It was towards the end of Dr. Patricia Hrynchak’s OPTOM 342A, Case Analysis and Optometric Therapies class on November 27. Fellow professors Drs. Lisa Christian and Natalie Hutchings were at the door – they needed to speak urgently to Dr. Hrynchak, often known at the School of Optometry and Vision Science as Patty.
Little did a slightly worried Hrynchak know the diversion was a ruse. With their professor out of the room, the third-year Doctor of Optometry students sprang into action. It wasn’t just any class – it was Hrynchak’s birthday. It was also the last lecture Hrynchak would be giving before her scheduled retirement in February.
The students got out two cakes, flowers and a card handmade by student Sharon Ling. One cake was decorated with a fairly standard “happy birthday.” The other read, “We all ❤ the Hrynchak Method.”
“The picture was meant to look like a view that an optometrist gets when looking in the eye of someone with a retinoschisis, which is when your retina splits into two layers instead of one,” says Sophie Borho, an experienced cake decorator and OD student, who added the picture.
“The Hrynchak method for diagnosing retinoschises is to shine light from your BIO headset onto the affected area of the retina. In the case of a retinoschisis, the patient will report that they do not perceive the light being shone. This technique is something that Dr. Hrynchak has mentioned in class multiple times and has done in practice as a doctor, and she’s coined it ‘the Hrynchak Method’.”
As the final touch, almost all the students donned blonde wigs similar to Hrynchak’s signature ‘do. Then they waited for their professor to come back in.
Hrynchak’s reaction to being greeted by a sea of her lookalikes was priceless. A modest person, she was surprised and moved by her students’ show of affection and the evidence of the impact she has had as a clinical professor.
“I think our entire third-year class wanted to do something special for Dr. Hrynchak,” says student William Cross. “It was certainly a bittersweet moment for us. You can tell just how much being a part of this school means to her. Her passion for teaching is unmistakable and she clearly takes pride in helping shape the future of Canadian optometry. At the same time, we were all incredibly happy for her. She has led an incredible career and is very deserving of starting the next chapter in her life.”
“I was happy to contribute in this small way to Dr. Hrynchak's celebration,” says Borho. “She has been a pillar at the School of Optometry and Vision Science for many years, having taught a number of our current professors and future colleagues. She literally wrote the book that every optometry student references to explain different clinical techniques, the billing code manual in each of the school's exam rooms, and the third-year lecture slides that I regularly check before seeing patients for a concise explanation of any pathologies.”
“Dr. Hrynchak has left a lifelong impact on Canadian optometry as a whole,” says Cross. “Countless members of our class have met optometrists across the country who have shared positive memories of her. For example, this past summer, my optometrist back home asked me if she was still teaching and shared that she was his class's favourite optometry professor. He fondly recalled his class making bracelets that said, ‘What would Patty do?’ and these words play in his mind to this day. I guarantee that years down the line, our classmates will still be asking ourselves the same thing!”