Employee Focus on J.P. Maszczak

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Name: J.P. Maszczak, OD, FAAO
Current Title: Associate Clinical Professor
Pronouns: he/him/his
Hometown: Canfield, Ohio
Degrees and Institutions Attended: BS in Biology, Westminster College; OD'05, The Ohio State University College of Optometry
Years of Employment at the College: 19 years

Q&A

What brought you to the College of Optometry?

One of my good friends was in the optometry program at Ohio State a few years ahead of me. He sparked my interest to pursue optometry, and in my mind there was no other school I'd rather attend than Ohio State. I met my wife on the Ohio State MedCenter bus route while she attended dental hygiene school. After graduation in 2005, I completed a residency through the Columbus and Chillicothe VA medical centers, then joined Ohio State as full-time faculty in 2006. Less than a year later, I joined a private practice in Columbus, but remained on at Ohio State part time to teach in the PVC and AOC clinical services. I again joined the College as full-time faculty in 2017 with the opening of the Upper Arlington satellite clinic.

Describe your typical day at work.

I spend the majority of my week at our Upper Arlington satellite clinic as an attending doctor overseeing interns examining patients and assisting with clinic operations. We see between 18 to 25 patients per day at Upper Arlington, providing interns the opportunity to see an array of patient encounters. Each intern examines between 350 to 400 patients per semester.

What brings you the most joy in your work?

That’s a tough question. I really enjoy working with interns on a daily basis. Their enthusiasm and motivation to improve their clinical skills as they push toward graduation is really inspiring; I love to see them take pride in the care they are providing to patients. Watching my interns become independent and confident with patients is awesome.

What do you do for fun outside of work?

I am really passionate about golf. I play as often as I can throughout Ohio's golf season; fortunately I also have a golf simulator at my house so I can play or practice all year round. I've also played basketball all my life and continue to do so a couple of days a week. I play in a few leagues throughout the year.

I also really enjoy watching my kids play sports. All three of my kids play a variety of sports—lacrosse, gymnastics, basketball, soccer, cheerleading, and taekwondo. Watching my kids have success as part of a team is truly remarkable.

What is the first item on your bucket list?

My wife and I spent two weeks in Hawaii for one of our anniversaries and absolutely loved everything it had to offer. We are planning to take our kids there in the next few years. It's definitely a big trip we're looking forward to sharing with them.