Dr. Benjamin Smith - Member Spotlight
Dr. Benjamin Smith
By: Dr. Viola Kanevsky
This month Dr. Viola Kanevsky was privileged to interview Dr. Benjamin Smith, president of the Central NY Optometric Society. Meet Dr. Smith here...
1) Dr. Smith, it was has been my pleasure to watch you take charge of the Central New York Optometric Society which includes Cayuga, Cortland, Onondaga & Oswego Counties. I believe your practice has given us several wonderful leaders over the years. The region your society encompasses is large and varied and I know suffers from a shortage of ODs. You are a native of Buffalo and a graduate of my alma matter, and I know that you have been active in partnering with Cooper Vision and SUNY in the planning phases of the Upstate Program to Address Workforce Needs and Expand Patient Care. Can you talk a little about your personal and professional background and what inspires you to give back to your community?
Yes, I originally grew up just outside of Buffalo and went to undergraduate at Le Moyne College in the Syracuse area where I now practice. My whole family is myopic, so we were all familiar with optometry and eye exams from an early age. Living in Upstate New York my whole life, it has been so rewarding to already know and understand the people here, making patient care that much more enjoyable. The phrase "salt of the earth" gets thrown around in a lot of context, but it truly describes the authenticity and well-meaning nature of the patients we see in this part of the state, and is a huge motivation to support and build up the community in any way I can. The new SUNY Optometry site at Upstate will be a tremendous boost for patient access in the area, hopefully in rural areas (yes NY has a lot more rural areas than some might realize) as well as urban. It has been exciting to see the program take form and progress so close to that inaugural class.
2) Can you tell our readers how you combine a busy personal life with leadership and clinical responsibilities? Do you run your own practice? Is that a fun endeavor or a headache?
I do not run the practice, so that alone takes a lot off my plate to be able to focus in other areas. We also have a great network for involvement in New York, so a lot of the local work we do becomes a collaborative effort to make things easier for everyone. So much of the work behind the scenes is done over email, so most of the time the real challenge is procrastination and not a major time commitment. In my personal life, it helps that my wife is also an optometrist, so juggling priorities becomes a lot easier when optometry events can also be family events, to an extent. It is safe to say that neither one of us have ever cut it close on our CE requirements.
3) Let’s talk a little about organized Optometry and what it means to you personally. Tell us about your journey to the CNYO president’s seat and the challenges you’ve faced along the way. What do you look forward to in the future, both for your practice, your profession, and your optometric society?
stepped into the president role at CNYOS without any prior experience on the board, so the initial challenge was getting comfortable with my responsibilities and what the expectations were. This was also only two years into my career, so I was still getting to know many of our members both professionally and personally. Once you plan a few meetings and talk to some of the other presidents, it does become second nature rather quickly and the anxiety of organizing events fades. For the future, I am still very clearly on the first half of my career, so it is exciting to see where optometry is going and what my workday might look like in 15 or 20 years. We've already become such an important part of a patient's healthcare team, beyond just vision care, that the evolving role of optometry is flooded with opportunity. For the society, having optometry students right in our backyard will be a very welcome change for us, as having them involved in meetings and events will bring many fresh faces and ideas that will be invigorating to hear.
4) The Innovation Vision Conference of NY will be held in Syracuse this spring, which I believe is in your neck of the woods. What do you think the conference brings to your practice? How do you anticipate publicizing the conference and getting doctors from your region to attend?
IVC always offers excellent speakers with new ideas on patient care and practice building, which obviously is essential to push forward as the best clinicians we can be. The opportunity to meet colleagues statewide and bounce ideas off each other is also always a great way to face unique challenges from the past year. I expect a good turn out from our local society as we have a great member base that truly appreciates the importance of organized involvement. Many of our members have already been involved at the state level, and obviously this year we are very excited for Dr. Chris Shiomos to be stepping into the NYSOA President role. Our local board is advertising the conference at all our meetings and in our society correspondence to make sure everyone has a chance to register and take advantage of the early bird discounts.
5) Are there any last thoughts you’d like to leave the readers?
Those reading this are likely already NYSOA members, but may not have considered taking on a volunteer position in optometry. I would encourage anyone to get involved wherever they can, as a lot of the time commitment is not what it seems from the outside and the internal structure has ample guidance and support. There are many opportunities to start as small as you'd like at the local level and move up if you're comfortable. The work being done is essential for the growth and protection of our career, and no one is going to look out for this career except ourselves. Thanks for reading and if you see me at a conference please say hi!
