Mend the Gap: Equity in Medicine

In this episode live from Hawaiian Eye 2026, Cathleen M. McCabe, MD, speaks with Magda Michna, PhD, about her pivot from academia to industry as well as the unspoken side of changing career paths.

· Understanding the backstory 1:11

· Pivoting to industry 5:39

· The emotional aspect of changing career paths 7:23

· What's the best way to find a mentor? 16:21

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN.

In this episode live from Hawaiian Eye 2026, Cathleen M. McCabe, MD, speaks with Allison W. Shuren, JD, MSN, and Lisa M. Re, JD, about their career journeys, having the courage to pivot when it's time to make a change and more.

· Allison W. Shuren's journey 4:06

· Lisa M. Re's journey 14:13

· The transition between law specialties 25:20

· Mitigating the creation of whistleblowers in private practice 33:24

· When things aren't fair at your workplace 39:33

· Do you have any advice for women wanting to pivot in their careers? 43:16

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN.

In this episode live from Hawaiian Eye 2026, Cathleen M. McCabe, MD, speaks with Deborah Ristvedt, DO, about being a third-generation ophthalmologist, her experiences and how a simple hike can pivot your life in the right direction.

· Talking about family support and stay-at-home dads 2:40

· Finding points of pivot 8:00

· What are some of your learning experiences? 10:17

· What does it actually mean to be a DO? 15:07

· Discussion on moments of self-doubt 23:09

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN.

In this episode of Mend the Gap, Cathleen McCabe, MD is live from Hawaiian Eye 2026 with special guest Jim Mazzo, host of Healio's Eyeluminaries podcast. They discuss Mazzo's fascinating career turns and how he got to where he is today.

· Who is Jim Mazzo? 02:37

· What's something you've done behind the scenes that helped you network? 10:24

· What helped you be a better mentor? 13:09

· How do you sustain a good support system? 16:33

Be sure to listen to the first part of this conversation on Eyeluminaries.

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN.

In this episode live from Hawaiian Eye 2026, Cathleen McCabe, MD speaks with Marguerite McDonald, MD, FACS about her fascinating career that has spanned many decades. From shocking stories about ophthalmic research to being the first woman to pioneer a number of leadership roles in the field, Dr. McDonald shares her journey.

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN. Mend the Gap would also like to give you the chance to nominate yourself or a colleague for a travel grant! To enter, simply email us at [email protected]!

· Welcome to this episode 1:23

· Marguerite McDonald, MD, FACS 1:35

· Tell us about your career, how did you start? 4:30

· How did you become the first person in the world to perform corneal refractive surgery? 9:27

· Radial keratotomy and a lawsuit 16:07

· Refractive surgery research 20:10

· Facing criticism 29:13

· Any motivating words for our audience? 35:12

· Thank you! 37:34

Cathleen McCabe, MD, is chief medical officer of Eye Health America and medical director of The Eye Associates in Sarasota, Florida.

Marguerite McDonald, MD, FACS, is a clinical professor of ophthalmology at NYU Langone Health and in private practice with OCLI in Long Island, NY.

In this episode, Dagny Zhu, MD, speaks with Christina Y. Weng, MD, MBA, FASRS, about women in leadership roles as well as challenges and gender disparities that still exist in health care today.

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN. Mend the Gap would also like to give you the chance to nominate yourself or a colleague for a travel grant! To enter, simply email us at [email protected]!

· Welcome to this episode 0:11

· Introducing Christina Y. Weng, MD, MBA, FASRS 0:22

· Tell us about your tenure with Women in Ophthalmology (WIO) 2:20

· WIO has seen so much growth. How many members does WIO have? 3:48

· Reaching parity in ophthalmology 7:20

· Existing gender disparities 8:26

· Gender disparity literature 12:48

· How did you find mentors, and what challenges did you face in surgical retina? 14:33

· How do you think training programs have changed for women? 20:07

· How do you balance your life outside of work? 26:28

· What advice would you give to others who want to follow your path? 29:00

· Thank you! 32:00

Dagny Zhu, MD, is a cornea, cataract and refractive surgeon and medical director and partner at NVISION Eye Centers in Rowland Heights, California. She can be reached on X @DZEyeMD.

Christina Y. Weng, MD, MBA, FASRS, is an ophthalmologist and tenured professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

In this episode, Laura Enyedi, MD, speaks with guests Andrea Tooley, MD, and Jaya B. Kumar, MD, FASRS, about the unique challenges women physicians tackle in their careers as they navigate pregnancy and return to work after maternity leave.

· Welcome to this episode 0:11

· Jaya B. Kumar, MD, FASRS 0:41

· Andrea Tooley, MD 1:33

· Being pregnant as a surgeon. 2:22

· Dr. Tooley, how did you decide when to start a family? 3:50

· Dr. Kumar, being in private practice, how did you approach starting a family? 7:17

· "We don't owe medicine anything." 9:40

· Dr. Kumar, what were some challenges you found as a pregnant surgeon? 11:16

· Dr. Tooley, what were the particular challenges in oculoplastic surgery? 13:16

· What did you do for parental leave? 15:58

· Mom guilt and learning to be patient. 19:57

· What tips do you have for pumping at work? 22:23

· How do you handle childcare? 26:31

· Thank you! 30:48

Laura Enyedi, MD, is a professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics at Duke Eye Center and medical director of South Durham Ophthalmology in North Carolina.

