Where did you attend optometry school? Do you have any school advice/study tips?

• University of Missouri St. Louis College of Optometry. For advice: take advantage of opportunities to network and get involved by going to conferences and events. Go on SVOSH/mission trips to learn and use your skills to help others, it really allows you to realize how much of a difference you can make in someone's life!
  

Which one thing that you learned in optometry school do you use the most in your daily practice?

• Communication is key. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but you have to know how to communicate with the patient, especially when it is about a eye disease diagnosis to explain the causes, treatment options, etc. This helps the patient understand so that they may be better equipped to take care of their eyes.
  

Did you do a residency? If yes, what area and would you recommend it to others?

• No I did not.
  

Where do you practice now? Pros & cons? How did you end up there/make the choice to be there?

• Private Practice in San Diego. Working towards full ownership next year. After working in a few different modes of practice, I realized I wanted to be in control of the type of care I give to my patients. You have more freedom in every aspect, when it comes to private practice and the possibilities are endless.
  

What state do you practice in? What are the benefits and drawbacks of practicing there? 

• CA. The benefits are of course the weather, the types of patients you see are very nice and laid back. But it is very saturated right now and many people are moving here looking for practices to work at so it is difficult to find a full time job, especially if you are looking for private practice.
  

Do you have a specific patient demographic that dominates your area and if so, how have you adapted your practice to serve them better?

• Young Professionals aged 25-50. Yes, we cater our recommendations for preventing digital eye strain and dry eyes using anti-fatigue lens technologies and in-office procedures like Bleph-Ex and LipiFlow.
  

Do you own your own practice? How did you join/open it? How long have you been there?

• Co-own with my father. I graduated from OD school 4 years ago and I joined my father's practice about 2.5 years ago and am eventually going to be sole owner in the new year. My situation is unique, but also very similar to anyone who becomes an associate and wants to eventually take over a practice. If you'd like to know more, I'd love to share about it.
  

What was your most valuable resource when getting involved in your initial private practice setting?

• Vision Source. I learned a lot from practice owners who are new to ownership, seasoned practice owners and everything in between. This network of doctors gave great insights on lots of day-to-day business and behind the scenes details that we are not taught a lot of in school. They answer questions, provide great training tools and leadership training, which are all important for practice owners.
  

What outside services do you use to help manage/elevate your practice (patient recall services, social media, buy-in groups, CPA, financial advisor, lawyer, etc.)?

• Vision Source is a network that helps us elevate the care we give our patients along with great information on equipment. We use recall services, I handle the social media for our office, we also recently invested in Dr. Kling's Business of Optometry seminars to learn more about the business side of the practice/have more financial understanding.
  

What is one thing you wish you knew before you started practicing?

• Knew more about human relations. A lot of our job, besides refracting/prescribing glasses and contact lenses and diagnosing/treating/managing ocular disease is building relationships with patients. Many people come to us to talk about things and they want to talk to us about their lives. So having a compassionate heart and ability to communicate well with people is very helpful with your patients, staff, employers, etc.
  

Do you have more than one location? What factors went into that decision? How soon after your first location was open did you open your subsequent locations?

• No. We used to have 2, but early this year we opted not to sign a 10 year contract on the marine corps base My Father had been at for over 20 years. The reason is we wanted more freedom with the type of care we gave our patients and flexibility with scheduling. I personally was not ready to have 2 practices because I just started out and didn't want to stretch myself too thin.
  

What tips do you have for hiring/training staff and how do you motivate them?

• Make sure you have a thorough vetting process, and once you decide to hire, a thorough and efficient training process. Utilize your representatives from different companies to come in and help you train staff on new products/services so that they are better equipped to back-up your prescribing and recommendations for the patients. Staff is always the hardest thing to manage in any line of work as a business owner. Motivating them has a lot to do with their original purpose for wanting to work for your office/company. But frequent positive reinforcements are paramount along with encouraging them to continue to grow and learn. People get comfortable and complacent easily, so you've got to encourage them to continue to learn new things and get excited about new technologies.
  

What have you done to set yourself apart from other eye care professionals near you?

• Community Involvement is important as well as social media and online presence. Making yourself more accessible to more people is helpful.

If you have any further questions for Dr. Jennifer K. Chinn, her email is: chinn.jenn@gmail.com