Community Connections 2021

For this project I had to interview someone with the same interests as mine, interview them, and reflect on the interview.

Over the course of a couple days, I have interviewed many different people. These people do things that I love and have inspired me to try new things that I could have never done before. Even though I had many choices. I decided to choose my optometrist, Dr. Karim Mithani. Dr. Mithani works in a partnership with Coquitlam Optometry. He has been my optometrist for many years now, and I have seen what he does and have become interested.

I decided to choose Dr. Mithani because he is a very nice and smart person, and enjoys learning about math and science, as do I. I also chose him because I am interested in learning more about the human vision and eye. He is also very calm to be around and takes his work quite seriously. One thing that stood out to me in this interview is how hard he had to work to get where he is now, and that is something to remember.

I asked Dr. Mithani several questions:

1. Why are you passionate about your job or role?

Karim: I love my profession as an Optometrist for several reasons.  I get to meet and interact with so many patients. I enjoy talking to them, getting to know them and developing a long term relationship. Additionally, being able to help people to see is very rewarding. Sight is such an important sense and having patients trust me with that is also rewarding. Another reason I am passionate is I enjoy science, math and physics and this job requires all of those skills.

2. What obstacles have you faced to get where you are today?

Karim: A very good question. Some of the obstacles were being focused while in school and not getting distracted.  The schooling required is demanding so being focused is very important. Because the schooling is overwhelming at times, you have to also try to balance that with physical and social activities.

3. What is some advice you would pass on to someone interested in what you are doing?

Karim: Some advice I would give is, to shadow an optometrist so you get an idea of what the job entails.  That way you can see if you enjoy what a typical day would be. You have to remember  you will be doing this job everyday, so you have make sure you enjoy it.  Talk to other optometrists about what they like and dislike about the profession.  Also, in University when you are doing your Bachelors degree try to get as high grades as possible.  However, in addition to grades, other factors that are considered are volunteer experience, communication skills, and how well rounded your education is.

4. What drives you keep doing what you are doing?

Karim: I am driven by always continuing to learn. As in any job, there are always advancements in Optometry and staying on top of those allows me to provide the best care to patients.  Having patients trust you with their vision is a big responsibility, so making sure you always work hard to  provide the best to care to each patient is very important.

5. Why did you choose this path of life?

Karim: I chose to be an eye doctor because in school I enjoyed physics and biology and those are the 2 main subjects which Optometry is based upon. Additionally, I enjoy the business aspect of Optometry which involves the making of eye glasses.  Also, I enjoy the social interaction when dealing with patients. I did not want to do a job where there was not a lot interaction with people. Lastly, helping people provides a lot of gratification.

What I have learned from this interviewing project:

I learned that if you want something, you have to pursue it with the mindset and confidence that you can get there. It wont be easy, because nothing comes easy. But if you believe you can make it, and you work hard to get to it, you will pull through. Another thing I learned from this interview, is that certain jobs, such as this one, require a huge amount of constant focus and determination.