20 Questions: Rose Cunningham-Ahumada, DO [Ophthalmology]

Posted on April 30, 2007
Filed Under Physician Profiles

Rose Cunningham-Ahumada, DOThis time around, Rose Cunningham-Ahumada, D.O., answered 20 questions with the Student Doctor Network. Rose is an Ophthalmologist in private practice in Orange County, California. Thanks Rose!

SDN: Describe a typical day at work.

R: On a typical surgery day, I will operate in the morning and then see patients in one of my two offices for the remainder of the day. Any laser procedures are scheduled for the late afternoon or early evening at the laser center.

On an office day, I start between 8 and 8:30 a.m., work until noon, start again at 1:30 p.m. and work until 4:30 or 5 p.m. I perform examinations, refractions and minor procedures during a typical day.

SDN: If you had it to do all over again, would you still become a Doctor? (Why or why not? What would you have done instead?)
R: Since Martha Stewart’s job is already taken, I think I would still become a doctor, but not in any other specialty.

SDN: Why did you choose your specialty?
R: I like doing one thing really well and knowing everything about one field in great detail, so I always anticipated specializing within medicine. I love surgery and enjoy the outpatient relationships with patients that my field provides. I also found the lifestyle perks too attractive to pass up.

SDN: Did you plan to enter your current specialty prior to med school?
R: No. I planned to enter women’s health or general surgery, but once in medical school, I became totally fascinated by histology and pathology and aspired to become a pathologist.

I was all set to pursue pathology when I encountered an ophthalmic pathologist practicing both clinical ophthalmology and ophthalmic pathology. She convinced me to do an ophthalmology clerkship and I found my new calling.

I realized I would miss patient care and surgery too much as a pathologist, but I would have the option of pursuing a fellowship in ophthalmic pathology if the burning desire was still there after residency. It wasn’t, but I still get to look through a microscope every day–if you count the slit lamp and operating microscope.

SDN: Now that you’re in your specialty, do you find that it met your expectations?
R: Yes! My work is interesting and rewarding and my lifestyle is great.

SDN: Are you satisfied with your income?
R: Yes.

SDN: What do you like most and least about your specialty?
R: When I have patients with poor vision due to a surgically-correctable condition like cataracts and I am able to vastly improve their vision by performing a procedure I enjoy, it is a great feeling. I have had patients tell me “you’ve given me my life back.” It is awesome to be able to make such a difference in another person’s quality of life.

There isn’t much I dislike about ophthalmology, to be quite honest. I’d have to say that the ergonomics are the worst. Use of ophthalmic equipment is not conducive to good musculoskeletal health. During surgery or lasers, I can find myself uncomfortable unless I have everything set just right, but as a petite woman I can’t set things just right all the time.

During exams I am at times craning or tilting my neck to get a better view. One year at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, I participated in a roundtable breakfast regarding ergonomics and was the only ophthalmologist present who hadn’t had some kind of cervical or upper extremity malady requiring surgery or some degree of retirement from performing procedures.

It almost seems inevitable that with repeated physical stress, I’ll suffer some kind of neck or shoulder injury due to work. Fortunately I already have a good disability policy in place.

SDN: If you took out educational loans, is paying them back a financial strain?
R: A pain, yes, but a strain, no. I can think of other things I would like to spend my money on. I never borrowed the full amount of aid offered to me, and I tried to live modestly during school to reduce my debt load.

SDN: On average: How many hours a week do you work? How many hours do you sleep each night? How many weeks of vacation do you take?
R: I work between 35 and 40 hours per week. I am on call from home roughly once a week because I am on staff at six area hospitals and share private patient coverage with 10 other ophthalmologists. Even so, I very rarely have to go in to see a patient. I sleep between 7 and 8 hours each night. I may take a couple of weeks off per year.

SDN: Do you have a family and do you have enough time to spend with them?
R: I have been happily married for five years, and I have a three-year-old son, and a rescued pug dog. I get to spend a lot of time with them and my extended family. I also have plenty of time to pursue my hobbies.

SDN: In your position now, knowing what you do - what would you say to yourself 10 years ago?
R: I would say “start saving for retirement earlier by contributing to your 403b plan during internship and residency–that interest can really add up.” I would also say “have your second baby during residency because it is the only time you will have income while caring for a newborn, thanks to your program’s generous paid medical leave.”

SDN: What information/advice do you wish you had known when you were a premed? (What mistakes or experiences have you encountered that you wished you had known about ahead of time so you could have avoided them?)
R: Don’t commit to a specialty too early, because your preferences may change once you are really in the trenches. Try to enjoy a broad variety of electives if possible, and keep an open mind.

SDN: From your perspective, what is the biggest problem in healthcare today?
R: Declining reimbursement is a problem. Americans want state-of-the-art care by highly-trained professionals, only they and their payors don’t want to pay for it or even for basic services.

One example is my pediatric colleague, who purchases vaccines to administer to her patients and Medi-Cal reimburses her for less than the vaccine costs to buy. She loses money each time she immunizes a child and may have to stop offering the service in her office.

Scenarios such as this are not right, are not in the best interest of the patient and need to be rectified if we are to continue practicing medicine. Add to that my “governator’s” two percent tax on physicians, and the problem is compounded.

SDN: What impact do mid-level providers have on your day-to-day practice?
R: None. I do not work with any.

SDN: Where do you see your specialty in 10 years?
R: Ophthalmology is always on the forefront of technology and will continue to be in the future. There are many exciting studies underway that may provide recommendations that improve patient care.

There are also numerous pharmaceutical and surgical materials in the pipeline that will expand our ability to treat certain conditions and improve our surgical performance. The patient population is aging so, at the very least, I anticipate an increased need for management of age-related eye conditions.

SDN: What types of outreach/volunteer work do you do, if any? Any international work?
R: I am a Girl Scout. Volunteering in Girl Scouts allows me to serve as a positive role model for girls, and in my area in particular, for Latina girls.

Women, and Latinas in particular, are underrepresented in the sciences and medicine, so it is important for girls to see someone they can identify with in these fields, and for those of us in these fields to foster their interest.

I also give financial support to my local public radio station, zoo, and aquarium since I can’t volunteer everywhere.

SDN: Favorite TV Show?
R: Top Chef

SDN: How often you run into degree confusion: DO vs. OD?
R: Not very frequently. For the most part, my patients are aware that they are seeing an ophthalmologist rather than an optometrist, because our patient forms include a short biographic profile.

A subspecialist I refer to sent me a consultation letter in which I was addressed as an OD. When a second and third followed, I had to call to clarify my degree.

Since he knew me personally, I am certain this mistake was due to erroneous data entry or transcription. I am far more frequently addressed as an MD in error, but that’s a whole other story.

Comments

6 Responses to “20 Questions: Rose Cunningham-Ahumada, DO [Ophthalmology]”

  1. Mitch Bartley on May 3rd, 2007 3:34 am

    What a great and informative Q&A. I particularly enjoyed the discussion about how Dr. Cunningham-Ahumada went about choosing her specialty. As a person that is keeping his options open, but is fascinated by the eye, this was a very helpful article. Thank you!

  2. ryan_eyeball on May 3rd, 2007 8:58 pm

    I would estimate almost 90%+ of OD’s do not want surgery options (even in New Mexico and Oklahoma). They have picked Optometry as a profession because most never had a desire to pick up a scapel. The dent into OMD’s income is not from surgery right now, but our ability to join medical insurance panels and bill for medical exams. If we couldn’t bill for glaucoma care, diabetic eye examinations no patient would pay out of pocket expenses for them. Most of my patients would rather come back to their OD because they are not one patient out of a hundred the Ophthalmologist will see during the day (they see the tech, a high school grad usually, for most of the exam). We have better relationships with our patients IMHO. Ophthalmologists have no problem prescribing glasses or contact lens from their tech’s precription with no education especially in contact lens. They do surgery extremely well, and we’re the experts in visual aids.

  3. BD on May 4th, 2007 7:19 am

    Thanks for sharing your comments with us. It is nice to see a fellow DO sharing their experiences. I am a 1st yr OB resident and also a DO. Your daily schedule seems amazing and makes me wonder why there is not more exposure to such specialties early in medical school.

  4. CGS on May 5th, 2007 10:31 am

    Thank you for your beneficial information. As a student pursuing ophthalmology, I am constantly impressed by the satisfaction displayed by practicioners regarding genuine fascination with their field of medicine as well as contentment with the balance of their personal and professional lives; a rare combination in today’s medical environment. Thank you for reinforcing my decision.

  5. JD on May 7th, 2007 5:42 am

    EyeMD’s may not be the visual aid “expert” but for most normal and healthy individuals, they can prescribe off the tech’s recommendations OR they can do it on their own by learning basic refraction. Obviously with difficult cases, perhaps an OD with contact lens experience or other visual aid experience should be consulted. In the end, however, no OD could do surgery - even on a normal healthy patient needing it. The OD/MD dispute should just end. OD’s are great at visual aids, no doubt about it - but that’s the only thing they might be better at. EyeMD’s do a great job at providing both primary and specialized care. End of an obviously common sense statement.

  6. NoellaB on February 26th, 2008 11:08 am

    Thank you for this great information interview.I`m still in college but I`m really passionate about medicine.Could you please send me Dr Cunningham-Ahumada`s e-mail for further references?

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