DR. DEREK P. BITNER – CENTRAL IOWA PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY SPECIALIST

Derek P. Bitner, M.D. received his Bachelor of Science degree in molecular and cellular biology at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. He went on to earn his Doctorate of Medicine from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. After his preliminary internal medicine year, he completed an ophthalmology residency at the Dean McGee Eye Institute, University of Oklahoma Health Science Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and then went on to complete a Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus Fellowship at the Duke University Eye Center in Durham, North Carolina. As a board-certified and fellowship-trained pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr. Bitner has been seeing patients at Wolfe Eye Clinic since 2016. He is also fluent in Spanish.

Dr. Bitner is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. He is an investigator in the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG) and actively participates in ongoing clinical research projects sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  He has published several journal articles and scientific papers and enjoys presenting on topics such as amblyopia, strabismus, and pediatric glaucoma and cataracts.

Always drawn to the sciences, Dr. Bitner sees ophthalmology as the perfect blend between patient care, medical surgery and the ability to use ever-evolving technology. His favorite part of his job is not only helping improve a child’s vision but seeing kids smile at the end of their visit, especially if they were originally fearful. Outside of work, Dr. Bitner and his wife have a son and three daughters. He is a youth soccer coach and was a scoutmaster for several years with the Boy Scouts. He enjoys spending time with his family, wrestling with his children, sports, movies and being active in their church community.

Meet Dr. Derek Bitner – Central Iowa Pediatric Ophthalmologist

Medical Affiliations

• American Academy of Ophthalmology 
• American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus