By Essence Johnson, OD, FAAO
As new Doctors of Optometry (ODs) enter the profession, one of the most important mindsets they can carry with them is the understanding that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are not abstract concepts or buzzwords; they are foundational to how we practice, where we practice, and who we provide care to. DEI is about people, community, access, and the ability for optometry to live out its full potential as frontline healthcare.
DEI Is About Community Care, Not Just Identity
When I speak about DEI, I’m intentional about expanding the conversation beyond race or demographics alone. For me, DEI is rooted in the realities of the communities we serve and the systems we practice within. It is about recognizing that healthcare, including eyecare, is not experienced equally. Access depends heavily on geography, economics, transportation, health literacy, policy, and the availability of eye care providers.
Understanding diversity means understanding that each community has its own story, culture, and healthcare needs. Equity is making sure those needs are addressed. Inclusion is ensuring that every patient, and every professional, feels valued and supported. Remember: optometry is all about people. That’s why DEI isn’t optional; it is essential to delivering genuine, patient-centered care.
Why Community Health Needs Assessments Matter
A clear example of the importance of practicing with a community-centered DEI approach comes from the beginning of my career in Beaumont, Texas. Beaumont sits within the Golden Triangle, a region made prosperous by oil but burdened by significant environmental and public health challenges. When I began practicing there as a new graduate, I learned that the cancer mortality rates in the area were higher than the state average.
There is one patient in particular, I will never forget. She came in with “sudden blurred vision,” and after a comprehensive exam, deeper questioning and further testing, I suspected a choroidal metastasis secondary to breast cancer was the cause. That moment shaped me as a clinician. It reinforced that optometrists are often the first to catch systemic, life-altering conditions, and that the communities we serve determine the patients and stories entrusted to our care.
Fifteen years later, that same region is now opening its own cancer hospital. Patients will no longer have to travel nearly 200 miles round trip for essential care. This is what equity in action looks like, care being brought closer to the communities that need it.
This is why Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNAs) are so important. They help us understand the unique risks, disparities, environmental factors, and access barriers that define a community’s health landscape. CHNAs allow us to:
Tailor services to community-specific needs
- Detect and manage conditions that disproportionately affect certain populations
- Build targeted outreach and partnerships
Advocate for the resources our communities require
For new ODs, using CHNAs as a guide ensures that you are not practicing in isolation but instead practicing in alignment with the actual needs of your community.
DEI Elevates the Standard of Care for Everyone
DEI improves patient care in ways that go far beyond addressing inequalities. When we understand and value differences in culture, communication style, health literacy, and lived experience, we become better clinicians. We communicate more clearly. We build trust more effectively. We educate more compassionately. We make more informed, holistic clinical decisions.
Diverse teams, whether in a practice, industry, or academia, also think more creatively and design solutions that meet a broader range of patient needs. Our profession grows stronger when multiple perspectives are represented at the table.
Advocacy as a Form of Inclusion: Optometry as a Marginalized Profession
DEI in optometry also means advocating for our profession itself. Despite being the primary eye care providers for millions of Americans, optometrists continue to face challenges that minimize our impact, devalue our education, or restrict our ability to practice at the top of our training.
These challenges include:
Legislative efforts that undermine the profession’s scope
- Misconceptions about optometrists “not being doctors”
- Policies that threaten our inclusion in key programs or financial pathways
A documented shortage of eyecare providers, particularly in underserved and rural regions and other practice modalities1
Optometry plays a vital role in detecting systemic conditions, preventing vision loss, and supporting public health. Ensuring equity for our profession ensures equity for the patients who depend on us. Advocating for DEI means advocating for the right of every community to access high-quality eyecare delivered by fully empowered and equipped ODs.
How Our Differences Make Us Stronger
Optometry thrives when we embrace the differences that shape our profession, differences in background, identity, training, experience, and viewpoint. These differences:
Challenge assumptions
- Broaden clinical perspectives
- Expand what “patient-centered care” truly means
- Strengthen mentorship and leadership
- Foster cultural humility and empathy
Invite innovation and collaboration
A profession that embraces differences builds resilience, thrives over time, and evolves to meet the needs of all it serves.
Advice for New ODs: Building a Culture of DEI From Day One
For those just entering the field, here are several ways to build or strengthen a culture of DEI within your practice and beyond:
- Start with self-reflection.
Understand your biases, perspectives, and areas for growth. Cultural humility is an ongoing journey.
- Know the community you serve.
Study local CHNAs. Learn the demographics, conditions, and barriers affecting your patient base.
- Diversify your professional network.
Connect with organizations and colleagues who broaden your lens and expand your support system.
- Advocate for equitable policy.
Whether locally or nationally, your voice matters in scope, reimbursement, and access conversations.
- Create an inclusive practice environment.
Representation in staff, patient education materials, and communication styles matters.
- Celebrate identity—your own and others’.
Showing up authentically paves the way for others to do the same.
- Keep learning.
DEI is dynamic. Stay curious and committed to growth.
A Final Thought: DEI Is About Belonging
At its core, DEI in optometry is about belonging, ensuring that every patient and every professional feels seen, valued, and supported. This also means that optometry belongs fully within the broader healthcare landscape, and advocating for DEI strengthens that rightful place. My passion for this work is shaped by my own lived experiences, the communities I’ve served, and the mentors who opened doors so I could walk through them.
As we prepare the next generation of ODs to lead and serve, DEI must remain a foundational principle. Supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion leads to better outcomes, stronger communities, and a more resilient profession. And as optometrists, we uphold our oath by ensuring that optometry remains at its best: delivering accessible, compassionate, and transformative care for all patients, while advocating for DEI in every aspect of our profession.
Essence Johnson, OD, FAAO, is the Executive Director of Black Eyecare Perspective and Director of Healthcare Careers at Uplift Education. A graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University, she and her Black Eyecare Perspective colleagues received the university’s Presidential Medal of Honor in 2022. She completed a residency in ocular disease, serves as an associate professor at Rocky Mountain University of the Health Professions, and practices as a community health and clinical trial optometrist. Dr. Johnson is known for expanding pathways into healthcare for underrepresented students and co-founded the Black Eyecare Perspective Pre-Optometry Club. She lives near Dallas, TX with her husband and two children.
