Dr. John Bankowski

Being an optometrist for 14 years with the America’s Best Contacts and Eyeglasses team has allowed me to provide my patients with quality eye exams and stellar patient care in a pleasant, fast-paced environment. In my office, I find that I’m able to practice full-scope optometry without restriction and am able to offer my patients the highest level of patient care and products. The office design allows me to provide efficient, thorough patient care in a very high volume setting. It is staffed with knowledgeable managers and opticians who, along with a corporate support team, handle all staffing and training needs for the office. This allows me to focus solely on providing optimum patient care without the added headache of managing the business or hiring my own employees.

On any given day, I fit a variety of different brands of contact lenses including specialty lenses, torics, gas permeable lenses, bitorics and bifocal contact lenses. For each patient, I routinely make recommendations on specific eyewear needs such as polycarbonate lenses, high-index lenses, progressives and other multifocal lenses, various tints and coatings - all to better serve the patient. I dilate my patients on a regular basis and treat them therapeutically when necessary. At America’s Best, I have access to the latest, most up-to-date products and technology available on the market. This allows me to better address my patient’s individual eye care needs by having a wide variety of materials and options to choose from.

The assistance of a capable certified technician who conducts all of the preliminary testing during the eye exam paired with state of the art automated instrumentation in the office allows more time in the exam room for me to establish a rapport with the patient and develop a thorough understanding of why the patient is there. When a patient initially enters my office, I already have in hand a thorough patient history, all preliminary test results including visual acuity, tonometry, color vision, strereopsis, automated field testing, keratometry and autorefraction. With this information, in just a short amount of time, I’m able to establish a confidence with the patient, provide a thorough evaluation of the patient’s needs and educate the patient on their specific eye care issues. This allows me to deliver optimum care to each of my patients every day. It is this level of service that keeps my patients coming back year after year.

Dr. John Bankowski  (Back To Top)

It's a great job especially for new grads or new docs. It does have its pros and cons of course. Since it is corporate optometry, I can't quite do everything I want to do purely because of the setting, but I'm satisfied with what I am able to do on a day-to-day basis. You may find this is the case for most corporate situations. At America's Best, you are the doctor; you have final say in the Rx's, patient education, etc. You also have a great network of ophthalmologists (and of course ICO -if you're a Chicago doc) for patient referrals. I've been with the company for over a year now, and I'm beginning to see patients I saw last year come back to see me again this year, which is great!

Some stuff I do like about working here: the paycheck is nice! I'm not allowed to quote you exact numbers but it's much better than what other companies out there offer. You do not spend any money; there are no leasing fees or rental fees. Your only job is to be the doctor. You do not have to bring any equipment (although I do have a Wills Eye Manual handy). You do not dispense glasses or contacts, do billing, file, answer phones, answer pricing questions, etc.

The front desk schedules the appointments (and patients can also make online appointments on the Internet) but you do have a say if a patient comes in late (they can reschedule) and you can say "no" to walk-ins if the schedule is full or if it's too close to lunch time or end of day. The staff usually are very hardworking and pleasant to the docs.

Dr. Sarah Manongdo-Joya  (Back To Top)