Member Spotlight - Dr. Tanner Udenberg

Dr. Tanner Udenberg

Member Spotlight

Dr. Tanner Udenberg

BSc Pharmacology BC Doctors of Optometry member

About Dr. Tanner Udenberg

Dr. Udenberg is thrilled to be back in his home town of Vernon after graduating from the School of Optometry at the University of Waterloo in 2010 with honours. While in Waterloo, he completed internships in ocular pathology, binocular vision and specialty contact lens design. He has also volunteered on many developing world eye care missions and most recently traveled to Nicaragua and Haiti. Prior to studying Optometry, Dr. Udenberg completed a degree in Pharmacology at the University of Alberta where he worked as a researcher in a cardiovascular pharmacology lab publishing multiple studies. In his spare time, Dr. Udenberg is an avid musician and enjoys snowboarding, playing hockey and traveling with his wife Renee and spending time with his son and daughter. He is a proud member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce and Kalamalka Rotary Club.

Career Path and BCDO Who inspires you?

I take daily inspiration from my wife and two wonderful children. Seeing their faces light up as you walk in the door always makes me forget the small stuff. I also have a fantastic mentor, Dr. Shane Keddie (Edmonton), who is a highly skilled clinician and excellent patient communicator.

What is something about you (a fun fact) that not many people know?

I am an identical twin.

Why is being a member of BCDO important to you?

I believe that we can accomplish more as a profession and improve patient care by working together. I am also quite impressed at the BCDO’s recent success at advancing our scope of practice and updating the MSP reimbursement schedule.

The Profession of Optometry What kind of person do you need to succeed as an optometrist?

I believe patient communication skills are para- mount. Completing a refraction isn’t really that difficult in my opinion. It’s communicating what you are doing to the patient, why you are doing it and how it will improve their lives is what is most important. It builds patient rapport, trust and helps build your practice.

What do you enjoy/value most about being an optometrist?

I am now practicing in the small town that I grew

up in, Vernon. This really gives me a great sense of community and during Covid that connection is really important to me. I also enjoy all of the technological advances our field has to offer. We recently commissioned an alloy blocker for our lab and have also purchased a Radiofrequency/ IPL platform for treating dry eye.

What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?

It’s the people. I have one patient that is 104 yrs. old and whenever I see her name come up on the schedule, I can’t wait to hear how she has been doing. I also find it really rewarding if I am able to address an issue that has been troubling a patient for some time. Whether it’s a scleral lens fitting, prism issue, or uncovering a large latent Rx in a child and helping them get back on track academically, I really enjoy the challenging cases.

Do you have a specialty? If so, what made you choose it?

Scleral Lens Fittings are an area that I like to get into thanks to my mentor Dr. Keddie. Our clinic also specializes in dry eyes by offering meibomian gland expression, radiofrequency and IPL treat- ments.

What new direction would you like to see happen in Optometry?

I would like to see Optometry and Optometrists maintain their independence. There are consolid- ation pressures, buying groups and chains that seem to be rapidly changing the profession. For this very reason, we started Independent Lenses – a digital free form lab with lens equipment capable to making any free form progressive design, antireflective coatings etc.