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Chief of Optometry at Atrius Health Dr. Vandhana Sharda Reflects on Her Healthcare Leadership Journey

“After learning about the human body, the complexity of the eye, and understanding how important the sense of sight is in how we navigate the world, I found myself in optometry.” Today’s woman dreamer, Dr. Vandhana Sharda is the Chief of Optometry at Atrius Health. For Women’s Health Wednesday, she reflects on her healthcare journey, from starting in academia to learning how to navigate leadership. She details the importance of eye screenings and tests for diabetes patience, and shares key advice on how we can protect our eyes when using digital screens. Enjoy her inspiring story!

1. Tell us more about your story, you're currently the chief of optometry at Atrius health. How did you know you wanted to work in health care in the first place and why did you pick optometry as your specialty? 

There is a quote from Vivek Murthi, the surgeon general, he said “healthcare is more than an occupation to us, it is a calling rooted in empathy, science and service to humanity.” I always felt a drive to help serve my community and grew up in a family that values social work, so health care felt like a natural fit. After learning about the human body, the complexity of the eye, and understanding how important the sense of sight is in how we navigate the world, I found myself in optometry. 

I started my career in academia. I was teaching students in the Dorchester area of Greater Boston. Boston is very unique in how community health centers serve underserved neighborhoods such that they bring care to patients in need and bridge the gap in healthcare. My values align with that mission of service to the greater community. I enjoyed spending those 10 years training the next generation of doctors to be patient focused, to attend to the concerns of the patients so that they felt we were a safe place for them. 

2. How did you move from working in the clinical and academic side to practice ? 

The past 10 years I've been chief of optometry at Atrius Health. This role as chief still allows me to develop a team to ensure we are providing the highest level of care to the patients we serve. It's more than a job, it's about the impact we have on the communities and patients that come to see us. This position still gives me the space to do that. It's very important to build trust with the patient, as they come into the exam room and they allow you access to personal information and family history. I believe it's important to respect that trust and attend to every concern the patient may have. 

3. How would you define your leadership as someone in a chief executive role? How did you figure out this was your leadership style ? 

It's always about being of service to the team and to the patient. I’ve spent a lot of time mentoring young women leaders. I ask myself how can I use my position to lift others into leadership who might not have had that opportunity. What I learned is that there are a couple critical pieces to leadership. One is how can I support new leaders to develop their own leadership style. And another is how are we being accountable to our teams. My goal in leadership is to serve my team and ensure I am helping to create a collaborative environment and find them resources to do their best.

4. If you were to describe your leadership style in 3 words? 

In 3 words I would say collaborative, empathetic and responsive 

5. What are some tips you have for protecting the eyes for people who work a lot on digital devices for work 

There are a few things that you can do to protect your eyes. One is making sure you're working in good lighting. Number two is the 20-20-20 rule, which is for every 20 mins of screen use, look away for 20 seconds at something that's 20 feet in distance. This will help your eyes relax from all that intense digital device use. And of course, the third thing is to visit your friendly neighborhood optometrist ! It is important to make sure your eyes are healthy, cared for, and that you have the right prescription glasses. Though we cannot directly limit your screen time, we can make sure your eyes are working properly. Another thing you can do is take a break from screens a couple hours before sleeping. It can help relax your eyes and improve sleep cycles. 

6. Is there a specific area in optometry that really interests you ? Is there a particular part of your job that you would like to research further ? 

I would say something that's been a social mission of mine, especially in Atrius Health, is getting as many diabetics to get their eyes screened. We know the risks to vision for people with diabetes, so the opportunity to screen them will help us to help preserve vision as much as possible. It's been an initiative that I've been working on for the past ten years at Atrius Health. I am very grateful that the organization and the different departments have been able to collaborate together for this initiative. 

7. Do diabetic patients have specific eye issues or are they just most prone? 

Diabetes affects many parts of the body including your eyes. The goal is to have every diabetic to have a dilated eye exam once a year. We look for specific changes in the retina that are associated with diabetes that can be risky for the patient. 

8. How do you manage your work-life balance and what do you do outside of work? 

It's always a struggle for a lot of people to balance life and I am very lucky to have the friends and family around me that bring me a lot of joy. Specifically my family and extended family grew up all playing tennis and love it as a recreation. My cousins, dad, uncle, and I would play tennis growing up and we still do to this day. We will try to find a couple hours a week where we can play on the tennis court and remind us of our childhood.

9. As Women Who Win is the platform for women dreamers, Do you have a next big dream? 

I would like to help develop leaders in the next generation of women, especially minority women. There is a lot of research and data out there about the challenges of their experiences and I would like to use what I have learned to help them out any way I can.

Thank you Vandhana for sharing your story with us! We are excited to have you in our global women’s network!