DR. MING WANG
Focus Through the Generations (FTTG) offers insight from four different generations of the nation's top ophthalmologists. Hear from the experts themselves on their varying life experiences in the industry.
Dr. Ming Wang is an innovative eye surgeon, laser physicist, champion ballroom dancer, musician, and philanthropist. Dr. Wang has extensive experience in laser treatments for the entire range of vision disorders: nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia. His area of expertise includes scientific research and clinical care.
hear from dr. Ming Wang
Our host, Polly Neely had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Ming Wang for an exclusive discussion regarding his life and industry experiences. Get to know Dr. Wang a little deeper in this episode of “Focus Through the Generations”.
Polly Neely: Dr. Ming Wang, Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon. We are doing an interview called Focus Through the Generations. We are in a very unique time in our industry right now, where we have 4 generations of actively practicing ophthalmologists. We want to capture that moment of all the generations and find out what is unique about them, what's different about them, but also what's the same.
Thank you again for joining us, I'm going to ask you to introduce yourself, Dr. Ming Wang. I'm sure everyone knows you, but for those who may be under a rock somewhere and don't, let's introduce you and let you tell us a little bit about yourself.
Dr. Ming Wang: My name is Ming Wang, I'm a practicing ophthalmologist in Nashville, TN. I'm running the Wang Vision Institute. We specialize in LASIK surgery and cataract surgery. My background is; I'm an immigrant from Mainland China, I came to this country in 1952, with only $50, an English/Chinese dictionary, but with a Big American Dream. I've been blessed to be able to live in this country.
Polly Neely: This country has been very blessed to have you as well. You do a lot of good and we appreciate it so much. Dr. Wang, what do you think is the biggest problem facing our industry right now, our ophthalmic industry, in this age, and this time?
Dr. Ming Wang: I think the biggest problem that we're facing as an industry, as a practice, and from the perspective of practicing ophthalmologists, is that there's so many forces that drag us away from our central focus. The central focus is our responsibility to our patients. By different forces, I mean for example, the financial forces - the cost of running a practice, there are forces that need to do marketing to attract patients, the forces of malpractice - the legal aspect of medicine, the forces of reduction in reimbursement from the government and the forces of increasing technology and the cost and attention as we need it, and also the increasing expectations from our patients. So I think the biggest challenge is how can we, as ophthalmologists in the center, when surrounded by these different forces taking us away from the center, still manage to keep remaining in the center, which is the focus on the patient. Now I'll give you one example. With the technology becoming available, it is increasing that the doctors are practicing technology-based medicine rather than a human based medicine. For example, at Wang Vision Institute, I am the surgeon and Dr. Joshua Frenkel is the surgeon and we have three optometrists, Dr. David Zimmerman, Dr. Marianne Johnson, and Dr. Julianne Koch., and I interact with our younger doctors almost on a daily basis. The biggest, the most frequent teaching point for me is always at this question after the young doctor presents all the technologies, is that, what does this patient want? What is the perception in the patient, his perception, or in his or her problem?
We are speaking in the language of listening, are we focusing on the most important mission in medicine? Yeah, making money is generally the business. Yes, but more important is treating a disease, but there's actually something more important than treating a disease. And most young doctors are, what is that? Anything could be more important than the technology and surgery to treat the disease. Yes. There's something even more important that makes someone happy and manifests. You actually listen to the patients. At the end of the day, it’s not what you think is most important as a surgeon, but what the patient feels is the most important.
Polly Neely: I one-thousand percent agree with that. And I love this because I've heard you say it before, to become a listener. And that's one of the hardest things for all of us to do is to become a listener. We're always thinking about the next steps. And the patient is just thinking about what they're saying. So becoming that listener is vital. You're brilliant in that respect. I appreciate the fact that you do that, and I know your patients appreciate it because I know some of your patients. Well, we go back a very long way, Dr. Ming Wang. We met through Dr. Manus Kraff, and I'm so appreciative of the introduction. I want to ask you something, what career would you have chosen if you did not choose ophthalmology?
Dr. Ming Wang: Interesting question. I grew up in China during what they call Cultural Revolution. At age 14, I was thrown out of school just by being a straight A student, and together with 20 million other high school graduates, I was going to be sent away to labor camp for life. During the 10 years of Cultural Revolution, all universities and colleges were shut down. And so in order to escape that devastating fatal labor camp, I picked up two things to do. One is to play a musical instrument, and the other is to learn dancing. Because if I could do this, I might be able to avoid being sent away to labor camp, and be allowed to stay in the cities, because communist government student union musicians have dances in the cities. So then the Cultural Revolution ended, because the dictator died. And I got a chance to come to America basically as a penniless student, but I was happy because I’d have freedom in America.
