Russ Collins, MVCTC Adult Education Ophthalmic Assistant Instructor, Featured in August ATPO Newsletter

09/05/2019

Russ Collins is one of the MVCTC Adult Education Ophthalmic Assistant Instructors.  He works at CEI Vision Partners.  He was featured in the Association of Technical Personnel in Ophthalmology (ATPO) August 2019 Newsletter.

Member in the Spotlight as published in the Association of Technical Personnel in Opthalmology (ATPO)
Written by: Suzanne Hansen, MEd, COMT, OSC

This month’s ATPO Member in the Spotlight is Mr. Russell (Russ) Collins, JD, BA, COA. Russ has worked at Dayton Eye Associates (now part of CEI Vision Partners) for the past 18 years; starting in medical records and scheduling, then working as a technician, serving as lead technician for three different physicians (general/pediatric, corneal/cataract, neuro-ophthalmology/plastics), and currently serving in the capacity of clinical floor coordinator/trainer. Russ is passionate about his profession in ophthalmology and is excited to be an ATPO ambassador. He hopes to inform students about this field by sharing his story of discovering this profession.

In 2001, after practicing law in California for about ten years, Russ says he woke up one day and realized he really didn't like what he was doing in life. He returned to the Midwest to, hopefully, determine what he really wanted to accomplish.  When helping a friend at Dayton Eye Associates move the practice, he became a business manager and a few weeks or months later they asked me if I wanted to become a technician.  “Every day for the past 18 years, I have learned something new... training and education never ends.” Russ said Dayton Eye Associates, its physicians, management, and coworkers, became a valuable part of his family and gave him the new direction that he was looking for.

In addition to his clinical work, Russ also teaches several lecture and lab courses at Miami Valley Career Technology Center's Ophthalmic Assistant Program, serving as an instructor for the last 7 years. He also serves as a Clinical Site Preceptor when students are performing clinical rotations at his work site. “I absolutely love being part of individual's moving upward and forward with their lives. I’m grateful for having been given this opportunity by the Program Director, Mike Woodward.”

.