Her desire to help people and make a difference in their lives is what initially attracted Dr. Alisha Adatia to the health care field. “I started wearing glasses later in life and that’s what opened my eyes to a career in optometry. I thought it would be a great career where I could meet different people and help them, but it wasn’t something gory like dentistry,” smiles Alisha, reflecting on what led her to optometry.
Graduating from the School of Optometry at the University of Waterloo in 2001, and following a one-year residency there, Alisha returned home to Calgary to pursue her field.
“I worked at private practices, in corporate optometry and at refractive centres to find what interested me the most,” she recalls. “I liked private practice best because I felt like it offered a wider range of opportunities for helping patients in terms of the eye exams, helping them find glasses and contacts, and then troubleshooting if there are any issues with getting things right. So I got to see all sides of optometry, and that’s what I liked.”
