Consider this guidance based on personal experience

For anyone who knows me (and is reading this), I may be the last person to give advice on how to live a balanced life. That said, I can provide some advice on the major life events that tend to occur not that long after (or even before) graduation from optometry school.

Tying the knot

Planning a wedding can be stressful. Items that should be simple, like a guest list, can easily get complex: “If I invite one colleague, do I have to invite them all?” “What about staff I work with?” “Do I have to invite my boss?” “What about patients?”

Advice. If there’s one piece of advice I can give here, it is to remember this is your day. Do what’s important to you and forget the politics.

Buying a home

Buying a home requires you learn a whole new language. I didn’t know what PMI, or an escrow account were. Additionally, I didn’t know Earnest and why he needed my money.

Advice. Don’t go it alone. Get an experienced real estate agent who can translate this language. Also, be aware that in many states there are loan opportunities you can take advantage of as a medical professional.

Additionally, if you’re thinking about buying or starting a business, you should know that banks like to see three years of income once you are self-employed. So, sometimes, buying the house before the practice works to your advantage.

Starting a family or a business?

The answer is not one or the other. Both are possible. You don’t have to choose. Further, the order (or simultaneous occurrence) is contingent on everyone’s individual circumstance. In my case, I opened a cold start practice right out of optometry school, and after four years I hired an associate doctor. Two years later, I sold that practice, moved across the country, and became an associate doctor. Two years after that, I began the steps to open my second cold start practice, only to find out a few weeks after signing the lease I was pregnant with our first child! While seven months pregnant, I opened the doors to Denver Eye Care & Eyewear Gallery. On top of that, I continued working as a consultant and leader in my local optometric community.

Advice. Prepare for the unexpected because things don’t always go according to plan.

Have a hobby

Admittedly, this is not a major life event, but I find it’s super important: Have a hobby. Why? According to an article in Psychology Today, hobbies help one to cope with stress, with structuring one’s time, and they foster new social connections, among other benefits.¹ My hobbies include writing this column, and networking with colleagues at society and Young OD meetings. Outside of optometry, I never turn down a spa day, or boating on Lake Norman with my family. OM

Reference

1. Psychology Today. Six Reasons to Get a Hobby. You’re really not too busy. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happy-trails/201509/six-reasons-get-hobby . Accessed June 5, 2023.

DR. O’BRIEN is the owner and optometrist at Denver Eye Care & Eyewear Gallery in Denver, N.C. She is heavily involved with student programming through the private practice clubs and Vision Source NEXT program, and works with iCare Advisors as a consultant to help others pursue their cold-start private practice dreams.