Dr. Caryn Nearnberg - Member Spotlight
By Viola Kanevsky, OD
Beginning this month, the NYSOA would like to highlight the Presidents of our local affiliates. These selfless volunteers put in many hours coordinating social events, CE lectures, and most importantly, have their ear to the ground and fingers on the pulse of our members. They are the lifeblood of our association and the grassroots from which our power grows.
The largest of the local societies of New York State is the Optometric Society of the City of New York, covering the five boroughs and serving roughly 1500 active optometric practices. Dr. Caryn Nearnberg, practicing on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, is the current president of OSCONY, and took time out of her busy schedule to share her story with me.
Dr. Nearnberg, it was my pleasure to watch you introduce the meeting of the Optometric Society of the City of New York this past month. Volunteering takes so much time and effort out of a busy life, and you hold the president’s seat of the largest local society in New York State. Young optometrists often think that leadership positions in our professional associations are reserved for older, more experienced ODs, who are closer to the end of their careers. I have worked very hard over the past 20 years to change this perception and am thrilled to see that our local and State Association leaders are motivated young doctors in the early stages of their professional development. For our readers who have not had the distinct pleasure of meeting you in person, can you share a little bit about your personal and professional history?
I grew up in New Jersey and attended Brandeis University, majoring in Biology and in Health, Science, Society, and Policy. From an early age, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in healthcare but was eager to explore before choosing a specialty. I worked in a biochemistry lab, spent time in pharmaceutical R&D, and analyzed neurology clinical trials at Massachusetts General Hospital, where I became particularly interested in the connection between the brain and the eye. After shadowing physicians across several specialties, I realized that optometry was the right fit for me.
I earned my Doctor of Optometry degree from the New England College of Optometry in 2015. Since then, I have been providing patient care in private practice on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where I specialize in contact lenses and dry eye management. I greatly enjoy caring for my patients and their families year after year. It is both exciting and deeply rewarding to help prevent ocular problems in the young and to preserve vision in the elderly.
Where do you draw your inspiration - was there a professor or clinician who set you on your path?
Growing up, I went to the optometrist every year even though I’ve always been an emmetrope, and I genuinely enjoyed the visits. My optometrist was a young woman in her thirties who was well known in our town as an excellent clinician and a devoted mother of three. Seeing someone who balanced a successful clinical career with a fulfilling personal life made a strong impression on me. I could see myself in her position, and that experience helped inspire my interest in optometry and ultimately set me on this path.
Can you talk about how you combine a busy personal life with leadership and clinical responsibilities?
Living in Manhattan, I enjoy taking advantage of everything the city has to offer, from Broadway shows to discovering new restaurants with friends and family. At the same time, I’m very intentional about continuing to grow professionally and take on leadership and clinical responsibilities that challenge me.
Working in private practice has allowed me to maintain a healthy work–life balance. It gives me the flexibility to be fully present with my patients and colleagues while also preserving time outside of work, which I find essential for staying energized, focused, and effective in both my personal and professional life.
I know you have been employed both by optometry and ophthalmology practices. Can you share your thoughts about advantages and disadvantages of both types of employed situations?
After graduation, I was fortunate to join a premier optometry group practice with a strong focus on contact lenses. Although I did not complete a formal contact lens residency, I received extensive hands-on training and was able to develop advanced specialty contact lens skills on the job. That environment provided a strong foundation in primary eye care and allowed me to grow quickly as a clinician.
I now work in an OD/MD practice, which offers a different and equally valuable perspective. I continue to serve as the go-to provider for hard-to-fit contact lens patients, while also collaborating closely with ophthalmologists on complex surface and corneal conditions. One of the advantages of this setting is the opportunity for interdisciplinary care and learning from surgical colleagues, which enhances patient outcomes. At the same time, optometry-only practices often offer more autonomy and continuity in primary care.
Having experienced both models, I’ve found that each has distinct strengths, and my career has benefited greatly from exposure to both environments.
Let’s talk a little about organized optometry and what it means to you personally. Tell us about your journey to the OSCONY president’s seat and the challenges you’ve faced along the way.
I have been an active member of OSCONY since I moved to New York City after graduation. Coming from Boston, it was very important to me to become part of the New York optometric community and to stay informed about local laws and regulations, especially since New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York each had different scopes of practice at the time. Practicing to the fullest extent of my training has always been a priority for me, and organized optometry provided the best way to stay engaged, informed, and involved.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to watch the profession evolve, particularly as more young optometrists have become actively engaged and excited about shaping the future of our field. I began by serving on the Board of Directors, then as Vice President, and now as President of OSCONY. Along the way, I’ve learned the importance of collaboration, advocacy, and mentorship. The journey has been both challenging and rewarding, and it’s been incredibly meaningful to contribute to strengthening our profession and supporting colleagues across the city.
When I was on the board of OSCONY and the NYSOA, my biggest challenge was encouraging participation from younger members. Attendance at meetings was challenging enough but getting someone to serve on the board was a whole other battle. At the last meeting I attended, the room was filled with young faces. This is amazing. Can you share the strategies you find successful in getting doctors to attend and volunteer? On the other hand, I missed seeing many of the older docs. Do you have any plans of reaching out to them and strategies for bringing them back?
Encouraging participation has definitely been one of our biggest challenges, especially since virtual continuing education became so widespread during and after COVID. While online learning is incredibly convenient, I truly believe there is unique value in meeting and collaborating in person, particularly when it comes to building community and developing future leaders.
To increase attendance, I’ve been intentional about varying meeting days and locations throughout the city so that colleagues with different schedules and commuting patterns can participate. I’m also working to reintroduce Grand Rounds as a way to highlight our members, give them a platform to share their expertise, and create more engaging, clinically relevant programming. My hope is to welcome several new doctors onto the board this coming year.
At the same time, it’s very important to me that we continue to engage optometrists of all generations. We all benefit from staying current on local laws and scope changes, and there is tremendous value in learning from colleagues with decades of experience. Reconnecting with our more senior members is a priority, and I hope to create programming that speaks to their interests and encourages their return.
It has also been wonderful to see increased participation from the SUNY faculty, and I’m hopeful that their involvement will continue to inspire both students and colleagues to become more active in the society. A diverse, multigenerational community is essential to keeping organized optometry strong.
Are there any last thoughts you’d like to leave the readers?
My final thought is that you truly get out of your career what you put into it. Being invested in your professional growth is essential—staying engaged with colleagues in your field and keeping up to date with local and national changes in scope of practice, including new surgical techniques and medications. This ultimately allows you to be the best clinician you can be and to provide the highest level of care to your patients
