Alison Early, M.D.
Cataract Surgery & Comprehensive Ophthalmology
Cincinnati Eye Institute
Q: What are the most vital elements to becoming a great physician?
Number one is the internal desire. A lot of people’s parents would be really happy if they became a doctor, but to actually get through it you have to have that internal desire. You can’t be doing it for some- body else. That’s not going to be enough to keep you up studying at all hours of the night and keep you motivated to do well on your exams and boards.
Number two, you need to be able to work well with others. More and more, medicine is a collaborative field. As everybody becomes so highly specialized, you are always working with other people, so you have to be able to work well with others, interact positively with them, and communicate and collaborate.
The third thing is the desire to be a lifelong learner. The work is never done. There is constantly new data coming out, new practice patterns and paradigms, and new evidence of different things. So, it has to spark a true passion within you because, if you don’t have that, you’ll fall behind the cutting edge and end up not providing the best standard of care for your patients.
Q: Please share your most exciting news as it relates to research and innovation.
I manage a lot of glaucoma patients and people with dry eye and ocular surface disease. Traditionally, treatment for glaucoma involves lots of eye drops, which can be really irritating to your eyes. Some people can have allergic reactions to the preservatives that are in them, and the more drops you are using, the more likely that is. In addition to the burden of having to put drops in your eyes multiple times a day, there can be some physical side effects to them as well.
There are implants coming onto the market that you can insert into the eye and get a long-term effect rather than having to put drops in your eye every single day. There are also various amazing long-acting medication delivery systems that are coming onto the market.
Q: What do you find most rewarding and most challenging working in this field?
The most rewarding thing that I get to experience is seeing my postoperative cataract surgery patients and hearing how much of an impact it makes on their life to have better vision. Cataracts are some- thing that progress really slowly for most people, and a lot of times they don’t quite realize how significantly their vision has deteriorated. So, for patients to have 20/20 vision again, sometimes as soon as the next day, they feel like their whole world is in high definition.
The flip side is when a patient has had a severe decrease in vision from a more permanent condition such as macular degeneration, and as their physician I have to share with them that it is no longer safe for them to drive. I have always felt this is the most difficult conversation to have with patients, because the ability to drive is such a huge part of a person's independence.