Dr. Sandip Patel - Member Spotlight

Member Highlight – Sandip Patel, OD

By Viola Kanevsky, OD

The Suffolk Optometric Society serves approximately 230 practicing optometrists in the easternmost and fourth most populous county of New York State. With over 1.5 million residents, the geographically largest of Long Island's four counties and the second-largest of New York's 62 counties, Suffolk is New York’s leading agricultural region. 

This month I had the pleasure of interviewing the Society's president, Dr. Sandip Patel. Dr. Patel arrived in the US with a Bachelor of Optometry from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, United Kingdom, where he served as one of the youngest named ophthalmic directors at Specsavers. He continued his education in the States, graduating from the New England College of Optometry in 2019, and rapidly ascended through the corporate structures of National Vision, Inc. and Warby Parker, finally landing at his current position at MyEyeDr as New York Clinical Manager.

Based in Mineola, Dr. Patel also serves as a regional trustee for the New York State Optometric Association.

Dr. Patel, I know from personal experience what it's like to pick up and start your life again. 

Having already begun a successful career in our field in the UK, can you tell me what brought you to emigrate, and how the practice of optometry differs there from the U.S.?

As with many great journeys, this one came about because of family. My family and relatives had already settled in the US, and after building a career in the UK, simultaneously running my own practice, working in a hospital setting, and at a University, I made the difficult decision to leave all of that behind and join them. Starting over from scratch, professionally and personally, was not an easy choice, but it was the right one.

As for the differences between practicing optometry in the US versus the UK, the biggest adjustments are administrative: navigating insurance systems and understanding scope of practice. These are learnable skills, and I was grateful that at least one thing remained constant across the Atlantic—the eyeball itself doesn't change much from one country to the next!

More broadly, scope of practice tends to be wider in the US, though this comes against a backdrop that's familiar to healthcare systems everywhere: growing pressure on services and its effect on patient access. Interestingly, the UK is seeing its own parallel shift, optometrists are increasingly taking on specialty roles and greater clinical responsibility, managing conditions in community settings that would once have required a hospital referral. It's a trend that's had a positive impact on patients' access to eyecare, and one I think is worth watching on both sides of the Atlantic.

When I graduated optometry school in 1993, roughly 25% of optometrists worked in corporate settings. It is estimated that by 2030 that number will reach 75%. I understand that you've worked in corporate settings both as an employee and as a manager. Can you talk about the types of positions you've held, the challenges you've faced, and how you see this workforce shift changing the face of our profession?

I've held a variety of positions in private practice in the UK, starting as an optical assistant, moving up to optician, and eventually qualifying as an optometrist.
I was fortunate to be offered a managerial role just a few months after graduating. The practice director had noticed how I interacted with patients, staff, and fellow doctors, and gave me more responsibility as a result. I didn't realize it at the time, but that vote of confidence in my people skills would set the direction for the rest of my career.

Not long after, I became a practice owner, starting cold and taking on all the weight that comes with it. Will the practice succeed? Will patients like the doctor and the team? This was also during the financial crisis, and the broader uncertainty about the economy didn't make those questions any easier to sit with. But with some courage, self-belief, and optimism, I pushed forward, and the practice became a success. Anyone who has owned a practice knows the work that happens behind the scenes, and the sacrifices that go with it. I'm glad it paid off.

The move to the US brought a new set of challenges: insurance networks, a different scope of practice, an unfamiliar system to learn from scratch. I carried that same courage and optimism with me, and worked across several modalities; OD/MD practices, corporate settings, and beyond.

My time with NYSOA has been genuinely rewarding. Hearing how other members experience practice, while sharing my own perspective as someone who's worked both sides of the Atlantic, has been a great exchange of ideas and one built on real mutual respect.

Given the financial pressures facing new graduates today, I understand why the structure and security of corporate optometry is appealing. It allows a doctor to focus on patient care instead of ownership, staffing, and the administrative work that never really stops. I've seen newly hired corporate doctors benefit from strong support networks and resources that come with being part of a larger organization.

I see this shift as a positive one and an opportunity for organized optometry to unite as one strong, coherent voice for the profession.

Many employed ODs talk about the high rate of burnout when they are not in control of their own patient schedules and work flows. Do you have any advice for managing stress when the stressors aren't always under your control?

Whether you're in private practice or corporate optometry, communication is what keeps the day running smoothly. That means communication with your office manager, opticians, technicians, and front desk team. The frequency and quality of that communication is what surfaces stressors early, reinforces what's working, and improves patient flow.

Some things are within our control, and good communication helps us continually reassess and adjust those. Other things aren't, and understanding that distinction is often what makes the stress easier to bear.

My advice is simple: communicate, and don't hesitate to reach out for support. In a corporate setting especially, you have colleagues to think through problems with and managers who've likely faced the same challenges. You're not alone in this.

I know that you understand the importance of participation in organized optometry. Membership, while very worthwhile, is expensive. Many private practices pay for their doctors' fees and many corporate entities do not. This is one of the most important reasons we struggle to grow and keep members. I believe MyEyeDr is one of the few, if not the only, corporations that includes AOA membership dues in its compensation package. Is this something we can thank you for, and what advice can you give to ODs about managing their dues payments or negotiating for reimbursement from their employers?

You're right! MyEyeDr covers membership dues for all their doctors, both AOA and NYSOA. That's opened the door for doctors who might otherwise have stayed on the sidelines of organized optometry. Many of our newer members had heard of the AOA and NYSOA before joining but never fully understood their value, once they're in, they quickly see what these associations bring to their professional life.
We encourage our doctors to get involved in the events and initiatives that shape the profession, not just to sign up- but to participate. It creates a natural succession of doctors who take pride in contributing at both the local and national level.
For doctors whose employers don't yet cover dues, my advice is simple: ask directly. Frame the conversation around the fact that reimbursement isn't really a monetary line item, it's a qualitative investment. A doctor who's engaged with organized optometry is more knowledgeable, more skilled, and more connected to the changes shaping the profession, which ultimately benefits the practice as much as the doctor. I'm fortunate that MyEyeDr believes in these principles, and I'd encourage other doctors to make that case to their own employers with confidence.

We're stronger when we work together as a profession.

Please share with our readers what brought you to volunteer for organized optometry and step up to the presidency of the Suffolk County Optometric Society? What are your ambitions and dreams for the future- both your own and our profession's?

I wanted to support my profession. In a job that lets me help people every day, it felt like a natural next step to support the organization that advocates on our behalf.
The more I learned about NYSOA's work, the more engaged I became, being president of my local NYSOA society at the time the orals pharmaceutical bill passed was a highlight, and I have real respect for the doctors who laid the groundwork long before I got involved. I'm fortunate to sit on the Trustee board now, working alongside our secretaries on initiatives that support doctors' day-to-day practice and push for continued scope expansion.
I'd like to stay involved in that work and, in whatever small way I can, help build the path for the doctors who come after me, the same way it was built for me.

Finally, are there any last words of wisdom you'd like to impart?

I get this question often, from new graduates just starting out, to experienced doctors joining MyEyeDr. My answer hasn't changed since my early management days in the UK, meeting students and giving career advice: Stay open-minded. Be present. Stay humble. Listen. Don't be afraid to engage with people at every level of the profession. There's something to learn from a university professor as well as from a doctor in practice who's simply passionate about their specialty. Build resources and relationships outside the profession too; they often make us better within it.

I often come back to a line from Marcus Aurelius: "You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." We can't always control what happens around us, but we can control how we interpret and respond to it. That, to me, is the real work, in optometry, and in life.