UW Mentorship: Dr. Yan Ling Liang

Written by: Helen Jie Zhen Liang I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Yan Ling Liang at Warden Optometry through this mentorship program! She kindly gave me a tour of her clinic in Markham, ON and introduced me to her staff who were very welcoming. I was fascinated to see how various binocular vision tests that we learned in 2nd year (e.g., worth-4-dot, fusional reserves, and broad H) are performed in the clinical setting. I also had the pleasure of sitting in as a patient myself. She introduced me to vision therapy exercises designed to help patients with binocular vision issues. As a strabismus patient myself, I was able to understand the difficulties patients may encounter when completing these tests. Additionally, Dr. Liang is also an expert in the field of myopia control. I learned how various tints and exercises can be prescribed to patients for myopia control and observed how parameters such as axial length are taken to monitor their progression. Dr. Liang gave me great advices about owning a practice and deciding on a field of interest. She shared that one of the main reasons she decided to specialize in vision therapy is because she finds fulfillment in monitoring the progression in her patients that occur over time. She also emphasized the importance of effective patient communication and provided tips on how to translate medical jargons and complex diagnosis to patients who may not be fluent in English. I am thankful for Dr. Liang for providing me with this opportunity to gain new insights in the field of optometry. I am excited to apply this knowledge to my future profession!