We are proud to welcome Dr. Kristin Gunn to Opticare Vision Centers. She is now seeing patients at our Newport and Ft. Mitchell locations.
1) What brought you to the northern Kentucky area and to Opticare Vision Centers in particular?
I grew up in Cincinnati and came back to the area after graduation. My family is still here and after eight years away, it was nice to be closer to them. I saw Dr. Young speak at a conference in DC the summer after I graduated and I later reached out to him because we had similar interests. My intentions were to just meet and share ideas on sports vision but as it turned out, the practice was looking to hire someone. The rest is history!
2) How did you become interested in optometry?
I have been going to an optometrist since I was in the 3rd grade. Although optometry wasn't always a dream of mine, things came back around and fell into place when I was deciding which medical field to go into. I was nannying for an optometrist in undergrad and appreciated her family-friendly lifestyle and relationship she had with her patients.
3) Where did you go to Optometry school?
Indiana University.
4) Do you have any specialties or aspects of eye care that you are particularly passionate about?
I am passionate about post-concussive, mild TBI and sports vision patients. The recent research on concussions has had a huge impact on the world and especially on optometry. Being able to cure patients of the post-concussive symptoms they thought they would "just have to live with" and get them back to living their normal lives is incredibly rewarding and humbling.
5) What is your favorite piece of optometric technology and why?
The Sanet Vision Integrator is a complex piece of optometric technology that incorporates programs for improving peripheral awareness and reaction time for athletes, enhancing binocular vision and much more. It's like a huge board of video games that patients, especially kids, love and therefore helps motivate them.
6) What interests or excites you the most in the field of optometry?
I love how much this field can grow. There are so many different niches to optometry; someone who practices up the street could be specializing in something completely different than you and it's great to have such a large network of us.
7) What trends do you see developing over the next several years in the industry and how do you stay ahead of them?
There is a big shift right now towards online medical care. Unfortunately, people see this as a convenient and easy way to receive their health checks. However, these "screeners" easily miss conditions that only an in-office visit can catch. I'm glad to be a part of a field that is constantly and tirelessly fighting for what is best for our patients. That goes for online contact lens and glasses ordering as well. A lot of these companies don't have our patients' best interests.
8) Please share a patient experience that stands out in your mind?
While I was on rotations, I worked with many post-traumatic brain injury or TBI patients. A lot of these people experience double vision or major light sensitivity that keep them from being able to go back to their normal lives. There was a patient who was unable to walk on a rug that had lots of shapes and colors on it because there was too much information for her brain to process. We introduced a filter over her corrective lenses and she was able to walk with ease on that rug, forever changing her daily life.
9) What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love spending my time playing with my dog, George, spending time with my nieces and cycling and playing sand volleyball.
