Episode 2 • May 25, 2026
Mentorship from Afar
Dr. Fletcher Models Multidisciplinary Collaboration
About This Episode
Mentorship in low vision rehabilitation isn't always readily available. Mentorship from afar can make a lifelong impact on a clinician's practice despite a lack of proximity.
In this episode, Erika Andersen Ko talks with retinal disease ophthalmologist Dr. Donald Fletcher about what nearly 40 years and 35,000 low vision patients have taught him about multidisciplinary vision rehabilitation. He shares how a conversation with an orientation and mobility specialist led him to change his assumption that individuals with central field loss do not need mobility training.
Dr. Fletcher's advice for any clinician who wants to grow: ask thoughtful questions and make friends with a researcher.
About the Guest
Dr. Donald Fletcher is an acclaimed ophthalmologist and longtime advocate for team-based low vision care, currently practicing at Envision in Wichita, Kansas. He co-founded and continues to lead the Low Vision Rehab Study Group at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, where clinicians and researchers gather each February to share difficult cases, fresh ideas, and the occasional spicy debate.
Thank you to CAER
A big thank you to CAER, the Colorado chapter of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, for the microgrant that supported the relaunch of this podcast. A small grant with a meaningful message: asking questions about how we grow as pracitioners is inherently valuable.
Topics & Timestamps
You can use the chapter markers in the podcast player to jump to these topics.
02:14 — Mentorship from Afar
04:32 — Multidisciplinary Low Vision Rehabilitation
10:10 — Challenging Assumptions about AMD and Mobility
14:11 — Low Vision Rehab Study Group
19:17 — Bridging Clinicians and Researchers
25:42 — Reflections and What's Ahead
Resources & References
One of Dr. Fletcher's clinical homes and an example of the team-based low vision rehabilitation model discussed throughout the episode.
The annual interdisciplinary low vision conference, where Erika is co-facilitating a "So What" small-group discussion with Dr. Fletcher on central field loss. The 2026 conference incudes a small-group track with CE, plus virtual gatherings continuing post-conference.
Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute
Home of the Low Vision Rehab Study Group, which Dr. Fletcher co-founded and continues to lead.
Parker, P. (2018). The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters. Riverhead Books. Referenced for its approach to designing meaningful, intentional gatherings—starting with the outcome you want and working backward.
Rubin, G. S., Crossland, M. D., et al. (2023). Eccentric Viewing Training for Age-Related Macular Disease: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial. Ophthalmology Science , 4 (2), 100422. The trial that sparked the “spicy discussions” at the study group and helped catalyze Erika’s evolving approach to central field loss, covered in the previous episode with Dr. Michael Crossland.
