Dr. Vivek Dave
Vitreo Retina Consultant
l.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad
Dr Vivek Dave, currently a Vitreo Retina consultant at L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad and an assistant professor of Ophthalmology at University of Rochester, USA shares why he chose to stay in an institutional setup after completing his residency after a successful attempt at a solo practice.
Q1. What form of practice are you in? (Solo/Group/Corporate/Private institution/Public institution/Medical College)
I am in a super specialty tertiary eye care private institutional set up, the LV Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad.
Q2. Why did you choose the current form of practice you are in?
I was fortunate to go through my residency (and then senior residency) at the famed Dr. RP Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi. The entire vast set up at the Centre, sub specialty divisions, super specialist faculty, in-house microbiology and pathology services, a dedicated community ophthalmology wing, constant academics apart from the limitless clinical exposure made me realize the multiple facets of an ophthalmic career which need not be restricted to patient care alone. This exposure at an incipient stage made me have a clear thought process of my current form of practice to be a final career path for me.
Q3. Do you have experience of any other form of practice apart from the one you are currently in?If yes, could you briefly compare them?
A3. I have an experience of a private solo/group practice for a period of 2 years. Though monetarily more rewarding, I feel it cannot match a wholesome experience that practicing in a tertiary eye care research centre can give you from the point of being able to contribute towards all the facets of ophthalmic science as I mentioned before. Private practice essentially starts and ends at clinical care and can get uni-dimensional and stale as years pass by, whereas in a tertiary care research-clinic set up you are likely to face more challenging clinical situations and research questions to answer which keeps each day at work interesting and something to look forward to.
Q4. What did you perceive as the key advantages and disadvantages in your current form of practice?
My work place and type of practice pattern gives me a unique combination of high-volume clinical patient care, exposure to state-of-the art instrumentation and diagnostics, opportunities to pass on my skill and knowledge to fellows and residents in training, administrative exposure, facilities for both basic science and clinical research, community eye care, opportunities to collaborate with key workers nationally and internationally. Here at the LVPEI, while clinical care is provided by all faculty, each faculty has the creative freedom to pursue their research ideas as they try to answer unanswered quandaries that exist in various fields of knowledge in ophthalmology. Such a democratic academic environment is congenial for the team to be able to better patient care, research, community care and education every single day. This form of practice also gives adequate time to ensure a good family life balance with optimum job satisfaction. From a private/independent practice’s perspective other than monetary quantum there is absolutely no disadvantage. Even this point in my view is relative as academic and community service satisfaction cannot be monetarily gauged.
Q5. If you were to start a new practice today, would you choose a different one?
If I were to start a new practice today, I would still choose the same practice set up. If anything different, I would only learn from my experience so far to make the new practice even better!