Where Are They Now: Dr. James Komornik

While he was still trying to decide on a profession, James Komornik, OD ‘17, discovered when he was shadowing optometrists, they were slightly more patient-friendly. That was enough for him and the main reason why he chose to become an optometrist.

“Optometrists not only look at the eyes but they’re looking at the health of the whole patient and getting to know the whole patient,” said Dr. Komornik. “And, making a little bit of deeper of a connection. You’re seeing parents, kids, cousins, friends and it becomes like a community. That’s what originally made me fall in love with optometry.”

In addition, optometrists were finding signs of conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and systemic problems that were manifesting in the eyes, aspects that further fascinated Dr. Komornik and strengthened his resolve to become an optometrist.

He attended Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, to study biology, then set his sights on the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University. Old Dominion had a 3+4 program with PCO/Salus, and at the time, he had an interest in sports vision, which PCO/Salus also offered. 

It was a good fit as Dr. Komornik would find out because PCO/Salus prepared him to become a professional in two big ways: (1) He was ready for various complex cases he would see when he was in practice; (2) He was trained to be able to effectively communicate and talk with patients, which he believes is an important aspect of the job.

“It sounds simple, but I had professors and clinic instructors at PCO/Salus that taught us to break down the most complex of subjects into the simplest forms and be able to describe those things to patients in a simple way so they could understand it,” said Dr. Komornik, a native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, who married classmate Arieneh Tahmasian, OD ‘17, in 2018. “I think that’s almost the most valuable thing you can do as a provider. You can be the best clinician out there, but if you can’t tell the patient what’s wrong and how to fix it, you’re not going to be a good doctor.”

After graduation in 2017, Dr. Komornik joined a private practice as an associate as well as a group practice with two ophthalmologists and another optometrist. Halfway through 2018, he realized he wanted to start his own practice, and did so in 2019, opening Sea Eye Care right on the beach in Norfolk, Virginia. 

One of the things that helped him secure a small business loan — unusual for most banks to give to optometrists with fewer than five years of experience — was a detailed 25-page business proposal, something he was able to put together using some of the information he gained from the PCO/Salus Practice Management business course he took.

But Dr. Komornik is convinced being out on his own has been the right decision for him.

“That’s just made me fall in love more with the profession, doing things the way that I think they should be done and taking care of patients the way I want to has been great. It’s been a lot of hard work as well,” said Dr. Komornik.

He has two other staff members at his practice, an optician and a technician, both of whom he trained himself. It’s also been exciting for him to share his knowledge and to see them interact with patients.

Although it’s early in his career in private practice, Dr. Komornik is singularly focused on the future. Right now, his office is in a strip mall setting, but he has his eye on some buildings being built across the street, even closer to the beach, as possibly a future location.

“My goal would be to expand the office by moving to a bigger location, having more exam lanes. What I really would like to do is start having (optometric) interns as well. I love teaching and that’s something that I’ve always been interested in doing,” he said.  “As far as second locations and third locations, that’s too far down the road right now. But I definitely want to move into a bigger location and continue to grow.”

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