Susan Primo, OD, MPH, FAAO, says it’s a true passion for her work and the power of collaboration that’s kept her committed to working at the Emory University School of Medicine for more than three decades. She has served as the Director of Optometry and Vision Rehabilitation Services since 2004, and she is a Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology.
Her work at the university has demonstrated the powerful ways that optometry can impact others. Dr. Primo has forged stronger relationships between healthcare and public health professionals and provided more education to the community and her professional peers as she strengthened the reputation of the optometric profession.
Dr. Primo shared with Women In Optometry how she found success in these areas, and how others can take meaningful steps to make an impact in their own careers and communities.
IN THE CLINIC
Dr. Primo was just the second OD to join the Department of Ophthalmology team in 1992. “They were just beginning to understand the role optometry plays for traditional care,” she says. Many of the physicians in the clinic were subspecialists, and the optometrists could help retain patients for comprehensive care after they had surgery. “The ophthalmologists realized that our training is good, and they can offload a lot of cases on us to manage and maintain patients in the practice.”
Today, the department has 15 optometrists on staff. Dr. Primo credits building strong relationships for the growth that the optometry segment has seen in the department. She offers this advice to show the value of optometry in an ophthalmology setting, whether it’s an office where you work or when networking with local MDs.
Establish the relationship and educate on the experience you bring to the table and the care you can provide.
Prove yourself, she says. Show your value by delivering the promised care. “When you take the load off with medical eye care and the co-management of surgery cases, they are able to increase their surgery load.”
Continue to maintain the relationships. “Have an interprofessional relationship that is strong,” Dr. Primo says. “It’s a collaboration when you all respect each other. You have an understanding of what they do and they understand what you do.”
WITH RESEARCH
That collaboration is just as important on the academic side of the profession and beyond. Dr. Primo is happy to help with any research inquiry she receives, from high schoolers to vision science researchers and those outside the industry such as in digital media design or engineering. “We tend to work too much in silos, doing projects on our own,” Dr. Primo says.
But especially in the beginning, Dr. Primo advises her mentees that it’s smart to “get on the bandwagon with someone. It becomes a two-way street where you will learn as you collaborate. If someone asks you to participate, don’t say no. Spend the time to do it. You can establish your niche later.”
WITHIN THE COMMUNITY
Dr. Primo spent seven years in Boston finishing her training and serving on the faculty at New England College of Optometry at the beginning of her career. And after that, she says that she had enough of the cold and ice on her windshield. She wanted to make a personal and career move to a place where she felt she could make an impact in the community.
She found Atlanta as a place that checked all the boxes, allowing her to work with an underserved Black population and stay in academia with Emory. “I was looking to make the move, and they were looking for someone,” she recalls. “It was a perfect synergy.”
When considering career opportunities, look at the total picture beyond just the job and day-to-day practice, Dr. Primo advises. “Be strategic about where you are and what you do,” she says. “Insert yourself in a community where you want to live and practice. When you want to live there, it will be a win-win for everyone.”
It earns you respect and trust, Dr. Primo adds. “In the long haul, you have to be passionate about the care you are delivering and the people you are delivering it to. That’s how you build confidence with your patients.”
Read more stories about female eye care professionals making an impact here.
