Meet the Doctors: Dr. Vikram Girn

Dr. Vikram Girn is an optometrist at Brookside Optometric Group. He enjoys working with patients to help improve their vision and comfort, from helping a patient who thought they would never be glasses-free to finally see with LASIK or multifocal soft contact lenses, to fitting a patient with workstation-glasses to help them work comfortably behind a computer screen all day long. The most rewarding aspect of his job is the opportunity to see his patients thrive.

While each day at the office is unique, Dr. Girn typically has a combination of complete eye health evaluations, custom contact lens fittings, and examinations to treat and manage dry eyes, glaucoma, and various eye infections. He enjoys meeting a variety of patients, from toddlers to seniors, and everyone in between. He also works part time at Central Valley Eye Medical Group in Stockton.

One meaningful experience for Dr. Girn was when a patient came to see him with a new pair of glasses purchased from another practice. The patient could not see clearly enough with the glasses to drive safely (he couldn’t see the big letter “E” on the eye chart). After an examination, Dr. Girn discovered that the patient had a rare corneal condition that distorted his vision so much that glasses could not correct the problem. Dr. Girn decided to fit the patient with custom contact lenses to alleviate the distortion, and the results were remarkable: the patient went from being unable to see the “big E” to nearly 20/20 vision. At a follow-up appointment the next week, the patient was visibly excited and said to him, “Dr. Girn, when I looked at my newborn daughter with these contacts, it was like I was seeing her for the first time.” Dr. Girn feels fortunate that he had the opportunity to make such a great impact on his patient’s life.

Born and raised in Stockton, Dr. Girn graduated in 2005 from Franklin High School, where he completed the International Baccalaureate program. He is a proud Aggie alumni who graduated with honors from University of California, Davis, where he received his Bachelors of Science degree in Neurology, Physiology, and Behavior. He continued his studies in sunny southern California, where he earned his Doctor of Optometry degree from the Southern California College of Optometry.

His externship experience incorporated diverse disciplines of ocular disease, pediatrics, and acute anterior segment care. Dr. Girn is proud to have served our military service men and women at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan and our veterans at VA Southern Nevada in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

A local Stocktonian, Dr. Girn is passionate about contributing to the community that inspired him to become a doctor. As a board member currently serving as the webmaster and president-elect for the San Joaquin Optometric Society (SJOS), Dr. Girn helps local optometrists stay up-to-date on the latest clinical knowledge in eye care. He enjoys using his knowledge of technology to teach, share, and provide easy access to valuable resources to his fellow optometrists. He is also a lecturer to graduate students at University of California, Berkeley.

When he’s not at the office, Dr. Girn enjoys catching up with his family and friends. His parents live in Stockton, and he has a younger sister who is completing her Bachelor’s degree and a younger brother who is completing his residency in pediatric dentistry. He also loves to travel (most recently to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and plays tennis and practices archery. He’s a big fan of Star Wars, Marvel, and Game of Thrones, and his life motto is to leave everyone and everything better than he found them.