Diva of the week – Elise Kramer, OD, FAAO, FSLS

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_team_member _builder_version=”3.17.6″ name=”Elise Kramer, OD, FAAO, FSLS” position=”Elite Divas- Miami, FL” facebook_url=”https://www.facebook.com/elisegabriellekramer” text_orientation=”left” body_text_align=”left” google_url=”http://www.miamicontactlens.com” linkedin_url=”www.linkedin.com/in/elisegkramer”]

The featured Diva for this week is Dr. Elise Kramer.  Read the full feature below to learn how in spite of many challenges, Elise found a way to build her reputation as a contact lens specialist in her local community.

 

1. Tell us a little bit about you?

I am originally from Montreal, Canada but I now live in Miami, Florida.

 

I have a 4-year old son.

 

I have been playing the piano since I was 4 years old and also sing. I mostly play classical music and have participated in numerous concerts and regional competitions. I just recorded a first single which was released on all digital platforms on January 10th of this year.

 

I also speak 6 languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew and Portuguese

 

2. What made you decide to become an Optometrist?

I come from a family of physicians. My father is a pediatrician and I have uncles and aunts that are cardiologists, radiologists etc. I always knew I wanted to be a physician but I decided to specialize in the eye when my mother suddenly developed a benign tumor behind one of her eyes in 2007.

 

She developed double vision and sought every alternative possible to having the tumor removed, for fear that she would lose her vision. Finally, an oncologist suggested to do a series of radiotherapy treatments to shrink rather than remove the tumor. I accompanied her to all her appointments and this sparked my interest in the eye.

 

3. What Optometry school did you go to?

Université de Montréal – École d’optométrie (University of Montreal – Optometry School)

 

4. Where do you currently practice?

Miami Contact Lens Institute and Weston Contact Lens Institute

 

5. Do you offer any specialty services in your practice?

We offer many Advanced Contact Lens solutions to our patients: 

  • Scleral Contact Lenses
  • Hybrid Contact Lenses
  • Orthokeratology
  • RGP Contact Lenses
  • Custom Colored Contact Lenses
  • Custom Soft Contact Lenses

 

We also offer Ocular Surface Disease Treatments  and Myopia Management.

 

6. Name 1 to 3 hurdles you personally faced in your career and how did you overcome them?

1. I studied optometry in French at the University of Montreal. One of the most challenging things for me, even though I am fluent in English, was converting my medical terminology and thought process to English. This included using English abbreviations to write chart notes.

 

I overcame this by studying a list of English abbreviations and reading English optometry text books. Studying for American boards also really helped.

 

 

2. I started my practice cold right after my residency. One big challenge was finding the right location. I started off by renting space from an optician, then trying to purchase another contact lens practice, then renting space from a corneal specialist.

 

Sharing space in these different settings, helped me realize that the most profitable and best way to build my practice was by opening my own location and being completely independent. And that’s exactly what I did!

 

 

3. Building my reputation as a contact lens specialist in the local community was challenging, especially since I completed a residency in ocular disease, not contact lenses. However, I began by knocking on doors and personally introducing myself to many specialists in my community.

 

After co-managing many patients together with local specialists, they were able to see for themselves the value of my services. I was able to provide care to their most challenging cases with specialty contact lenses. There is nothing more powerful than the testimonial of a patient who can see clearly for the first time. This helped establish my brand.

 

 

7. If you could go back to when you were a student, what advice would you give yourself?

The best advice I would give myself is to spend more time learning from the professors themselves and not just the course material. I was lucky to have some world renowned optometrists on faculty at my college of optometry and I wish I could’ve absorbed more from their wealth of knowledge and research.

 

To contact Elise, you can click on her social media profile links below or visit her website at MiamiContactLens.com

 

To check out Elise’s brand new music single, click on the links below!

 

For Spotify follow this link: 

 

 

For Apple music follow this link:

https://music.apple.com/us/album/b%C3%A9same-mucho/1489504403?i=1489504410

 

 

 

[/et_pb_team_member][et_pb_cta _builder_version=”3.17.6″ title=”Want to be the next Diva of the week? Become an Elite Diva today!” url_new_window=”on” background_color=”#e02b20″ button_text=”Join” button_url=”https://optometrydivas.com/diva-of-the-week-questionaire/” link_option_url=”https://optometrydivas.com/join/” link_option_url_new_window=”on” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Related Articles

Diva of The Week – Marie Tartibi, O.D.

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_team_member _builder_version=”3.17.6″ name=”Marie Tartibi, O.D.” position=”Optometry Divas Member Since 2018″ facebook_url=”https://www.facebook.com/marie.tartibi” google_url=”https://www.drtartibi.com” linkedin_url=”https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-tartibi-6533aa26/” text_orientation=”left” body_text_align=”left” icon_color=”#0c71c3″ twitter_url=”https://twitter.com/DrTartibi”]   In our quest to fulfill…

Responses