Q. You are nationally recognized for the work that you do as a physician having performed the first LASIK surgery in Hawai'i in 1996. Since then, many more physicians perform laser eye surgery and technology has changed. Is it difficult to keep up with technology?

A. That is one of the biggest challenges in my practice, keeping up with technology. It's kind of the exciting part of ophthalmology in that technology is changing so much that it makes it kind of fun because there's always new things to learn and it's very stimulating. But it takes a lot of time and mental energy and it also costs a lot of money to keep buying these new pieces of equipment and it is a big challenge. LASIK is a wonderful procedure and it's actually gotten to the point where it's so safe. I've done everybody in my family and I've had LASIK done to myself and it's just this advance in technology that's made it safer and safer and more predictable.

Q. Do you have plans to expand your business?

A. I have my main office where I see the majority of my patients. I also am a part of the Laser Eye Center of Hawai'i, where I'm the medical director. I also am a partner at a surgery center called Surgical Suites where we actually perform only eye surgery. At this point my whole strategy is to maintain and keep practicing good-quality care because I do like to be really hands-on so I don't like to have so many patients that I can't see most of the patients personally. I really can't expand too much more.

Q. You belong to a lot of community organizations. What are they?

A. I'm really actively involved in the community. It's part of my business strategy in that I really think it's important for a business to be a good community member as well. I am very active in the Women's Fund of Hawai'i, which is a grant-making fund. We basically give grants to small community programs that benefit women and girls. I'm also involved with the Hawai'i Opera Theatre. I also like to support a few of the charity functions, like the Susan Komen Race for the Cure.

Q. Your job takes up a lot of your time. How do find the time to stay involved in these organizations?

A. I'm really lucky because I have a very good staff and they help me out a lot. They're actually very involved with some of these programs as well. A lot of it is just prioritizing and scheduling. I do tend to get up really early in the morning so I'm a morning person. A lot of it is just trying to prioritize what to do and make time for each of the activities.

Q. How important do you think it is for people to do volunteer work?

A. I am very fortunate because my practice does great and within the practice we service the community. It's really important for businesses to support the community around them because when the community is healthy, then business prospers. It's actually a great symbiotic relationship between the community and business. So it's important for all businesses to keep in mind that there should be some kind of community outreach program within their business.

Q. How do you get the best out of your staff?

A. My style in terms of managing my practice is that I have a fairly small staff. We only have seven people here, and what I like to do is once I get a good person, I like to take good care of them. What I usually do is set the tone for the practice, and then I will give them each aspects of the practice that I want them to take care of and I give them free rein and it works out pretty well. What we do in my offices is we do have a community goodwill program, and that's actually pretty much managed by the staff. We have meetings about what programs we would like to support this year with our charity giving. I kind of keep the staff involved, and that keeps them interested and passionate in what we do.

Q. How has your family background influenced you?

A. My grandparents were physicians and they were medical missionaries in Nepal for 10 years. It's that sense of being a good global member or community member that was instilled in me from the very beginning. My grandmother and grandfather gave up their very lucrative practices and ended up being medical missionaries for 10 years, and so they said it was really important to always give back to the community because it's part of your duty as citizens.

Q. In what way was your grandmother your mentor?

A. She graduated from medical school in 1923, so she was a pioneer and always had some interesting things to say about being a woman doctor. She said being a woman doctor actually gives you the really unique opportunity to be different than a man doctor. Being a woman kind of gives you license to use feminine qualities like empathy, touching a patient, which maybe a man doctor can't. She was quite an influence in my life. She had some incredible stories about how she had to sneak up into the operating theater to observe surgery and they used to make fun of her. Like in the operating room once she was told that she had to hold this leg while they were amputating it knowing full well when it came off that she would fall underneath it, which she did, and she, very dignified, stood up and continued on. So, yes, it was difficult (for her).

Q. Do you have an area that you want to spend more time on?

A. I really in the long run would like to continue the legacy of my grandparents. My practice has been great to me and it's been a great business and it's paid for my kids' colleges, but I really eventually want to scale back on this and spend more time doing some medical mission work. I'd like to go to Nepal, I'd like to do some stuff in Africa. Now that my kids are out of the house, that's one of my five-year goals is to start being able to spend a little more time in that area.

Q. Any bits of advice for people who wear many hats like you do?

A. You really have to make a conscious effort to schedule your time so that if you have a commitment to a board or something, you have to say, OK, I'm going to spend half an hour doing this commitment and making the time. The other thing is also just making time for yourself and making sure you realize it's important to do other things that you enjoy.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.