So because of that history, I learned a musical instrument and I learned dancing. So if I have not picked a career as an ophthalmologist, I probably would pick a career as a musician playing my Chinese Violin Ehru spelled, E R H U, or I would pick a career as a professional ballroom dancing, because I love that too. Our Sight Foundation, where all the doctors donate their services. Once a year we have an event called The EyeBall, we raise money to help people see. And through the beauty of dancing to remind us that at the end of the day, it's not what we do within the four walls of a clinic that is the most important. What's even more important is how we can, as ophthalmologists, go out of our four walls, engaged, larger society, to get everybody involved for the cost of helping people restore sight, especially those who need the most, especially those who don't have the financial resources to pay for it.
Polly Neely: I love that. Who’s your most memorable dance partner?
Dr. Ming Wang: Oh, I had the opportunity to dance with the most beautiful dancer from Bulgaria many years ago, her name is Arina, blonde hair and a beautiful dancer. She has this Eastern European approach to dance, which means that dance is not just about sport, but it's also as much about artistry too. And, it's not just about artistry either. It's about sport, artistry, and thirdly, human connection. The emotion Arina has demonstrated has the best combination of all three. We actually have a video on YouTube that shows my dance with Arina. To this day, they're still one of my best, best videos.
Polly Neely: I love it. Well, I have to ask you, because everybody's gonna want to know, about your professional and personal relationship with Dolly Parton, who is our Tennessee beauty. She just loves you and I love listening to the stories she has to say about you, but tell us a good story about Dolly.
Dr. Ming Wang: Yes, thank you. I performed LASIK surgery for Dolly. So one day she came in she said, “Dr. Wang, I'm not here for my eyes today.” I said, “Okay, what are you here for?” She said, “I'm here for music. I want to play music with you.” I said, “You, the country music icon, and me, an amateur musician.” She said, “Yes,” and so she took me to the Blue Ocean Studio that evening, and I’ve never seen thousands of buttons back on these little consoles. And we sat at a little table, and she said, “I want to sing a song, and you play that little Chinese violin for me.” So the song is called Cruel War, and it's about the story in civil war. A soldier wants to go to the war front and his girlfriend wants to go with him, and he says no, no, you know, girls are not admitted in the troops yet. And he wants to go, she wants to go with him. He has to say no, no, no. At the end of the song said, yes. So, I sat down with Dolly across a little table with my Chinese violin, in my hand. I listened to a recording of Dolly's singing after she finished. She said, okay, it's your turn. I say, okay, give me the score, you know, for my Chinese violin accompaniment. She said, I have no score. She said, okay, give me your score. The song that you just sang. She said, I have no score either. She's so talented, she just sang a song based on memory. So then I realized that she invited me to play, not just play, but also actually to create together with her. And while listening to this old, old country, American country song, can we imagine, can she and I imagine, what should be the accompaniment melody using a 5,000 year history culture, Chinese violin, it's the ultimate East and West combination. So we listen, stop and I practice my violin to try and test different melodies, and at the end of the night we composed, played, and we recorded, and we finished. So it's one of the ultimate experiences of East and West.
Polly Neely: I love that story. That's a story I've never heard from you. So I'm so excited, I asked that question. I love it. Let me ask you a question, what other than ballroom dancing, other than playing your Chinese violin, what else do you feel your time with when you're not being a surgeon and a doctor?
Dr. Ming Wang: I think my dancing and music are my hobbies, but my main thing, my life is devoted only to two things. One is medicine to help people see through our Sight Foundation to help blind orphan children. But second is the cause to help all of us find Common Ground. You know, our country's so polarized, which means that we're increasingly fixated on our differences, rather than appreciating what we have in common. You know, my autobiography from Darkness to Sight talks about my journey as an immigrant, escaping dictatorship, and coming to America for Freedom, and coming to appreciate so much, the Freedom and Liberty that we have. But, the polarization here in America today will destroy the freedom and liberty, destroying the wonderful society we have here in America today. And we need to remind ourselves that we all have shared humanity on the spaceship of earth and we have no choice, but to find a way to work together. As you know, my autobiography from Darkness to Sight is being made into a major motion picture called, Sight. It's going to be shot in Vancouver, Canada, in a few weeks. I'll be on the set, but I will be probably a taxi driver or something, like Alfred Hitchcock, sitting in the taxi cab. But the point of the movie and my book is to remind all of us, to appreciate America, to appreciate the freedom and liberty that we have, and through overcoming our polarization to find the Common Ground. People say Ming, why are you so motivated to help us overcome polarization and find common ground? That's because I have suffered myself in the past through extreme form of colonization, which is dictatorship. America, don't go there.
Polly Neely: I love that. Dr. Ming Wang, how has social media changed your practice, change the way that you advertise, change the way you solicit new patients, let them know about you? How has that evolved? Because you were back in the day with me when advertising was that no one advertised, that was not good. People didn't go to a doctor if they had to advertise, you know, people didn't go there. So we've evolved from newspaper ads to billboard ads, to now we're in social media, how has that changed you and your practice and the way that you solicit new patients?
