Ophthalmology is something Mark Bateman, MD, is very familiar with on both sides of the ophthalmoscope. As a child dealing with an unusual eye infection, Bateman spent his fair share of time at the eye doctor’s office. When it came time to choose his medical specialty, he clearly knew what his choice would be.
Medicine was not a new idea for Bateman since the Lexington, Tennessee native was born into a family of healthcare providers. His father was a dentist, his mother a nurse and his two older brothers both chose to pursue a profession in the medical field.
Throughout his college career, which he started at Jackson State and finished at Murray State in Kentucky, Bateman was on a pre-med track. In medical school at East Tennessee State University, he found he consistently gravitated toward eye care.
“While I considered doing something in primary care by my third year, I knew ophthalmology was what I wanted to do,” said Bateman. “Since I was on a navy scholarship, all my post graduate training was in the navy. My internship was completed at the Naval Hospital in San Diego, then I spent my operational tour as a flight surgeon for three years. I did my residency at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. To complete my obligation to the Navy, I was a staff ophthalmologist in Jacksonville, Florida for two years before joining the Eye Clinic in Jackson in 1994.”
Bateman was very familiar with the Eye Clinic and its staff because it was where he had been a patient as a child. “Dr. House and Dr. Price were my doctors growing up,” said Bateman. “Someone had told Dr. House I was an ophthalmologist and he called me as I was getting out of the service to see if I would be interested in joining the clinic.”
Just as Bateman felt the call to ophthalmology, as well as to come back home to West Tennessee, it was not long before he felt the call to return to the navy as a reservist. “I always wanted to be in the military as both my parents had been. When I first got out, I had a feeling I wanted to go back in as a reservist,” he said. “While most of what I did as a reservist was ophthalmology, some was more primary care such as routine physicals. By the time I retired, I was a Captain in the Medical Corp.”
Besides his experience as a patient, Bateman was attracted to ophthalmology because it was a specialty that allowed him to concentrate on a small, albeit complicated area. “Knowing a lot about a small area rather than a little about a lot of things is more in keeping with my personality,” he said “Having had a recurrent eye infection at different times of my life, as well as cataract surgery in one eye allows me to empathize more with my patients. I can share my story with patients and they appreciate that I can relate to what they are going through.”
After more than 20 years in practice at the clinic, Bateman says he has seen more changes in the management of a medical practice than in the management of disease and treatment of eye disorders. “The way we interact with patients is no different but the diagnostic equipment, array of drops, and treatment protocols have improved overall care. Cataract surgery, for instance, has evolved from what I learned in residency,” he said. “Probably the hardest change to accept, other than EHR, is the fact that all the partners that were here when I started have retired and I’m now the senior partner...means I’m getting old.”
Away from the office, Bateman is a craftsman of sorts. “I have always enjoyed working with wood and it is a good way for me to unwind. At one time, my wife Jennifer and I were into antiques and did a lot of furniture refinishing. That led me to wanting to make furniture and so I took some classes on it in East Tennessee,” said Bateman. “I have made cabinets, furniture, Windsor chairs, farm tables, bowls, vases, etc. Mostly I make it for family but I have put a few pieces in my daughter’s store.”
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