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Baljit S. Sohal, O.D. |
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Royo Eye Care
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Dr. Baljit Sohal's parents were farmers of peaches, prunes, and walnuts in Yuba City's thriving agricultural community, and lending them a hand was his first real job. “I helped them on the farm from elementary school through my high school days," Dr. Sohal remembered. “There was a lot of physical labor, and you learned a great deal of responsibility from a very young age. It sucked at the time, but looking back at it now, you realize how great of an experience it really was." The lessons he learned in responsibility and commitment undoubtedly readied him for a career in medicine, the path he always knew he would pursue while growing up. Dr. Sohal graduated from Yuba City High School and enrolled in UC Davis, where he studied biochemistry and molecular biology. He took his time, changed majors, and searched for his perfect fit in the world of medicine, eventually finding it in optometry.
"Everyone thinks optometry is just glasses," Dr. Sohal laughed. "There's so much more though in the way of diseases, and once you realize what optometry is truly about, you quickly realize how much you can help people."
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Dr. Sohal applied to the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago after graduating from UC Davis and was accepted. Excited to have an experience outside of California he studied in the large metropolitan city for four years, initially like a fish out of water. "It definitely was not what I was used to coming from a farm." Dr. Sohal recalled. “I didn't know how to take the subway at all and was constantly worried about getting lost. I didn't have GPS, map apps, or anything! In my first year in the program, I had a Blackberry, and it didn't do me much good. The cold there redefined my understanding of what cold was, and I was certainly ready to return to California."
After finishing optometry school, Dr. Sohal completed an additional year-and-a-half of residency at the VA in Fresno, California. "The more I experienced on the side of optometry treating disease, the more I realized how small preventative measures could potentially save a person's sight," Dr. Sohal said. "Improving a person's eyesight or returning it to them entirely seemed like the largest improvement I could deliver when it came to quality of life. Losing your sight is one of the most devastating things someone can experience, so I naturally gravitated more and more towards that side of optometry." Dr. Sohal returned to Yuba City in 2013 and began scouting local clinics. He quickly got his foot in the door and started working by filling in at local clinics around the area. It was a great starting point, but he wanted more permanence, so he dropped off his résumé at North Valley Eye Care in Chico.
He received an interview shortly thereafter and was offered a job which he was more than glad to take. Now, with two private clinics and two rural clinics in the Yuba City and Marysville area, Dr. Sohal has become a leader in optometry in the North Valley. "You see so many different types of diseases working here," Dr. Sohal said. "You also see the same people in and out of work because the community is so tightly knit. You know the person, and you see familiar faces. It's more rewarding because you know the people you're helping. We see a lot of glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, along with a ton of dry eye and your basic myopia (nearsightedness). I tell all of my patients-if you're experiencing any sort of ocular dysfunction, it's far better to be safe now than sorry in the future. Get it checked out; don't take your eyes for granted. Regular office visits are well worth it, and preventative care makes all the difference." With kids of his own, Dr. Sohal is imparting the same wisdom and work ethic his parents imparted to him so many years ago. He hopes to raise another generation of thoughtful individuals who will go on to care for their communities just as he cares for his.