Robert Kearns, OD

Bio

I was born in Mill Valley, California and shortly thereafter moved to Carmel, California. My parents settled in Saratoga, where I did most of my early schooling.

I originally went to Cal State as an economics major - but felt somewhat unsettled by the nebulous nature of economics. I received my degree from Pacific University College of Optometry in 1988 and started in private practice in Pacific Grove and Hollister, California.

I joined Kaiser Permanente in 1990 at the Santa Clara facility and have seen many improvements in the quality of care Kaiser provides over that time.

I married in 1996 and was looking for an area similar to the setting I grew up in and found it in Santa Rosa. I transferred in 1998.

My daughter Nicole, was born in 2001 (and I have been sleep deprived ever since).

I enjoy playing tennis, running and skiing.

My Medical Specialty

More details about my specialty:

I was torn between dentistry and Optometry. After spending a couple of days observing both, the Optometrists seemed to be having more fun! The atmosphere in the offices was very relaxed. The precision of the testing appealed to me.

My specialty interests and affiliations within my field:

Practice General Optometry. Specialties include spectacles, computer glasses, soft and rigid gas permeable contact lenses.

I also co-manage Laser Vision Correction patients.

Great health resources that I refer to:

Medscape
WebMD
Mayoclinic
Epocraes
RXlist
NLM.NIH.Gov.medlineplus

An interesting story from my training:

In the final year of Optometry, everyone had to do a research paper.

I worked on the project with two other doctors and our study required the fitting of a large number of patients with rigid contact lenses.

The other doctors were leaving right around the time that their patient's contact lenses started arriving. There were all the typical problems with comfort and wear time. Inevitably, I ended up refitting about a third of that group plus the other half I was originally scheduled to fit. In the end, we were lucky enough to not have had any drop outs in the entire study group.

Apparently, this impressed some of the Professors enough to have them select me as "Outstanding Clinician" in my class. Since the award included a vacation, prizes and cash, the extra work along with the invaluable experience, really paid off.

Interests

Currently reading:
One Hundred Years of Solitude

My favorite book or author:
Joseph Heller's

Great movie:
Fargo

Family & Friends

People in my life:

I have been married to my wife, Leni for ten years.
Leni is very active at the local Golf Club, serving on multiple committees. She also volunteers at Nicole's school.

My children and people I care about:

Nicole is our very social and very active five year old. She enjoys martial arts, the local climbing gym, bible school, swimming, skiing, kite flying and beach combing.

An interesting story about my family or friends:

I love to go skiing with Nicole. She is the ultimate multi-tasker! On the chair lift going up the mountain, she will be describing her last run, eating a snack, yelling to any fallen skiers on the run below, asking if they are OK. They when we are skiing down, I have to remind her to stop waving at everyone and watch where she is going - what fun!

Travel

Travel Photos:

My wife Leni and I in Lanai