Jaya Badhwar Kumar, MD, is a vitreoretinal surgeon and partner at Florida Retina Institute.

Andrea Tooley, MD, is an oculoplastic specialist and an orbital surgeon at Mayo Clinic.

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN. Mend the Gap would also like to give you the chance to nominate yourself or a colleague for a travel grant! To enter, simply email us at [email protected]!

In this episode, Laura Enyedi, MD, speaks with guests LaKrystal Warren, MD, FACOG, Kasey Picciano, PT, DPT and Jaya B. Kumar, MD, FASRS, about the challenges women physicians face during and after pregnancy.

· Welcome to this episode 0:11

· LaKrystal Warren, MD, FACOG 0:37

· Kasey Picciano, PT, DPT 1:01

· Jaya B. Kumar, MD, FASRS 1:29

· What are some of the pregnancy related risk factors for women surgeons? 2:30

· Kasey, what is pelvic health? What do we need to think about as surgeons and how to make post-partum easier on us? 4:57

· How do we get ourselves to physical therapy? 6:05

· Dr. Kumar, how can we sit comfortably while we operate? 6:48

· Dr. Warren, what should we worry about in terms of exposure? 8:21

· Are there certain things we should avoid or change? 12:08

· Dr. Warren, what is the rate of miscarriage in physician women? 17:16

· Struggling with varicose veins 19:11

· What did you wish you knew before you became pregnant? 20:40

· Kasey, do you recommend any exercises? 23:57

· Entering the post-partum period 25:52

· Thank you! 30:23

Laura Enyedi, MD, is a professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics at Duke Eye Center and medical director of South Durham Ophthalmology in North Carolina.

LaKrystal J. Warren, MD, FACOG, is an OB/GYN at Contemporary Women's Care in Winter Park, Florida.

Kasey Picciano, PT, DPT is a pelvic floor physical therapist in Winter Park, Florida.

Jaya Badhwar Kumar, MD, is a vitreoretinal surgeon and partner at Florida Retina Institute.

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN. Mend the Gap would also like to give you the chance to nominate yourself or a colleague for a travel grant! To enter, simply email us at [email protected]!

In this episode, Cathleen McCabe, MD, speaks with guests Diane Blanck and Lisa Feulner, MD, PhD, about the challenges women face in operating their own business and how we can aid them through mentorship, leadership and advocacy.

· Welcome to this episode 0:11

· Diane Blanck 0:37

· Lisa Feulner, MD 1:25

· Dr. Feulner, how did you end up where you are today in your career? 3:02

· How to gain the skills to open a business 5:12

· Diane's story 8:27

· A lesson in owning an ASC 10:02

· What would have given you more confidence? 13:40

· Resources at OOSS 15:50

· OOSS University and OOSS Talk 19:53

· Dr. Feulner's continued quest to open an ASC 24:02

· Dr. Feulner, what is the most rewarding thing about your journey? 26:40

· Diane, what is your positive outlook on the future of ASC's and women ownership? 28:15

· Thank you! 29:23

Cathleen McCabe, MD, is chief medical officer of Eye Health America and medical director of The Eye Associates in Sarasota, Florida.

Diane Blanck is the executive director of the Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgery Society, or OOSS.

Lisa Feulner, MD, PhD, is an ophthalmologist and founder of Advanced Eye Care & Aesthetics in Bel Air, Maryland.

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN.

In this episode, Cathleen McCabe, MD, and Laura Enyedi, MD, chat with guest Erin M. Shriver, MD, FACS, an ophthalmologist and clinical professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences and the Jim O'Brien Gross and Donnita Gross Chair of Ophthalmology at the University of Iowa, about how we can better advocate for patients.

● Welcome to this episode 0:11

● Introducing Erin M. Shriver, MD, FACS 0:35

● Tell us a little bit about where you are now and how you got there 1:45

● Choosing to look at advocacy and public health issues 5:36

● Research on intimate partner violence 6:15

● Do you think doing surgery is giving patients/women control over their body? 9:20

● The Intimate Partner Violence Toolkit 10:08

● Speaking on sensitive topics with patients 10:51

● Your new role of Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs 11:31

● Having standardized metrics 13:54

● Gender disparities 14:21

● Global mentorship of other women ophthalmologists 16:06

● Stronger together, virtually and globally 19:40

● The importance of listing 'being a mom' on your CV 20:20

● Thank you! 24:24

Laura Enyedi, MD, is a professor of ophthalmology and pediatrics at Duke Eye Center and medical director of South Durham Ophthalmology in North Carolina.

Cathleen McCabe, MD, is chief medical officer of Eye Health America and medical director of The Eye Associates in Sarasota, Florida.

Erin M. Shriver, MD, FACS, an ophthalmologist and a clinical professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences and the Jim O'Brien Graoss and Donnita Gross Chair of Ophthalmology at the University of Iowa. Find the Intimate Partner Violence Toolkit here.

We'd love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN.

Disclosures: The hosts and guests report no relevant financial disclosures.