Do you ever think that life would just be so much easier if someone else were making your decisions for you? I do. Dont get me wrong, Im forever lamenting too few options and crying, What choice do I have? But, sometimes (especially when its most important), I really hate making choices. It seems like, all too often, choice is nothing more than a euphemism for risk. And it always strikes me how differently we view risk when its someone elses, and not our own.

For whatever reason, taking chances is a noble pursuit that makes all the sense in the world, so long as you dont personally share in the consequences should it result in failure. Consider, for example, the best team in baseball history: The Boston Red Sox.

If you are a Sox fan (which I assume you are since you are a well-educated doctor), then you know all about the risk they took last year during the American League Championship series against the Yankees. The Red Sox were down three games and were about to lose game four to be swept by the Yankeesindeed, a fate worse than death.

In the ninth inning, the Red Sox put Dave Roberts in as a pinch runner at first base. Their intent was to steal second base. If Roberts got tagged, the Red Sox would have to hang their heads in shame for taking another beating from their greatest rival team.

Imagine being Dave Roberts, standing safely at first, knowing that baseball history hinges on your decision of whether or when to make a run for it. How would you have advised him?

Go for it! my husband hollered from a barstool halfway around the world. Easy for him to say. It wasnt his neck on the line (though he was on thin ice, since the series ate up the better part of our honeymoon). Roberts took a chance and made it to second base by a hair, saving the Boston Red Sox (if not my honeymoon).

As a player, Roberts had everything to lose, but even more to gain. His decision to steal allowed his team to stage the greatest upset in baseball historybeating the Yankees and later winning the World Series. If he got caught, the game would have been over and the Red Sox would still be fighting to end the 86-year-old curse of the Bambino.

That seems like a lot of responsibility for one man. But, in reality, Roberts wasnt making a unilateral decision. In fact, you could argue that he wasnt responsible for making the decision at all. Thats the coachs role. And, alas, that is why optometrylike everything else in lifeis like baseball. You are the coach, and Dave Roberts is your patient. While its his feet on the field, youre the one guiding the decision.

Lets suppose that Dave Roberts wants a LASIK enhancement. He sees haloes around the field lights and its cramping his game.

What if hes not a great candidate? What if youre more than a little unsure? He definitely wants the quick fix that only surgery can provide, but hes looking to you to tell him whats best.

Youve told him all about the risks, but what he really wants is for you to coach himor, more to the point, he wants you to tell him what to do. Should he run or should he play it safe and live with less than perfect vision? That is the focus of our 11th Annual Refractive Surgery Report.

In Should You Take the Chance to Enhance? Jeffrey M. Augustine, O.D., and a trio of refractive surgery specialists debate various appropriate treatments for difficult cases, in light of improved technology and the higher standards it has created.

As a primary-care provider and coach, your patients look to you to weigh the risks and guide them to the appropriate choice. They expect you to lead them to victory.