Beyond the Walls: Curiosity, courage, and chasing a life of giving with John P. Berdahl, MD

In this episode of the Ophthalmology Times® “Beyond the Walls” podcast, host Deborah G. Ristvedt, DO, sits down with her colleague John P. Berdahl, MD, of Vance Thompson Vision, to explore the personal story behind a career defined by curiosity, persistence, and a commitment to giving back. The conversation spans his childhood, early struggles, landmark innovations, a high-profile business failure and comeback, and his vision for legacy.

Roots, resilience, and a rough start in medicine

Berdahl describes a happy childhood growing up in a trailer park—curious, entrepreneurial, and self-motivated. He delivered newspapers around the neighborhood and channeled his early earnings into what mattered most to a kid at the time. But the path was not without difficulty. He discovered he was color blind in kindergarten, and in first grade lived with his grandmother while his parents worked to stabilize their lives—an experience he credits with instilling a deep and lasting drive toward self-sufficiency.

The hardest stretch came in his first year of medical school, where a physics background left him ill-equipped for rote memorization, the cold Rochester, Minnesota, winters compounded the struggle, and he seriously considered quitting. It was his wife, Tamme, who turned things around: “She lit it up, and I got happier and then the rest is history.”

Innovation built one problem at a time

Berdahl traces his approach to innovation to a simple habit: identify a problem, build consistency around a solution, and don’t stop until the work is done. One breakthrough came while scuba diving as a first-year resident—the concept behind OPAP, a negative pressure goggle system that reduces intraocular pressure by relieving atmospheric weight on the eye. A presentation of the idea at Duke drew an unexpected compliment from a retina specialist who said he had not paid attention to a glaucoma lecture in 30 years. A separate innovation, a free toric IOL rotation calculator built after a call from a former teacher, now serves roughly 3,000 surgeons per month.

“I just have to clean my plate,” he says of his work ethic, describing his success less as special talent than as “a little extra ordinariness” applied consistently over time.

Failure, recovery, and what it costs to lead

Berdahl speaks candidly about the failure of Equinox, which cost investors significant capital and eliminated 18 jobs. He measures the weight of that outcome in human terms: “It was my fault as the leader of it.” With encouragement from his son, he bought the company back out of bankruptcy and ultimately turned it around—a recovery he credits to the same persistence that drives everything else he does.

Legacy and what fills the tank

Outside the clinic, Berdahl says what energizes him most is seeing others exceed their own expectations, the same way mentors once did for him. He takes pride in the success of partners, former fellows, and his own children—including a son with whom he has collaborated on research presented at NASA, and a daughter who has published audiobooks.

On legacy, he is direct: “I want to be a person that gave more than he took,” acknowledging it is a high bar given how much the world has given him.