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In this episode of Play Chess, Not Checkers, Dr. Adam Ramsey sits down with Dr. Ashley Tucker to explore how a first-generation college student became a nationally recognized optometrist, built a thriving specialty contact lens clinic, and navigated partnerships, speaking, and family life. Along the way, she shares practical insights on myopia management (including orthokeratology), when to pursue an optometry residency, and how credibility designations (like FSLS) can support, but not define, a career.
Topics Covered
Building a career with purpose
From North Louisiana to New Orleans to Florida, Dr. Tucker’s story traces a path shaped by family moves, a supportive community, and one pivotal mentor. As a first-generation college graduate, she explored multiple medical professions before meeting an optometrist in her church group at the University of Florida. That exposure—seeing happiness and quality of life up close—sparked her professional direction and ultimately led to work, shadowing, and clarity on the future.
If you build it, they will come—two ways it works
Dr. Tucker describes two parallel growth stories:
- Specialty contact lenses (sclerals, hybrids, RGPs): There was no subspecialty service when she joined—she built it, and referrals followed.
- Myopia management/orthokeratology: The practice already had many pediatric patients, so this service accelerated quickly.
Implementation tips for practices:
- Decide whether you’ll seed demand (launch first, market hard) or harness existing flow (start where the patient base already is).
- Commit to outreach: optometrists, ophthalmologists (especially cornea), and pediatricians—consistent, proactive referrals drive momentum.
- Track and reinvest: once cases start coming, build clinical systems and education that scale.
Bread-and-butter before subspecialty
Dr. Tucker underscores that she spent years in primary care—annual exams, daily disposables, progressive lenses—before narrowing her schedule. It took time (about a decade in practice) to earn the option to choose her case mix.
Residency vs. the long path with the right mentor
For Dr. Tucker, a residency was a career catapult—she left feeling ready for complex cornea and advanced lens fitting on day one. Still, she stresses there are two valid routes:
- Residency track: Compressed learning, confidence, and volume in one intense year.
- Apprenticeship/mentor track: A longer timeline, but achievable with deliberate learning, wet labs, and steady case exposure.
Guidance for students: Choose based on your learning style, finances, and access to mentorship; both roads lead to expertise with commitment.
Fellowship (FSLS) for credibility and visibility
Dr. Tucker holds a Fellowship from the Scleral Lens Education Society (FSLS)—not a time-bound training year, but a recognition earned through case reports and presentations. She values:
- Visibility on expert directories
- A differentiator in competitive markets
- Personal alignment with high standards
Partnerships: timing, trust, and decision-making
Dr. Tucker became the third partner in a practice that grew into a large, multi-doctor clinic. She weighed starting cold versus buying into a profitable, values-aligned team—and chose investment in what she had already built. For governance, her group’s voting structure allows any two partners to outvote one, which works because the partners are values-aligned and intentional about the “business marriage.”
Playbook for doctors considering ownership:
- Reflect on fit: solo builder or collaborative owner?
- Expect to contribute sweat equity before equity.
- Establish clear voting and capital rules.
- Choose partners as carefully as you would choose long-term clinical equipment.
Dr. Ashley Tucker’s journey shows how specialty contact lenses and myopia management can be built deliberately, through exposure to inspiring role models, disciplined skill-building (residency or mentorship), and thoughtful business structures. Her message to clinicians is clear: pair long-view strategy with consistent outreach, protect your bread-and-butter as you grow, and align your career decisions with the life you want
