MEJO 121 Final Project: Interviewing Dr. Elizabeth Gunst, OD

By Ben Murphy

Last Updated: May 2025

CHAPEL HILL, NC -- This past semester, I took MEJO 121 - Intro to Digital Storytelling, which serves as a foundational course in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. 

For the class final project, students were tasked with creating their own digital story through the filming and editing of an interview focused on someone or something important to them. Personally, I chose to interview Dr. Elizabeth Gunst, OD about the profession of optometry.

Dr. Gunst is an optometrist based out of Cary, NC for Triangle Visions Optometry. She is a North Carolina native who attended college at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) and graduate school at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. 

As an aspiring optometrist, I've been blessed to shadow Dr. Gunst across multiple summers and she is a big reason why I want to pursue optometry as a future career. Besides letting me sit-in on patient exams, she's also always been happy to answer any of my questions about optometry, explain to me the details of the optical equipment in her office, and even write me letters of recommendation. 

Dr. Gunst is not only very knowledgeable about the eyes, but also very outgoing, personable, and genuinely interested in the lives and well-being of her patients. So I knew that she'd be someone great to interview since she always brings a good combination of positive energy and insight to any conversation. 

(Full Q & A transcript is listed below and edited video version is linked above)

Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and where you practice optometry?

A: So my name is Dr. Elizabeth Gunst. I grew up in eastern North Carolina and went to UNCW for undergrad (and) optometry school at Pennsylvania College of Optometry. I'm almost scared to tell you how long ago I graduated, but I graduated (optometry school) in 2008 and have been practicing optometry since then. I currently work for Triangle Visions Optometry in our Cary location and have been with Triangle Visions for almost four years now.

Q: Why did you choose optometry as a career?

A: When you think about how in the world you want to spend the next 30 years of your life, or maybe more depending on how long you want to work, you want to pick something that you love. I always knew growing up that I loved the sciences. Biology was always my jam, so I enjoyed that part of school. The chemistry not as much. The math definitely not as much... But I knew I wanted to be in the medical field somewhere. I've had terrible eyes my whole life. I started wearing glasses at two. And (the optometrist) was the only doctor that never gave me shots, so I was always interested in optometry kinda early on... As I got into high school I realized that it's the kind of field where you can genuinely help people every single day. You can help people see. And if people can see then they're more independent (and) they can do the things they really love. So it just adds value to their life as well. And I love people, so I love to talk. I could talk to that wall behind you, which I've probably told you before... So I think it's just a good mix for my personality. I love people. I love science. I'm passionate about the eye because mine are so bad as it is. If I can help somebody else see it's a gift. So that's why I picked optometry.

Q: What was your path in applying to and choosing an optometry school like?

A: Yeah, so kind of like any graduate-level coursework, whatever it is that you're looking at, you kind of already have those schools in your head like 'Oh, these are the good ones. These are the best ones.' You wanna get into those. So I did my four-year (undergrad) degree in biology in Wilmington (at UNCW) and I only applied to three (graduate) schools - Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Southern College of Optometry, and Boston (New England College of Optometry) - there's two schools in Boston now, but at the time there was only one. So, I got into all three (schools I applied to) and toured all three and chose Philadelphia (Pennsylvania College of Optometry) for a couple of reasons. Philly and Memphis (Southern College of Optometry) have really similar class and clinical experience. So all optometry schools are four-year degrees (and) for most you do three years of class and clinicals, and just one year of externships. Philly and Memphis, at least at the time, you did a year and a half of externships. So they crammed three years of coursework into two and a half, which was terrible because you would take something like 32 credit hours a semester, which was bananas! But then I got so much more face-to-face, practical time with patients... So having more time in patient care was a big deal. So that's how I ended up picking Philly, plus it was 8 hours away from home versus sixteen.

Q: Was there anything that surprised you or was unexpected about your experience in optometry school?

