Katie Dugan, OD, on Being a Successful Optometrist

During Vision Expo East, 2017, the CovalentCareers team sat down with Katie Dugan, OD, an optometrist at Temecula Creek Optometry, to pick her brain about what makes a successful optometrist.

Dr. Dugan points out that we should understand that the biggest factor in patient retention, patient experience, and overall optometry practice success and growth is the team/staff. She states, "every person is important and makes an impact on the patient experience."

This does not only apply to ODs, either. Regardless of whether someone is a scribe, optometric tech or optometrist, 80% of what they’re communicating to your patients is non-verbal. Unhappiness comes across to your patients, as does happiness.

Dr. Dugan advises, "Just take half of the energy that you’re putting into your financials, and invest that energy into your team members instead." She adds that they do so at Temecula Creek Optometry. She notes that patients can sense atmosphere and can feel when people love what they do. Because of their positive energy and family vibe, Dr. Dugan has had exceptional patient retention at her practice.

Building a reputation is different for different practices and different locations. Dr. Dugan's practice is located in Temecula, CA, a city whose population is about 106,000 people. Temecula is a relatively small place, dominated by small family businesses.

For this reason, Dr. Dugan has spent her time on local networking initiatives, rather than sinking tons of money on other forms of advertisement.

She goes to monthly mixers, to build reputation and credibility, as well as to network with other professionals and understand what they are trying to accomplish in their own fields. Dr. Dugan stresses the importance of establishing a reputation of integrity. "Do what you say you’re going to do. If you tell someone you’ll meet for coffee, follow-through! It shows credibility and integrity," she explains.

Reach out and offer your services for free. Not because you're trying to drum up business, but because you simply want to help. Dr. Dugan advises that, if your only motive from volunteering is to grow your practice, you should stop. But if you truly enjoy volunteering, ramp it up! "It gives a sense of connectedness to community," explains Dr. Dugan.

For example, she will volunteer with her church, donating free eye exams and fitting/gifting donated pairs of prescription glasses.

Dr. Dugan remembers feeling frustrated when she didn't have a particular niche or interest during school. In fact, her current focus was something she didn't enjoy at all during school: vision therapy!

But she recalls the day she worked with a child using vision therapy, and when she saw his transformation, she was hooked. Her advice?

"Even if you don't enjoy the theory of a particular practice area, don't rule it out." She recommends tat you think of those moments that you've had in your own practice. The ones that make you feel extremely competent and proud, and consider pursuing those niche areas of practice.

Dr. Dugan's final advice is, "Everyone in this world is out for themselves. We are living for the betterment of ourselves, which is fine, but if you can get into the mindset of living for the betterment of others, and thinking how you can be of service to others first, before you look at your personal gain, you'll definitely stand out."