own, so he brought a real sense of warmth and sensitivity to his interaction with children and parents. I learned that making little patients happy and comfortable first is a great step toward putting parents at ease. I still have the same little bird I used as a fixation target for pediatric patients during my residency. That fine-feathered friend still brings a smile to all who meet him.

Dr. Dueker, my third mentor, took me under his wing as a researcher. We brainstormed about different ways to treat and manage various eye diseases. He said that one day my theories could become a real contribution to patient care. Even now, we discuss ideas about different treatment approaches to eye diseases and possible research projects we can collaborate on in the future.

Invaluable Resource

Without a doubt, mentors are invaluable. They can give you great wisdom and advice to help further your ophthalmology career. They can introduce you to experts in the field who can open doors for you that may be closed otherwise. And they can teach you valuable lessons you'd never learn anywhere else. So keep your eyes open for a good mentor while you're in medical school and during your residency or internship. Having a great mentor will ensure your career as an ophthalmologist will be a prosperous and purposeful one. nMD