A: It was pretty close to what I was expecting. I knew it was going to be pretty hardcore. I knew it was going to be a lot of studying. Studying has not ever really come super easy... I definitely had to study, so I was always jealous of those people that could never come to class and still make As on their tests. So I think the realization that you knew you were going to have to study a lot, but then you actually have to study was even more. But, I think the other piece too is the clinical aspect. I loved (it) even more than I thought I would. I knew I would like it but once you get into the hands-on like clinical labs and you're learning how to use the equipment, how it all connects, I enjoyed that more than I think I realized I was going to, which usually means I picked the right profession (haha).

Q: What does your average workday look like?

A: People get us confused with opticians and ophthalmologists all the time. As an optometrist, you're a primary care practitioner, so I do everything from eye exams on five-year-olds to treating glaucoma and macular degeneration, that kind of thing... (But) it does differ based on the state that you're in. So legislation does make a difference in what you're allowed to do. Sometimes it's even what you're allowed to prescribe. There are some states that are even limited in what medications (optometrists) can prescribe. But in North Carolina we've got a really wide scope of practice, which is great and part of what you're taught to do. This morning alone, I saw a patient who's on high-risk medication, so we're doing speciality testing for that, I had a gentleman who had a stroke recently and he's had some vision loss, so we're managing that, and I had a couple of really healthy patients who just need glasses and contacts. So it can be a wide range. But I love that the vast majority of your patients you can build relationships with, even if you just see them once a year or once every eighteen months. But then you get those patients that you see all the time for different disease processes, so they're the ones that you really get to build those relationships with. So that's kind of what an average day looks like.

Q: What is your favorite thing about being an optometrist?

A: To get "that patient." Usually they're children that just don't know that they can't see. So usually it's a kid in like second or third grade, they're having trouble at school, and then they get their first glasses or they've got the phoropter - how we check the prescription for their eyes - (in front of them) and I show them with and without (vision correction). And sometimes their eyes just light up. They're like "Oh my gosh. I didn't know I couldn't see!" And you get that a little bit with adults occasionally, but I think there's just this really amazing lightbulb moment where sometimes you have these patients where you're like "I just totally made a difference for that child" who maybe has been in school and struggling a little bit so they're being evaluated for learning disabilities or all these other things. And it's not that they're not smart or that they can't do the material - they just can't see and they just don't know that they can't see... So that's probably my favorite.

Q: What is the hardest thing about being an optometrist?

A: Oh, 100% the bad news days... it's just really hard to tell somebody "I can't help you" or "There's this disease process that's taking place and I can't do anything about it" - (whether) it's too far gone, there's no treatment available, or that kind of thing. So walking patients through that kind of bad news. And sometimes it's that they already know that they have a disease but they're coming to me thinking that I can help them see better with just glasses... Glasses don't fix everything. I think that's the hardest. I hate bad news days.

Q: After becoming an optometrist, has there been anything that has surprised you about the job?

A: I think some of the ways that we practice. In optometry, when I first started practicing, as far as just a whole, we tended to have more of what I call "Mom and Pop" offices, where it was just single practices, that kind of thing. And now there's chains. So it's just a bigger organization. So I think the hardest part is still kinda owning your own treatment style - like in the exam room doing what you think is best for the patient - without somebody in corporate trying to tell you how to do your job. So I think that's kind of the trickiest piece to find the balance of "Yes. It's a business." Like any other medical practice you have to be able to keep your doors open. But, at the same time, doing what's best for the patient, which is not always the most financially rewarding. And that's the tricky part.

Q: How has the work-life balance of optometry been for you?

