Kendall E. Donaldson

About Kendall E. Donaldson

Medical Director and Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, Cornea, External Disease, Cataract and Refractive Surgery at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Plantation, Florida, USA

What is your proudest professional achievement?

The two professional moments that make me most proud are being selected to be a resident at Bascom Palmer and being chosen to create and to become the Medical Director of Bascom Palmer in Plantation. These events were turning points in my life, creating the foundation of my career at Bascom Palmer, and determining my professional development to occur in South Florida. Over the past 16 years, I have dedicated myself to serving the patients of Broward County. I have also tried my best to serve as a role model and inspiration to the staff and fellows I have led in Plantation and Miami, to nurture them as they’ve grown to serve our patients.

Outside of ophthalmology, what makes you happy?

Nothing makes me happier than spending time with my three children and helping them to create happy memories as they grow and develop into young adults. I also enjoy playing the piano, skiing, and playing tennis with my kids.

Why is it important to celebrate women in the field this way?

Each of us as an individual may be working hard on a small scale to achieve our goals and to move ourselves forward. However, we are stronger as a group and need to come together as women to work as one unit to achieve even more.

What can be done to make the field more diverse? 

We need to promote one another’s achievements and contributions to the field. There are so many opportunities to promote each other in teams, on papers, in discussion groups, and in various forms of collaboration. It’s especially inspiring to promote those that are training in our footsteps. Shared opportunities are so much more rewarding than those experienced alone. I think we need to be cognizant and hypervigilant to opportunities to advance our younger counterparts who may diversify and enrich our professional circles.