What’s in your toolbox?
Think about how you employ heuristics in working up patients. Heuristic thinking is based on past experience, and uses mental shortcuts, intuition, and “rule of thumb” to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently. It’s generally used when physicians see a patient with a familiar set of symptoms that fit a recognizable diagnosis.
Read more in the 2022 Digest Vol 32 N0 1
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Chris Albanis MD
Chris Albanis MD
Chris Albanis, M.D. is a comprehensive ophthalmologist at Arbor Centers for EyeCare and serves as Chief Medical Officer of Ocular Partners. She has a passion for teaching her patients and their families about their eyes.
Her interest in medicine developed at a young age while admiring her dad, a practicing Pediatrician, and his commitment to patients. Dr. Albanis completed her training at The University of Chicago. In addition to studying, many sparks started flying there, including developing a strong interest in leadership, questioning the norms of healthcare delivery and public policy, and meeting her husband, Greg. Upon graduation from residency, she joined Arbor Centers for EyeCare in 2004.
When asked, “Why ophthalmology?” she responds: “I have a passion for all things visual. I love people-watching, natural beauty, art, and seeing this beautiful world we live in. What motivates me daily is the ability to give the gift of sight (or help prevent its loss).”
Dr. Albanis enjoys educating her patients, their families and future generations of doctors. She teaches residents at The University of Chicago as a Clinical Assistant in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science. Her pleasure in teaching extends to her colleagues, which has earned her several invitations to lecture on various ocular diseases nationally and internationally. She also serves as the Chair of Ophthalmology at Advocate Christ Medical Center.
Dr. Albanis serves in many leadership roles with the Illinois Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, where she advocates for the needs of doctors and patients of Illinois. Further she hopes to encourage interest amongst the younger generation of doctors on the importance of understanding their role in our healthcare system.
In addition to caring for her patients, Dr. Albanis enjoys sailing, dancing, photography, and painting. Dr. Albanis is fluent in Greek, and speaks conversational Spanish.
Arvind Saini MD
Arvind Saini MD, MBA
Dr. Arvind Saini specializes is a comprehensive ophthalmologist and cornea specialist. He was inspired to be an ophthalmologist by his grandmother, who underwent cataract surgery and a corneal transplant when he was a child. Growing up, he was also influenced by an ophthalmologist in his community who established an international charitable hospital, something he aspires to do.
Dr. Saini graduated with high honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a triple major, earning numerous research and scholastic awards. He received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his MBA, with an emphasis on healthcare management, from the Wharton School of Business. He completed his ophthalmology residency at Loma Linda University, where he was a chief resident. He then completed his fellowship in cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery at Wills Eye Hospital.
Dr. Saini is an assistant professor at Loma Linda University and has authored articles is ophthalmology. In addition to clinical medicine, he has a natural interest in management and organizational development. He was an ophthalmology medical director for a regional IPA and was the president of a multispecialty medical group. Most recently, after working in multiple private practice settings, he founded Integrity Eye, which is a private practice in Southern California. He has also remained active with the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). He was selected to the Leadership Development Program of the AAO and has served on the technology committee of the AAO. He currently serves on the AAO Young Ophthalmologist committee, Product Advisory committee of the Communications Secretariat, and board of directors of the American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives (AAOE). He also is on the board of directors of the San Diego Eye Bank and vice president of the San Diego Ophthalmologic Society. In the past he was on the board of the Wisconsin Academy of Ophthalmology, and currently is on the board of the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons.
Dr. Saini feels privileged to be an ophthalmologist and to help people see. He feels a responsibility in honestly educating his patients and is grateful for his mentors and teachers who believed in him. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis, golf, gardening, and spending time with his family.
R. Michael Siatkowski MD
R. Michael Siatkowski, MD
R. Michael Siatkowski, MD is Chief Executive Officer of the Dean McGee Eye Institute, and the Edward L. Gaylord Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He is also a David Ross Boyd Professor and Residency Program Director. Dr. Siatkowski is a former president of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, as well as the Program Directors’ Council of the AUPO. He is a recipient of the Life Achievement Honor Award and three Secretariat Awards from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, an Emeritus Director of the American Board of Ophthalmology, and former Vice Chair of the Residency Review Committee for Ophthalmology. Dr. Siatkowski was inducted into the American Ophthalmological Society in 2011. His hobbies include playing classical piano, traveling, and reading history and biographies. He and his wife Rhea Siatkowski, MD, also an ophthalmologist, have three children.
Mark A. Rolain MD
Mark A. Rolain MD
Mark A. Rolain, M.D. is a board certified ophthalmologist with extensive training and experience in LASIK, PRK and Refractive Lensectomy. Dr. Rolain also provides comprehensive eye care for cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic eye disease.
Before entering private practice in 1998, Dr. Rolain was the Division Head of Eye Care Services at the Henry Ford Lakeside Medical Center. Having received his BA in chemistry from Kalamazoo College and completed studies at the University of Strasbourg in France, Dr. Rolain received his medical degree from Wayne State University. He spent two years at the University of Minnesota in the Internal Medicine Department. He then went on to complete a residency in Ophthalmology at Henry Ford Hospital. After completing his training, he became Chief Ophthalmology Resident at Henry Ford. Dr. Rolain has been a contributing investigator on several articles that have been published in medical journals and presented at scientific meetings.
Dr. Rolain is Chief of Ophthalmology at Troy Beaumont Hospital and the Director of Refractive Surgery within Beaumont Eye Institute at Royal Oak. He is an award winning Clinical Instructor in the Beaumont Hospital Ophthalmology Residency program at which he also serves as co-director of the Anterior Segment Surgical Conference. Additionally, he is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. Dr. Rolain is on staff at both Clarkston Surgery Center and Waterford Surgical Center.
