Another Day With Dr. O

So far this week with Dr. O, I have seen so many patients with a variety of backgrounds. I have met incredible people who have been all over the world and some who have never left Hawaii. I learned that people travel from every island just to be examined by Dr. Olkowski! My eye doctor lives five mintues from my house, so I could not image having to travel by plane for an appointment. At EyeSight Hawaii, they have these high-tech screens in most of the examination rooms that have informative videos and diagrams. This way, when Dr. O is explaining to a patient what type of disorder, disease, or problem they are having, he can pull up a diagram or video to give the person a better visual about what they are dealing with. This is something I have never seen before; however, I find it to be very helpful because patients feel more comfortable when they fully understand what is happening. 

Yesterday at the office, Dr. Olkowski let me watch a laser procedure during which he performed a PRK with cross-linking treatment. PRK stands for Photorefractive Keratectomy and is used to help patients with Keratoconus, a disease in which the cornea is cone-shaped rather than round. What is nice about these in office proedures is that they are quick and can be done any day of the week besides Thursdays and Sundays. For me, these in office procedures are cool because I get to see what is going on with the patient before, during, and after the laser sugery which is a really great learning opportunity for me as a student.