Dr. Ming Wang: Great question Polly, you and I have known each other for nearly 20 years and I initially consulted with you 20 years ago, you were working for some of the pillars of ophthalmology, Dr. Manus Kraff and others. We were in our teenage years, (I believe at that time). I've learned so much from professionals, such as you, who have a wealth of experience in ophthalmology for over the past 20 years, and also experienced actually working in the trenches in marketing. I've come to increasingly realize that social media, digital media is the future, right? But one of the fascinating, the main topics of your interview, is what are the differences of four generations of practicing ophthalmologists? I would say two key differences, social media is one of them. One, what do the older guys, the older ladies, the older ophthalmologists, really truly hold precious and what young doctors should learn. That, in my opinion, is the patient centric, at the end of the day, how a patient feels really matters, their point of view. I think young doctors can learn so much from the older doctors. But, on other hand, there's so much the older doctors, such as me, can learn from the younger doctors in this four generation span. That is, the understanding that what drives modern society is the fundamental concept called immediacy. And that is basically is the fundamental reason why Uber, Facebook and Google become so explosively successful because they offer something that all of us human beings really need deep in our heart, which is immediacy. We want something, at the time we want, in the shape we want, the type of information we want, and in the format we want. So digital fundamentally provides that, I would say we've been dabbling in social media and consulted by folks such as you and Vision Care Connect (VCC), and many different organizations that really know the space really well. But at the same time, we realize there's so much more to learn, especially as an older doctor in this four generation span, now I need to learn from the young doctors more about the digital because digital is the future.
Polly Neely: You recently chose a partner for your practice after many, many, years of solo practice. So what would you say to the young generation coming out about choosing a partner in their practice, if they choose to go solo, or join a practice? What advice would you give them to look for, so they can have the happiness and the success that you've been able to have in your career?
Dr. Ming Wang: Yeah, we've been very fortunate to have recruited Dr. Joshua Frenkel, to be my junior partner, and he's doing wonderfully well. He is actually already doing the majority of our surgeries and offers excellent surgical care for our patients and medical care. What I learned, in fact, it was not easy, it took us a three-year process to interview over dozens of candidates. And what we were looking for at the end of the day, is the fundamental focus on patients. Because technology comes and goes, people come and go, but the fundamental essence of medicine, which is a patient centric approach, that will remain unchanged. That's what's different here at Wang Vision Institute here in Nashville, Tennessee, and that was what I was looking for in all these dozen or so candidates that we interviewed. And finally, we met Dr. Joshua Frenkel and I felt that there was this connection, that patient centric focus, that he shared that fundamental philosophy. So we are very fortunate and we built a great team together now, based on patient centered focus. Now, once again you say Dr. Wang, this sounds like a theoretical philosophical viewpoint. No, it manifests actually what you do every day for me and Dr. Frenkel. For example, as I said, at the end of the day, it's not what you feel is most important, it's not what you think is most important as a doctor, it is how the patients feel is most important. Give you one example, the doctor would walk into a room and say, “Hey, Mr. Smith, good to see you, I have all the time in the world, just tell me what your problem is.” But, the doctor is standing there the entire time. That body language tells the patient, no, I really don't have time for you, I'm ready to get out. So it's the focus, the body language, emotion-to-connection. You learn a lot of this from ballroom dancing, because you cannot be a good ballroom dancer, unless you can connect to your partner. So my advice to the surgeons out there looking for partners in the future is, find someone who can fundamentally be on the same wavelength as you. As for us, the most important practice for the mind is a patient centric approach.
Polly Neely: I love that. That's great advice. I have one question that I've asked every interviewee that I've talked to. How have you seen technology in ophthalmology transition since your career started? And what do you foresee technology in the future in our industry in the next 15 years?
Dr. Ming Wang: My answer to this question will be somewhat unexpected and against the trend.
Polly Neely: I would expect nothing less.
Dr. Ming Wang: Most people that answer your excellent question here, will be saying that in my career, I've seen a more technicalization, more computerization, more mechanization, more automation of technology and that's probably true. While I do agree, the formality of what we do in terms of the actual tools are going. However, what I see in my career is a trend that unless we recognize it and intentionally correct it, it's going to take us away, further and further from the core of medicine, which is a patient centric. Because all these technologies we have had in the past few decades have acted as an insulator, as a spacer, as a separator, separating the surgeon, the doctor from patient. We have fewer feeling patients less, we're talking to patients less, we're spending less time with the patient.
We're spending less time trying to figure out how we can speak in the language of the listener, not the language of the speaker. How can I recognize the patient may not have as much knowledge, medical knowledge as we do, but they have just as much common sense as a human being. So I think that technology is driving us away from patients and we need to intentionally recognize this hidden trend and really intentionally correct it. And, I just want to mention very quickly, this is regarding Common Ground seeking that we have been working on. We are about to be publishing a Common Ground Bible Studies, which is a collection of methodologies, how to see common ground as doctors, with our patients.
Polly Neely: I love that. That's a great answer too. Thank you so much. I knew your answer would be unique and I appreciate it. So, Dr. Ming Wang, thank you so much for joining us today. We have so appreciated your insight and your entertainment, and we look forward to everyone else being able to enjoy this.
Dr. Ming Wang: Thank you Polly, for the opportunity to be on your show.
Focus Through the Generations is supported by Bruder Healthcare Company.
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