Understand Your State Laws
My experience at a commercial chain was very
positive overall. To me, I look back at the
opportunity much like a paid residency where I had
the opportunity to see a lot of healthy individuals
and refine my skills making me the doctor that I am
today.
For those of you who will be working in a commercial
setting after graduation, I have a few pieces of
advice that I’d like to share with you. Based upon
my experiences at the commercial level and at the
private practice level, I’ve been able to make some
valuable observations about the profession of
optometry.
First, the fact that you’re practicing in a
commercial setting doesn’t make you any less liable
or responsible to your state laws. Please make sure
you take the time to fully understand your state’s
laws. This is the best way to maintain a clean
record with your state’s board of optometry.
In fact, regardless of the setting that you choose,
it’s important that you all pay particular attention
to your state laws. Having my own business, I was
very aware of my state’s laws about equipment
requirements, HIPPA regulations, and
employer/employee rights. Unfortunately, I witnessed
many practitioners in the commercial environment who
were not very well educated on these issues.
Reach Out to Other Professionals
Last, but certainly not least, please assume
ownership in your state association. Your state
association needs your support and input regardless
of what modality you practice. I have witnessed so
many ODs at the commercial level who aren’t active
in their state association. Some of the excuses I
heard for not being involved included busy
schedules, no perceived value of what the
association does, or no sense of belonging to the
state association as a commercial OD.
I’m optimistic that I speak for the majority of ODs
out there when I say again that your state
association needs your input, your perspective, and
your financial support regardless of where you
practice. Furthermore, without our state
associations to protect the privileges that we have
earned which define our scope of practice, the
profession of optometry wouldn’t be where it is
today. You are optometry’s future, and optometry is
dependent upon each of you to keep our profession
progressive.
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Starting Strategies
When
staff is scheduling appointments for new and
established patients, they request that patients
bring in ALL of their current glasses. This
includes sunglasses (both prescription and
non-prescription), computer glasses, reading
glasses, and their most current pair of
spectacles. By doing this, it’s amazing at what
we unveil! This is a great way to show patients
that their current pair of sunglasses aren’t
polarized or that their most recent pair of
computer glasses aren’t coated with an
anti-glare coating. This strategy has helped us
update multiple pair of glasses for patients at
the time of their examination. Putting
inexpensive sunglasses in front of the projector
to demonstrate the difference in optical quality
of cheap sunglasses vs. those made with good
optics has also been a great initiative
upgrading many contact lens patients into good
quality, doctor recommended sunglasses. -
Kelly Kerksick, OD
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