As the first college graduate in her family and a first-generation American, Talin Amadian, OD, has learned to excel in just about anything she encounters. From blogging to entrepreneurship to medical writing and developing continuing education, she does it all. While she sees herself owning her own practice one day, she is spending the time during which she’s been furloughed in the spring, summer and fall of 2020 continuing her education and helping others prepare for optometry school.
A 2018 graduate of Western University of Health Sciences, she says that she initially wanted to work for LensCrafters, noting she appreciated that the practice model would give her the opportunity to build and manage a business. But when she was offered a job right after graduating at UCLA in the student/employee health department, she took that opportunity. “I was seeing students and employees. I was really busy and worked alongside residency trained people. I learned a lot from them,” she says.
While the experience was a great one, she decided that the institutional setting was not for her and took a job in an ophthalmology practice, another of her goals. “I was offered a full-time job close to home [Los Angeles], running the show in terms of optometry—treating when appropriate and referring whenever necessary,” she says. “I was able to see a lot more variety than in private practice. I saw pre-op, post-op and complex cases.”
BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE
When COVID-19 hit, Dr. Amadian was furloughed from the practice on April 1. “I wanted to do my own thing, so I used that time,” she says. “I’m into writing and blogging so I will set up my own blog. I took courses online in medical writing, blogging and social media marketing. It gave me time to focus on things I wanted and intended to do but never got around to.”
Dr. Amadian works with OptoPrep, one of the leaders in optometric testing preparation, as a content creator for its blog. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it when working in ophthalmology because of the hours, but in private practice optometry, I have the flexibility to do what I like on the side.”
As far as passions go, Dr. Amadian finds ophthalmology thrilling in terms of what she gets to see. “It’s more exciting, with diseases, complexities and more problem-solving.” Eventually, Dr. Amadian wants to pursue a career in medical writing and private practice optometry. “I’m very entrepreneurial. I’ve gotten a certificate from the Dry Eye Institute, and I want to incorporate dry eye into my private practice,” she says. “I want to own a practice that’s medically oriented and fill in that gap in the practice spectrum.”
Dr. Amadian sees herself and her practice as a holistic space where the patient would be treated as a whole person. “I like to use natural therapy when it’s indicated; let’s address the cause of the issue. Let’s solve the root of the problem rather than cover it up.” Dr. Amadian believes in spending more time with the patient and utilizing appropriate testing to get down to the problem. In her own words? “Quality over quantity.”