A: It's been good (and) it's challenging. So, before I had kids, I would work six days a week. I would do Monday-Friday, and add in a Saturday trying to pay off all those student loans because, good gracious, it's a lot of that. But, as I've had more years of experience, I was able to go part time when my kids were young for years and years, which was a super gift. Working full time for me looks like four and a half days now, which is kind of the sweet spot. I work to 8-5. I usually tease my staff, "I'm like, listen if I'm here after 5 o'clock something is wrong" (haha). That's not really how I like to do it. So it tends to be really good. I always knew I wanted to be a mom, and so for me having a profession where I can do what I love - take care of people's eyes, help them see, and all the things - and then also be able to make it to soccer practice on time, or church on Wednesday nights, or whatever, that was always really important. And you can't do that in all the medical fields. So, for me, it's been a really good balance... And I would say this as advice too: Luckily, in North Carolina, optometrists are needed. There's definitely not a surplus of us, we're underserved in a lot of areas, and so I think knowing your value too can help with that (work-life balance). 

Q: Without saying any names for HIPAA purposes, what is your most memorable patient exam?

A: I don't know if I have one that's just super memorable. Well, you kinda sometimes remember the bad ones too so I don't necessarily want to talk about that one (haha) but let me think... Well, I will say, again it's another kids story, but he's an athlete and he's been wearing glasses for a long, long time like I have as well. He's just really farsighted with a ton of astigmatism, so he just has a hard time seeing anything without his glasses on and was having a hard time playing soccer - he does soccer, he does swim, and all these things. And at like eight his parents, because I know his parents, were like "Can we put him in contacts?" I was like, "100% we're gonna put this eight-year-old in contacts." And I think it's been really cool just because I know him personally to watch his self-esteem just go up because he can now see and play sports. And for him academically it made a difference because he would run out the door (before school) and forget his glasses... I think that would probably be a good example for me. 

Q: What's one piece of advice you would give to "pre-optometry" students?

A: Yeah, I would say definitely shadow to give you a pretty good idea of "Do I actually wanna do this?" Because I remember going to optometry school and there were people in my class that didn't even realize that we treated disease. They just thought that it was glasses and contacts... So I think shadowing would be really important just to get a feel for patient interaction, the types of things you see, and how often you see certain things. So I think shadowing would be a big thing and just to make sure that you really like the eye (haha). I know that sounds real silly, but teeth creep me out. I know I would never be a good dentist because I don't want any part to do with the teeth. And then I think about people like my sister who's a labor and delivery nurse and the eye creeps her out, but (labor) doesn't. So I think part of it is just making sure that you feel comfortable with the type of treatment that you're gonna be giving to patients and that it seems interesting. Because if you shadow and are like "This is so boring" - probably not the field (for you). 

Q: If you could do it all over again, would you still become an optometrist?

A: Yes. And it's funny, because my roommate from optometry school would say just as fast "No." Just a different experience altogether. But I genuinely love what I do. I really do. And, so yes, I would do it 100% all over again. Even all that school work - ugh (haha)... it's not fun but it's like a means to an end. 

Q: What's your best fun fact about the eye?

A: Every now and then, when you do a slit lamp exam - so you're using the microscope to evaluate health on the front part of the eye and then eventually the inside of the eye - some people go "Oh, what's that?" and they're literally seeing what looks like a cracked riverbed or tree branches. So I'll tell them that's your "Purkinje image," which why I remember that from school I have no idea, but that's where the fun fact comes in. But what they're actually seeing is the shadow that you're light is casting on their arteries and things in the back of the eye. And so then you get to tie in the anatomy of the eye and what they're actually seeing which is kind of cool. So that's probably my number #1 fun fact... the other thing I think is really cool, and I learned this in optometry school too, is carrots are actually not the best vegetable for your eyes. Which seems really crazy because we've always been taught that carrots are, but it's actually a myth from World War II... so the Allied Forces let it leak to the Germans that the reason that their pilots had such great vision was because they ate carrots all the time. And it's not because they ate carrots all the time, it's because we had radar before they did. So we had air superiority because we had radar but they made it into the whole carrots thing and that's where the myth came from. Spinach is actually the best, those leafy greens. So Popeye (the sailor) kinda had it all figured out (haha)... and carrots are good for your eyes - the beta-keratin, all the other things - but they're not the best thing for your eyes. So, if you're gonna eat one thing, stick with Popeye not Bugs Bunny is kind of what I tell people.